An organisation is using cash given by the Gwent Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) to fund therapy for sex abusers of children.
The £5,550 grant, funded by the proceeds of crime, was given to the Specialist Treatment Organisation for the Prevention of Sexual Offending (StopSO) in September.
The organisation is using the funding to offer psychological therapy for sex offenders and their families. This will include offering courses for mental health professionals to give them the tools to work with paedophiles.
Juliet Grayson, Chair of StopSO, said: “Our work supports the new strategy being implemented by police forces which advocates engaging mental health service providers to provide psychological help for child sexual offenders, to stop them abusing children.
“Up to 80% of sexual abuse is perpetrated by members of the close or extended family and research shows that with the right kind of psychological interventions the re-offending rate can be as low as 4.6%. This approach helps us to break the cycle of abuse and will help to keep children in Gwent safe.”
PCC Ian Johnston said: “Projects such as this one, which have rehabilitative qualities at their core, play a vital role in supporting offenders to break free from the cycle of re-offending.”