About Stop It Now! Australia

Our purpose

The safety of children is at the heart of Stop It Now! Australia. While education and helplines for children are vital, responsibility for preventing abuse must sit with adults – not children themselves.

We work to prevent child sexual abuse by supporting adults who are concerned about their own or someone else’s sexual thoughts or behaviour towards children. Through information, resources and anonymous support, we help people increase motivation for positive change, reduce risk factors, strengthen protective factors, and take practical steps to keep children safe while building healthier lives.

Stop It Now! Australia provides a safe, anonymous space to explore concerns and seek guidance. Our helpline offers person-centred support grounded in strong child protection principles, with guidelines that are continually reviewed and updated to ensure best practice.

If you are worried about your own or someone else’s behaviour, you can contact our anonymous helpline on 1800 01 1800.

Our vision

To protect children, prevent abuse and provide help that is accessible and available through a service that has the community’s trust and confidence.

Our mission

To prevent child sexual abuse by providing a supportive psychoeducation and action-driven anonymous helpline and online service for anyone concerned about their own or someone else’s thoughts and behaviours relating to child sexual abuse.

Who do we support?

We offer support to anyone affected by child sexual abuse, including individuals concerned about their own or someone else’s sexual thoughts or behaviour toward children. While our helpline focuses on prevention of harm, we work closely with organisations that provide dedicated support for people affected by abuse. You can reach out to our anonymous helpline for guidance. We also provide several anonymous online resources such as Get Help! self-help modules for people concerned about their own online or offline behaviour.

To find out more about how the helpline works, visit our Helpline page.

History of Stop It Now!

Stop It Now! was founded in 1992 in the USA by Fran Henry, a survivor of child sexual abuse who recognised the importance of bringing child sexual abuse out of silence and ensuring that prevention is something all adults are part of. Stop It Now! (USA) was created to provide a safe and confidential place for people to discuss concerns and access advice to help keep children safe. It remains the only helpline in the USA that supports adults with sexual thoughts about children.

In 2025, the US service responded to 2,495 enquiries, with most people seeking help about their own thoughts or behaviours, and many reaching out before any abuse had occurred.

Stop It Now! UK and Ireland was established in 2002 by The Lucy Faithfull Foundation, the only UK-wide charity dedicated to preventing child sexual abuse. In 2024–2025, over 8,400 people received support, with almost all callers agreeing to take action to help protect a child (The Lucy Faithfull Foundation Annual Report 2024–2025). Their services also operate across Wales, Scotland and Ireland, delivering early intervention programs, training and resources for families, professionals and communities.

Stop It Now! Flanders (BE) service , established in 2017, has supported over 3,000 people between 2017 and 2024, with over 50% seeking help about their own thoughts or behaviours (Report from Statistiek Vlaanderen, 2026).

These international services demonstrate strong and growing demand for early intervention, with evidence showing they help people make positive behaviour changes and strengthen their ability to protect children.

In Australia, momentum for a similar early-intervention approach followed the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (Recommendation 6.2.g), alongside ongoing engagement with key stakeholders and the completion of a Stop It Now! Scoping Study published in August 2019. Jesuit Social Services was subsequently awarded a three-year philanthropic grant to develop and pilot the service locally. Drawing on international learning, a broad coalition was established to support prevention efforts, including victim-survivor organisations such as Bravehearts, law enforcement representatives, and academic partners including University of Melbourne and University of New South Wales.

Following extensive engagement with local and international experts, and significant preparatory work, The Stop It Now! Australia pilot service launched in September 2022.

Since its launch, the service has demonstrated strong demand and impact, supporting individuals to seek help early and take steps to prevent harm. Building on the success of the pilot, Stop It Now! Australia was successful in a competitive tender process and has now transitioned to a national federally funded service, expanding its reach to provide accessible, early-intervention support across the country.

Jesuit Social Services

The Stop It Now! Australia program is delivered by Jesuit Social Services.

Jesuit Social Services’ vision is to build a just society where all people can live to their full potential. This is done by directly working with people and communities with complex needs, designing programs that build on their strengths, help them avoid harm, and advocate for broader societal change.

For nearly 50 years, this work has led the delivery of adult and youth justice programs with strong reputation for effective service delivery, collaborative approach, and ability to influence policy and public debate.

Support us

Spreading the message of Stop It Now! Australia to friends, family, colleagues and others helps us to access people who might need to use the service.

Every day, children and young people across Australia suffer sexual abuse, often by someone they know. Jesuit Social Services, via Stop It Now! Australia and other programs, works to prevent abuse before it happens and to stop it from happening again.

If you would like to find out more about Jesuit Social Services, and how to support this organisation, please visit the website here.

For media requests and enquiries, please contact:

The Media Manager, Jesuit Social Services at jss@jss.org.au