What NAPAC does#
NAPAC, the National Association for People Abused in Childhood, supports adults who experienced any kind of abuse in childhood: physical, sexual or emotional abuse, or neglect. It describes its support line as the only free national service of its kind for adult survivors of every type of childhood abuse. Alongside the line it publishes free booklets for survivors and the people close to them, also available as audio, runs support groups where funding allows, and trains professionals.
Calling or emailing the support line#
The support line is free and confidential, open from Monday to Friday, with evenings until 9pm from Monday to Thursday, and closed at weekends. NAPAC is a small team and says the line is easiest to reach between 5pm and 9pm; it asks callers to try a different time rather than redialling. There is also an email service, with the address on the contact page.
A call lasts up to 30 minutes. Trained volunteers and staff, some of them survivors themselves, listen without judgement and point you to other services where that would help. They do not give legal advice, therapy, diagnoses or call-backs, and NAPAC does not take referrals: you contact it yourself, when you are ready. Its terms say your number may be visible to the team unless you withhold it, that calls are not recorded, and that confidentiality is broken only if a named adult or child is at imminent risk of serious harm. Under-18s are pointed to Childline and the NSPCC.
If you want to leave a family name behind#
Some adults who were abused by a parent or relative decide they no longer want that family's surname. NAPAC publishes nothing on names, so the practical side is this: as an adult your own name is yours to change, nobody has to agree, and you need no reason. You can take a surname from elsewhere in your family, such as a grandparent's or your mother's maiden name, or choose a new one. A deed poll you keep unenrolled is not published anywhere, which matters if relatives might look for one; enrolling one, GOV.UK explains, means a Gazette notice that carries your address.
- How to change your surname: the routes and the paperwork.
- Taking a parent's surname: a mother's maiden name or a step-parent's surname.
NAPAC's page on finding other support suggests asking any counsellor or service about its confidentiality policy before you start, which is a fair question to ask anyone you tell about a new name, too.
What became of the plan on sex offenders' names?#
When the Crime and Policing Bill was introduced, NAPAC's news pages carried the government's announcement that registered sex offenders who might use a new identity to offend would need police approval to change their name on official documents, and its chief executive welcomed it. The bill became the Crime and Policing Act 2026 on 29 April 2026. Two sections carry the plan:
- Section 125 lets a chief officer of police give a registered sex offender a notice; after that, the offender needs police authorisation before asking for a new passport, a driving licence or an immigration document under a different name.
- Section 118 requires registered sex offenders to give the police notice of a new name seven days or more before they start using it, where that is practicable.
On 26 October 2026 legislation.gov.uk shows both sections as prospective: they start on dates set by regulations, and none of the commencement regulations made so far names them. Until then GOV.UK's rule applies: anyone registered as a sex, violent or terrorist offender has 3 days after a change of name to report it to the police, and failing to is a criminal offence. Changing your name with a criminal record has the detail.
This page describes what NAPAC publishes on its own website, read on 26 October 2026, alongside the Act on legislation.gov.uk. NAPAC has not reviewed it, and listing a charity here does not mean it recommends this handbook or any deed poll service.
