معرفی
Lucy Roberts serves as a Visiting Research Fellow at the International Policing and Public Protection Research Institute within Anglia Ruskin University's Faculty of Arts, Humanities, Education and Social Sciences. Her expertise centers on the impact of child sexual abuse convictions and investigations on non-offending family members, particularly children of perpetrators, advocating for improved safeguarding protocols.
Her educational qualifications include:
- Postgraduate Diploma in Integrative Counselling (current), University of South Wales
- Postgraduate Certificate in Integrative Counselling Skills, University of South Wales Newport
- BA (Hons) Business Administration, University of Portsmouth
Roberts' research critically examines systemic gaps affecting children of offenders through seven key lenses:
- Minimum safeguarding expectations for children until adulthood when a parent has a CSA conviction
- Adverse Childhood Experiences triggered by parental CSA suspicion
- Tension between suspects' privacy rights and non-offending parents' informational needs
- Community stigmatization of offenders' associates
- Trauma of police investigations in family homes
- Age-appropriate disclosure protocols to children
- Formal recognition of children as secondary victims for psychological and economic support
Her scholarly output demonstrates consistent focus on secondary victimization within online child sexual abuse contexts, bridging criminological theory with practical child protection frameworks across disciplines including forensic psychology and social work.
Roberts actively shapes national policy through key appointments:
- Subject Matter Expert, Indirect Victims of Indecent Images of Children Strategic Group (October 2020–present)
- VAWG National Investigations Improvement working group for online child abuse images (January 2023–present)
She delivers evidence-based training to police forces, NHS safeguarding teams, and academic institutions using lived experience narratives to transform investigative practices and post-conviction family support systems.
