Ending sexual abuse in healthcare
Opening Up is an independent, not-for-profit organisation working to end sexual abuse in healthcare settings through research, training, and evidence-based interventions.
Evidence. Awareness. Dialogue. Change.
How we work
We bring together research, public health approaches, human factors, service design, systems thinking and lived experience to prevent sexual abuse and support survivors.
Building the evidence
300+
GMC tribunal determinations collated and analysed
40+
Freedom of Information requests made and analysed
100+
Research articles, investigations and inquiries analysed
What we’re working on
Our roadmap of research includes:
Quantitative analysis of professional tribunal determinations
Freedom of Information data collection and analysis
Reviews of inquiry and investigation reports
Conversational analysis of how patients raise concerns
Interviews with survivors, advocates and health professionals
From the findings we will create free reports, resources, and evidence-based interventions to prevent and detect sexual misconduct and abuse by health professionals.
Follow us on LinkedIn for updates.
New resources
Available now
Webinar Summary
We have produced a summary of our webinar for the Professional Standards Authority: Stopping sexual abuse in healthcare: a researcher-survivor perspective Read the summary→
Available now
Ask for a chaperone - Poster
What a chaperone is and why to ask for one when a child needs an intimate examination.
Download the poster→
Coming soon
Entitled? Mental health job role checker
Find out whether a mental health professional’s job title is protected and regulated, and which organisation regulates them.
Our services
We deliver tailored research, evaluation and service design that generates evidence to inform better policy, practice and interventions. We work with senior leaders, clinicians, patients, survivors, regulators and policymakers.
Research and evaluation
Mixed-methods research, evidence reviews, evaluations, impact assessments, reports and articles.
Intervention and service design
Co-designing and testing digital interventions, videos, posters, interactive tools
Presenting and training
Facilitating workshops, delivering bespoke training, webinars, keynotes and presentations.
Latest insights
Our articles and commentaries explore the issues, evidence and solutions for preventing sexual abuse in healthcare. Read more →
What people say about us
“Joni gave a presentation in our series of webinars on sexual misconduct in health and care. She presented her insights compellingly, in particular on grooming, the challenges of identifying abuse, and the difficulties faced when victims seek to report what has happened to them. She proposed evidence-based and patient-centred interventions to address these problems and enable processes which are compassionate and supportive. We are following her work with great interest.”
— Douglas Bilton, Assistant Director, Intelligence and Insight, Professional Standards Authority
Collaborate with us
We work with regulators, healthcare organisations, researchers, charities, policymakers, survivors and patients. Please get in touch if you are interested in collaborating with us or joining our advisory panel. More about collaborating with us →
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.