What's Abuse?
What’s Abuse?
Being mistreated or abused (sometimes called ‘Significant Harm’) is defined as Sexual Abuse, Physical Abuse, Neglect or Emotional Abuse.
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Physical Abuse When an adult deliberately hurts a child, such as hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning, drowning or suffocating. |
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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. |
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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 . |
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Bullying E.g. calling names, damaging property, stealing, spreading rumours, cyberbullying, hurting, getting people into trouble |
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Domestic Violence When one adult in a family or relationship threatens, bullies or hurts another adult e.g. physically, psychologically, emotionally, sexually or financially. |
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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:
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- Appearance – such as frequent unexplained injuries, consistently poor hygiene, matted hair, unexplained gifts, or a parent regularly collecting children from school when drunk
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- 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
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- Communication – such as sexual or aggressive language, self-harming, becoming secretive and reluctant to share information or being overly obedient