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Happy birthday Shore: celebrating our website for teenagers

A year ago, we launched Shore, our website for young people that aims to help turn the tide of sexual harm.

It’s badly needed because we know that between one-third and half of child sexual abuse is carried out by under-18s. The Everyone’s Invited movement shone a light on the huge issue of harmful sexual behaviour and how the spread of smartphones and other technology has contributed to the rise of online harm.

Young people need somewhere to go if they’re worried about their own or a friend’s sexual thoughts or behaviour. That’s where Shore comes in. The website has upfront, exact and reliable information, advice and a chat and email service for teenagers to get anonymous, non-judgemental support. It’s made with, and backed by, young people themselves.

“Shore is a sanctuary”

We’ve had an amazing response: over 37,000 users have visited the website so far.

“Shore is a sanctuary, a safe place where they can talk to someone about what they are going through, openly and without judgement,” says Ida, one of the advisors on the Shore chat service.

Concerns about sexual behaviour still have a lot of stigma and shame attached to them, and many children and young people don’t know how to approach or manage these concerns.

Shore is for any teenagers who have questions about healthy sexual relationships, want to change their own behaviour, or are looking for reliable information to help them respond to someone else’s behaviour.

“Shore is a place where help is available, and we do what we can to support children and young people to make positive changes in their lives, to improve their mental health, and receive advice and support – all in the name of child protection,” says Ida.

“Many young people come to us worried about their behaviour online, and we work to support them to develop healthier coping mechanisms, understand sex and the law, and what consent means so they can move forward with their lives and avoid causing further harm”, says Collette, another advisor on the service.

“Shore is a safe place for them to explore what is going on for them, free from judgement and get support from skilled practitioners who can help them develop a positive future pathway.”

Changing lives through individual support

The chat service is an integral part of the support we give.

“When the Shore chat first opened, it was daunting because we weren't quite sure what the young people would bring to the chats”, Sarah, an advisor, says. “But it’s been rewarding to see how they’ve been using the service and the resources and how much they value having a safe space to talk. I'm proud to be part of Shore and hope we can expand the service to support even more young people.”

We’ve supported 191 young people through the chat and email services, responding to 151 emails and 232 chats since launch. When children and young people contact Shore for the first time, they might never have opened up about their concerns before: that’s the case for 72%.

We often hear about anxiety, worries and low mental health, from carrying their worries alone for a long time. We find that over time, with the support of our advisors, they start feeling more confident in opening up, and making positive changes for themselves.

“The chat lets us build a rapport with a young person and give individual support over a period of time,” Beth, a chat advisor. “It helps explore more about the wider lives of the young people and the context around their thoughts, feelings and behaviour.”

Beth pointed to two of her most positive and rewarding experiences: “After speaking with one young person over a number of weeks they then came forward to complete our Inform Young People course,” she said. “They’ve now completed the course, passed their A levels with high grades and been accepted into their first-choice university.

“A second young person had not told any other person about their behaviour and when we initially spoke over chat they were very despondent and isolated. Following our time together they were more positive, had stopped their online behaviour, were back playing team sports and had a positive plan. This wouldn’t have been possible before”.  

Looking to the future

Shore’s first year has also seen work to make sure we’re reaching the people who need us, and that we’re giving support information in ways that work. We’ve made a series of animations to explain topics like dealing with difficult emotions and what to do if you’re in trouble with the police. We’ve worked with young people to make sure the animations are clear and accessible, tackling difficult topics sensitively and with compassion.

We’ve also undertaken an evaluation to learn how teenagers are engaging with Shore and how we can continue to develop the site and reach more young people. As part of that we’ve had some great feedback.

"It was worded very clearly, it was factual but kind-hearted, you often may see things like ‘this is what’ll happen to you and you can’t do anything about it’, but this is worded in a much composed and calm manner."

"Thoughtful and considerate of everyone’s situation and feelings, useful and helpful for most complications that come with sexual behaviour."

"Clear and easy, it’s engaging too"

"Necessary, compassionate, helpful."

"The real life stories were very helpful as it was like looking into a mirror—reading that other people had experienced things that had made me feel isolated for so many years made me hopeful that one day I too could change and be redeemed. I also found the information about being investigated by the police helpful. It read as though there was a compassionate element to it, because our situation is in reality not as clear cut as ‘you are evil and deserve to be punished’."

Over the coming months we’ll be continuing to expand our support on the chat and email service. From October, we’ll be opening the chat service another evening a week, so we can reach more young people in need of support. We’ll be publishing the findings of our evaluation and continuing to develop Shore, to make sure it covers the topics young people really need to know.

Can you help us?

It’s amazing that we’ve reached so many people, but we want to be there for everyone who needs us. Sharing our posts and information helps us reach more people and protect more children. 

Sign up to receive our emails and find us on Twitter/X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

Find out more

Our Shore website has anonymous advice and information for teenagers worried about their own or a friend’s sexual behaviour.

If you’d like to hear more about Shore, please contact the team on shore@lucyfaithfull.org.uk.

Our anonymous Stop It Now helpline can support any adult worried about a child or young person’s sexual behaviour. We’re open every weekday.

Take a look at our information for schools, which includes free resources, information and guidance.

Support us

Want to support our work to prevent child sexual abuse? Donate now.