Tink Palmer has been in social work practice since 1973 and gained her professional qualifications in 1975.
Since that time she has participated in numerous post-graduate training courses – including counselling, family therapy and forensic investigation. Tink has worked with children and their families for the past 40 years. In the past 25 years she has specialised in child sexual abuse and is an experienced clinical and forensic practitioner, manager, trainer, policy maker and strategist.
Tink first began working with children abused via the new technology in 1999 and has since developed a professional interest and expertise in this area – particularly regarding the forensic and recovery needs of the children and young people. In 2004, she jointly authored a report entitled Just one click! which outlined the ways in which the new technology can act as a conduit for the abuse of children, the differential impacts on the young victims and new approaches to intervention programmes.
In 2008, she co-authored the thematic report for the World Congress III against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents entitled “Child pornography and sexual exploitation of children online”. She is Chief Executive of the Marie Collins Foundation. Tink joined Childnet’s board of Trustees in January 2007 and became Chair in May 2009.