CONCERNS have been raised about a complete lack of sexual abuse support for children under Highland Council.

Mhairi Wyllie, chief officer of Highland third sector partnership, said she’s been raising this same issue for five years.

Ms Wyllie said support for sexually abused children is a statutory service, but it’s completely absent in Highland.

She voiced frustration at a lack of progress, saying she’s “sick” of having to raise concerns about this issue.

Ms Wyllie made the remarks at a joint monitoring committee between NHS Highland and Highland Council this morning.

Referencing a council report into children’s services, she said: “I still don’t understand where we’re at with services for children who have been sexually abused in Highland.

“To the best of my knowledge there is no service in place, and we’re heading into our fifth year of lack of provision of a statutory service.”

Ms Wyllie claimed that child sexual abuse is as common as asthma in Highland communities. She said she works with a service for people in custody, and all 300 individuals who recently used the service have experienced some kind of sexual abuse in their childhood.

Ms Wyllie said that without services to support them, the NHS and council is simply “paving a waiting list for the future.”

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