Monday

I work at a charity dedicated to preventing child sexual abuse. Among other things, we run a confidential helpline for anyone concerned about child sexual abuse. Today, I train staff in how to respond to calls from parents.

We get a wide range of calls from parents. Sometimes it’s because their child has been looking at illegal images of children being abused online. Parents are stunned and shocked and don’t know what to do or where to turn. There’s a sense of loss, as many of the children are from stable backgrounds and tend to perform well at school.

We also frequently get calls about abuse within the family – for example when an older sibling touches, or even rapes, a younger one. Trying to navigate a way forward for parents who want to protect their children is hugely emotionally challenging.

Tuesday

Another part of my job involves working with family members affected by abuse and preparing court reports. Today, I talk to a mother whose daughter has been abused by her husband. She is in floods of tears, the kind that make you gasp for air. She didn’t know. People ask how mothers don’t spot what’s going on, and it’s often because they have been groomed too; the perpetrator is frequently someone close to them. She feels she has failed as a mother.

The child meanwhile is denying any abuse ever happened, even though she knows there is video evidence and that the professionals trying to help have seen it. It’s too enormous for her to talk about.

I use all of my knowledge, skill and resilience to help mothers find the strength to support their children. But sometimes it’s just not safe for children to remain in their mother’s care and they have to be removed into foster care.

I remember being called to give evidence in court after I wrote a report concluding a mother couldn’t protect her children. After we left the court, I could hear the mother crying loudly after it was decided to remove her children. It was the right decision but that didn’t make it any easier.

Wednesday

Today is another day of training. In the evening I go out for dinner. When I meet new people and they ask what I do, my answer varies. Someone once told me they were a survivor of child abuse and asked me how I could do my job as it also involved helping those accused and convicted of sexual abuse. Sometimes I say I work in child protection and the conversation moves swiftly on. More mainstream media coverage of child sexual abuse means people are more aware of the topic, but there’s still a long way to go.

Thursday

I take some calls on our helpline. One is from a mother whose son has been arrested for downloading indecent images of children. She’s distraught; her shock is visceral and it’s evident she had no idea what he’d been looking at.

Young people who get into trouble online are often very ashamed of what they’ve done. I’ve been told by two young people this year that they contemplated suicide after being arrested.

I meet a man who reported himself to the police for looking at images. He tells me he felt disgusted with himself.

Friday

I write up notes from a session with a boy whose father has been charged with downloading sexual images of children. The first the boy knew of it was when police stormed into his bedroom when he was asleep. I was struck by how resilient he was, but also how much he was grieving the loss of his father both physically and in terms of how he knew him.

I go home feeling I’ve done my best to do a little good in the world. I feel proud of the work we do, even though we are sometimes seen as controversial. I feel it’s our moral duty to help those who want to ensure they cause no harm to children.

Lisa Thornhill is clinical lead for young people services at the Lucy Faithfull Foundation

If you would like to contribute to our My working week series about your job in public services, get in touch by emailing sarah.johnson@theguardian.com