Vicky Foxcroft MP for Lewisham Deptford & Shadow Minister for Disabled People
Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, are stressful incidents or environments encountered in childhood, that can cause long-lasting trauma and have lasting effects on our future wellbeing.
The above graphic, from the WAVE trust, highlights some of the long-term health consequences of trauma in childhood. Compared with people with zero adverse childhood experiences, those with four or more ACEs are:
• 7 times more likely to have been involved in violence
• 11 times more likely to have used illicit drugs
• 11 times more likely to have been incarcerated
• 4 times more likely to have low levels of mental well-being and life satisfaction
To raise awareness about the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences, the WAVE trust is asking every Member of Parliament to take a short survey to calculate Parliament’s ACE score. It is vital that politicians have a better understanding of the impact of trauma, especially when creating relevant policies.
In PMQs today I asked the Prime Minister to encourage colleagues to fill in the survey. You can find out more about ACEs on WAVE’s website: https://www.wavetrust.org/