About Opening Up
Opening Up is an independent research and innovation organisation working to understand and prevent sexual abuse in healthcare.
Sexual abuse by health and care professionals is a significant but poorly understood problem. It extends beyond individual misconduct to reflect failures in systems, cultures and organisational responses. The impact on victims, survivors and their families are profound and long-lasting.
Despite numerous inquiries, investigations and reviews, cases continue to occur. Many recommendations have not been fully implemented, and there is still limited evidence about which interventions are effective in preventing, detecting and responding to sexual misconduct and abuse.
At Opening Up, we bring together research, public health approaches, human factors, service design, systems thinking, and lived experience to create interventions that prevent sexual abuse and support survivors.
Our Purpose
We have seven priority research areas to help inform our design of online and offline interventions to prevent abuse in health and care settings.
Our key research areas
What makes our approach different
Whole-system approach
We look at the whole system to identify patterns, risk factors and opportunities for prevention.
- Health professional groups — identifying similarities and differences across professions.
- Offence types — including both online and offline sexual abuse.
- Those affected — including patients, staff and members of the public.
- The whole pathway — from identifying abuse and reducing risk, responding to harm and understanding the long-term needs of survivors after harm has occurred.
- Multiple intervention points — supporting health professionals, organisations and regulators, while also increasing public awareness and helping patients and the public recognise and report concerns.
Evidence-led and outcome-focused
We bring together multiple sources of evidence and data to build the most complete understanding possible. We translate that evidence into practical interventions and resources that can be evaluated and provide measurable impact.
Survivor-informed
We use trauma-informed approaches throughout our work and treat lived experience as an essential source of expertise that strengthens research, intervention design and decision-making.
Innovative
We explore innovative approaches and digital solutions, to prevent sexual abuse and improve support for survivors after harm has occurred.
How can we help
We work with organisations, policymakers, regulators, professional bodies and researchers to understand problems, develop practical solutions and strengthen prevention.
Get in touch
Interested in collaborating, research, training or learning more about our work? We’d love to hear from you
Please do not use this form to report abuse. This form is for general enquiries and collaboration only.
Looking for support?
Opening Up is a research and prevention organisation. We do not provide individual support or investigate individual reports of sexual abuse.
If you have experienced sexual abuse or are concerned about something that happened in a healthcare setting, there are several specialist support and advice services that you may find useful. Find support and advice on GOV.UK →
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999.