**23. The Community response**

Members of the community in Cleveland have described how adults in the community can have a role in helping children trapped in silence and supporting professionals who advocate on their behalf [10]. We believe their account of a spontaneous grassroots effort to deal with the uncomfortable awakening to the reality of abuse in its midst is the first of its kind. The members of this group were deeply affected by what they learned.

While lip service has been paid to the role of the community, it has been given little systematic attention. This is reiterated by Nelson and Baldwin [39] who draw on a successful project in Scotland to show how to create' active bystanders'. Community responses too have been affected by the backlash with its scapegoating of professionals and promoting of unscientific theories of 'false memory'. Nelson [28] analyses the legacy of the backlash in distorting the discourse, marginalising and obscuring the significance of and obscuring the facts especially in high profile cases.

Children and adolescents more often choose individuals within the community, such as protective parents and friends of their own age, to disclose to than professionals. Collings et al. [40] highlight the role played by both children and significant others in the process of child sexual abuse recognition and reporting. Detection by another was found to be more likely as the trigger for disclosure than purposeful disclosure by the child, which was noted in less than 30% of their sample of young people. Adults who work with children, including many in voluntary organisations, are in a position to ask children directly and to become a valuable part of the child protection system, but require support and understanding of what to expect and how to approach the difficulties. The dilemmas about confidentiality and the slow process of gaining a child's trust are now better understood. This knowledge, together with advice from both adult and child survivors, could be harnessed to build up resources in every community.
