There’s something there for everyone : learning about the Lighthouse: young people’s perspectives on London’s Child House

Abstract

The Lighthouse, London’s Child House, 1 opened in October 2018. Bringing together a range of organisations under one roof, the Lighthouse’s intention is to be a child friendly, multidisciplinary service for those who have experienced sexual abuse, with the foremost aim to be focused on the child (Conroy et al., 2018). The Child House approach is informed by that of Child Advocacy Centres in the United States and the Barnahus model in Scandinavia. The Lighthouse is a member of the Promise Barnahus Network, 2 a member-led organisation that works to harmonise and consolidate good Barnahus practice across Europe (Parker et al., forthcoming). The Evidence and Insight Unit at MOPAC was commissioned to evaluate the Lighthouse. As part of this evaluation, they commissioned staff from the Safer Young Lives Research Centre (SYLRC) at the University of Bedfordshire to elicit the views of a cohort of children and young people who had engaged with the Lighthouse, in a study entitled ‘Learning about the Lighthouse’. Key learning from young people’s contributions to ‘Learning about the Lighthouse’ has been incorporated into MOPAC’s overall evaluation report (Parker et al., forthcoming). This report provides an accompaniment to that broader report. In line with the Lighthouse’s own aim to be focused on the child, this report provides a distinct space where young people’s views are the sole focus and central source of learning. Though scaffolded by researcher narrative, informed by cumulative analysis of all contributions, young people’s contributions are shared in individual participants’ own words.