Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism – Some young survivors of the Manchester Arena attack have not received professional support despite wanting it, a research study has found.
Hundreds of youngsters were physically or mentally injured in the bombing in May 2017, which killed 22 people.
A study by Lancaster University and the National Emergencies Trust (NET) found support in the aftermath was limited.
The Home Office said a “review into the support package provided to victims of terrorism” was under way.
Twenty-two people died and hundreds were injured when a suicide bomber detonated a homemade device in the foyer of Manchester Arena as crowds left an Ariana Grande concert on 22 May 2017.
The university and NET launched an online survey in August 2022, asking children and young people who were caught up in the attack to share their experiences as part of a project to identify what support would be most beneficial to young survivors.
The organisations said more than 200 people had taken part in the research, all of whom were under 18 at the time of the attack.
They said about 150 of those who responded had been psychologically injured, but about 60 had not received any professional support, about 25 of whom also stated they had never been offered it.
They added that while the vast majority of those taking part had felt they needed support in the aftermath, about 140 had received no professional help within the first month and just over 60 remained in the same position after the first year.
Twenty-two people were killed by a suicide bomber after an Ariana Grande concert
The researchers said some professional help “offered by teachers, counsellors, GPs and others” had “inadvertently introduced more trauma”.
Researchers said, there had been “a glaring gap in knowledge about how UK disasters affect children and young people” and the research offered “valuable direction for emergency funders like us”.
