The Department of Justice has released a series of short videos to publicise a free legal advice service for children and young people who have experienced serious sexual offences.

The Children’s Sexual Offences Legal Adviser (CSOLA) scheme, delivered by Victim Support NI, offers support to anyone aged 17 and under, as well as their parents and carers. Those using the service can receive independent legal advice at no cost up to the start of any trial.

Justice Minister Naomi Long, who extended the scheme to children earlier this year, said: "Our goal is to make legal advice accessible for children and their families and whilst the scheme has only been in place for a matter of months, the feedback from service users has been very encouraging."

She added: "One key benefit of the CSOLA scheme is that free advice on the criminal justice system is available prior to any offence being reported, which will help victims make informed decisions and may make it easier to contact police."

Looking ahead, the Minister intends to use the forthcoming Victims and Witnesses of Crime Bill to strengthen support for both child and adult victims of serious sexual offences. "The Victims and Witnesses of Crime Bill, which I hope to bring to the Assembly in 2026, will focus on a small number of high impact measures for victims and witnesses of crime,” she continued. "Provisions include enabling legal representatives for complainants in serious sexual offence cases to provide in-court representation during specified pre-trial hearings which would be facilitated by extending the role of the SOLAs. "

"Research indicates that many victims either do not report or withdraw from proceedings due to fear that private records, such as medical and counselling, will be disclosed in court; or they delay therapy until after any proceedings have concluded."

"The Victims and Witnesses of Crime Bill will also include reforms to the third-party disclosure application process to help protect Article 8 rights, balance the interests of all parties, safeguard privacy, and reduce re-traumatisation."

Victim Support NI’s Head of Advocacy and New Projects, Jolena Flett, said: "We welcome this new service as we have seen how effective the support for adults is through the current SOLA service.

Since launching the CSOLA service we have supported 275 children and young people, and their guardians, across Northern Ireland through a difficult process.

Embedding the services within Victim Support NI means we are not only able to help with the legal aspects but also provide trauma informed wrap-around support for all their needs. We also welcome the Department’s ongoing commitment to providing this innovative and much needed service."

The Department said the videos will be available on its website, as well as on X, Instagram and YouTube. The children’s CSOLA pilot has been designed specifically for complainants in serious sexual offence cases and will run alongside the adult SOLA pilot until March 2027, when both schemes are due to be evaluated to inform longer-term services.