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What’s Abuse?

	Physical Abuse When an adult deliberately hurts a child, such as hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning, drowning or suffocating.
	Emotional Abuse This would happen, for instance, when a child is all the time being unfairly blamed for everything, or told they are stupid and made to feel unhappy.
	Sexual Abuse An examples of sexual abuse would be where a child has been forced to take part in sexual activities or in the taking of rude photos .
	Bullying E.g. calling names, damaging property, stealing, spreading rumours, cyberbullying, hurting, getting people into trouble
	Domestic Violence When one adult in a family or relationship threatens, bullies or hurts another adult e.g. physically, psychologically, emotionally, sexually or financially.
	Neglect Where a child is not being looked after properly, for example, not getting enough to eat or being left alone in dangerous situations.

Spotting the signs of child abuse and neglect

To spot the signs of child abuse or neglect, look for changes in:

- Appearance – such as frequent unexplained injuries, consistently poor hygiene, matted hair, unexplained gifts, or a parent regularly collecting children from school when drunk

- Behaviour – such as demanding or aggressive behaviour, frequent lateness or absence from school, avoiding their own family, misusing drugs or alcohol, or being constantly tired

- Communication – such as sexual or aggressive language, self-harming, becoming secretive and reluctant to share information or being overly obedient