Seeing the Child Beyond the Harm - Exploring the shared drivers violence, exploitation and abuse.

Thursday 8 October 2026 | 10am to 4pm

The Tab Centre Shoreditch, 3 Godfrey Place, London E2 7NT

Free to attend!

Lunch provided

Children trapped in cycles of violence, exploitation and peer-to-peer harm are too often seen for what they do - not what has happened to them.

Safer London’s Seeing the Child Beyond the Harm Conference brings together professionals across sectors, alongside young people, to explore the underlying factors that shape children’s experiences of harm - and how we shift from behaviour-led responses to child-first, safeguarding-led approaches that recognise past trauma, abuse and unmet need.

About the event

Too often, responses to young people are shaped by the behaviour they present, rather than an understanding of the harm they’ve experienced.

This event brings together learning and insights from across different contexts of harm - including criminal exploitation, harmful sexual behaviour, extremist or misogynistic ideologies and peer‑on‑peer harm - to explore the common drivers behind these experiences.

By focusing on what sits beneath the behaviour, it will examine how these shared factors shape young people’s lives and can result him them harming others - and how failing to recognise them can lead to young people being misunderstood, adultified or criminalised.

The day will explore what it takes to respond in ways that protect rather than punish, and how we shift towards child‑first, safeguarding‑led approaches in both practice and systems.

What to expect

Panel discussions exploring the themes and topics

Voices of young people sharing real insight

Workshops focused on practice

Opportunities to connect, reflect and collaborate

A free lunch will be provided

Speakers

We’re pleased to confirm that Lib Peck Director of the London Violence Reduction Unit will be delivering the keynote and hosting a morning panel.

Other confirmed speakers include:

Safer London

Young people who’ve accessed Safer London’s services and support

The CSA Centre

The London VRU

Exit Hate

Professor Harriet Over, York University

More speakers to be announced soon!

Who should attend

This event is for professionals across practice, commissioning and leadership roles who work with or shape responses to children and young people affected by harm.

Youth workers and frontline practitioners

Social care and safeguarding professionals

Education and school staff

Community and voluntary sector organisations

Policymakers and system leaders

About Safer London

Safer London supports young people affected by violence and exploitation to move from harm to hope, and into safer, brighter futures. We provide long-term, one-to-one support that helps young people build safety, stability and control - while working to influence systems to respond with understanding rather than blame.

www.saferlondon.org.uk

Description supplied by the event organiser.