An abuse survivor has slammed Islington Council’s “devastating” decision to cut funding for victims’ trauma therapy.
By Josef Steen, Local Democracy Reporter
An abuse survivor has slammed Islington Council’s “devastating” decision to cut funding for victims’ trauma therapy.
On March 31, Islington Council officially ended its trauma support service for people who experienced sexual exploitation while in the borough’s care home system, which a former council leader described as “the darkest chapter in the council’s history”.
Since 2018 the council has funded a Non-Recent Abuse Team offering specialist support for abuse survivors. Hundreds of individuals and witnesses have reported crimes including rape, sex trafficking, and physical abuse by workers.
The local authority says it continues to fund “meaningful, trauma-informed” support through a new service delivered by mental health charity Islington Mind. But a survivor’s group has criticised the loss of the “fantastic” service and said the council had broken its promise to give lifelong specialist support.
The Islington Survivors Network (ISN), set up to support more that 800 survivors of historic child abuse in the borough, says the council has “cut [them] off at the knees” and failed to set up the new service properly before shutting down the old system, leaving survivors “depressed and anxious”.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), survivor and campaigner Jane Frawley said the old system meant victims benefitted from short waiting lists for specialist support.
“The one thing survivors need most to tap in and out of is therapeutic help. Sometimes you get into such a depressive state that you can’t even pay a bill. All it took was a phone call to the Non-Recent Abuse Team and they’re able to get you back on [your] feet,” she said. “It’s absolutely devastating to be going back to square one.”
The group’s founder Dr Liz Davies OBE said it was “tragic” that vulnerable survivors would no longer get help from professionals who had a deep knowledge of their history. This had included five psychologists and staff giving practical support for traumatised individuals. “It was exactly what they needed and wanted,” she told the LDRS.
ISN’s organisers said they were “absolutely stunned” to find out the council’s scheme was ending late last year. This was despite earlier reassurances in 2024 that the scheme would continue amid reports that it would end in 2025.
According to the council, funding changes for the trauma therapy and ISN were not recorded in official budget documents because the arrangement was time-limited.
The council confirmed to the LDRS it will provide £50,000 towards Mind’s non-recent abuse support scheme. But ISN fears the service quality will decline since this will fall short of the funding for dedicated staff across three sites in London. Dr Davies and Ms Frawley added that they had repeatedly tried to access the new helpline since it went live, but “the number just went dead”.
A former social worker at the council, Dr Davies blew the whistle on a suspected major child abuse network operating between 1986 and 1992. The local authority initially rejected her concerns, but a 1995 inquiry later concluded Islington did not properly investigate allegations of “sexual assault, misconduct, poor childcare and involvement in paedophile rings and child pornography” perpetrated by staff.
More than a third of accused workers were not investigated, and others left on health grounds before disciplinary proceedings could progress. Multiple police investigations were launched but have not led to any prosecutions.
In 2017, then-council leader Cllr Richard Watts admitted the Town Hall was “culpable” for systemic abuse.
The following year, a report by Sarah Morgan QC recommended that specialist counselling or therapy “must be available” to victims, and this would be “completely undermined were it to be insufficient or time-limited”.
The council later offered £10,000 to survivors of abuse in Islington Council children’s homes between 1966 and 1995. The scheme opened in 2022 and ended in 2024. Dr Liz Davies OBE was recognised for her services to child protection in the 2026 New Year’s Honours.
A spokesperson for Islington Council told the LDRS: “We remain committed to ensuring that survivors continue to have access to meaningful, trauma-informed support. The new model of support is designed to be sustainable in the long term. It was shaped over several months with input from survivors themselves and partners including the Islington Survivors Network (ISN).
“Best practice has been embedded into adult social care provision. A new community support service, delivered by Islington Mind, complements existing community and NHS services, working together to support people in different ways.
“Islington Mind have extensive experience working with residents who have experienced trauma. They are ready to support survivors and understand their needs. Islington Mind are also well connected with other services and are committed to partnership working to support survivors with a range of issues they may be experiencing.
“Our shared goal remains the same — to ensure that survivors continue to have access to informed, compassionate and safe support in Islington.”
