The leader of a support service for survivors of historic abuse throughout football hopes it can bring an unreported “pandemic” in wider society into the spotlight. Ian Ackley, who himself was abused as a child by convicted paedophile Barry Bennell, is now overseeing the Survivors of Abuse (SA) service which is co-funded by the PFA Charity and the Football Association. If you have been effected in football contact me at ian.ackley@thepfa.com to access confidential and free advocacy and support through my SSA role. “One in six adults in the UK are known to be direct sufferers of childhood abuse,” Ackley said. “It may have already happened – it takes men on average 22 years to disclose what’s happened to them.

Source: Express November 16, 2020 16:18 UTC