4.1 Introduction
You may feel reluctant to get involved in other people’s lives but reporting child abuse can save a life. If you know or suspect that a child is being abused, it is best to act as soon as possible.
FACT
In addition to their main helpline, the NSPCC have several dedicated helplines for specific issues such as FGM, abuse in education, gangs and radicalisation.
Source: nspcc.org.uk
4.2 Reporting Abuse
If you have reason to believe that a child is in imminent danger, call the emergency services. Where there is no imminent threat of serious injury or death, call a non-emergency police number or a local children’s authority helpline. You can also look for children’s charities in your local area, or those that represent children on a national scale and telephone or e-mail them for advice. Many have free, anonymous helplines or webpages you can use to file an online report. If you work with the child in a professional capacity, follow your organisation’s safeguarding policies and contact your line manager for support.
Usually, there will be a named individual who takes responsibility for safeguarding in organisational settings. In the event that you suspect them of committing abuse, speak to a member of the senior management team or an HR representative. When reporting child abuse to the police or another public body, you will be asked for your personal details, but you can choose to make an anonymous report if you wish. Even if you have no concrete evidence that a child has been abused or is at risk, it is still a good idea to make a report. An investigator may not find any proof that abuse has taken place, but your report will still be on βile and could be used when assembling a dossier of evidence at a later date. Someone else may have already contacted a service to express their concerns and your information could prove a useful addition.
4.3 Helping the Child
Children seldom lie about abuse. If they disclose it to you, take them seriously and report it immediately. Never downplay their concerns or tell them that they are being silly.
Give them the time and space to talk about their experiences. Reassure them that they will not get into trouble for telling you about the abuse and that you can help them. Ask them questions if it will help you gain a clearer overview of the situation, but do not ask leading questions or push the issue if doing so increases their distress. If they are comfortable using a telephone, give them a helpline number from a reputable children’s charity and explain that they can call it to talk about their worries. A child may ask you to keep the abuse a secret. Do not make such a promise because you will need to report it to other people who can take appropriate action. Breaking a child’s trust can damage their ability to form healthy relationships with caregivers in the future.
Module Summary
If you suspect that a child is being abused, it should be reported. A report can be made to the police, the local authorities, or children’s charities such as the NSPCC. So far in this course, we have focused on abuse that takes place offline. Unfortunately, the internet also poses a real threat to children living in the 21st century. In the next module, we will look at how children can be safeguarded in the digital era.
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