Information for Workers

Recognising Abuse

What is Abuse?

Abuse and neglect are forms of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm. Children may be abused in a family or in an institutional or community setting; by those known to them or, more rarely, by a stranger. They may be abused by an adult or adults or another child or children. (Working Together 2006, Section 1.29)

Physical | Emotional | Sexual | Neglect

Physical Abuse

Physical abuse may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating, or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces illness in a child. (Working Together 2006, Section 1.30)

Some indicators are:

• Unexplained bruises, fractures, lacerations or abrasions, particularly if they are in various stages of healing
• Bruising on very young babies
• Unexplained burns, especially cigarette or immersion burns
• Swollen areas
• Evidence of delayed or inappropriate treatment for injuries
• Child shows fear about returning home (arrives at school early and/or stays late)
• Self-destructive, withdrawn and/or aggressive behaviour (extremes)
• Wears clothing inappropriate to weather (to cover body)
• Chronic runaway (older children and young people)

Emotional Abuse

Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve conveying to children that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person. It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. These may include interactions that are beyond the child’s developmental capability, as well as overprotection and limitation of exploration and learning, or preventing the child participating in normal social interaction. It may involve seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another. It may involve serious bullying causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, though it may occur alone. (Working Together 2006, Section 1.31)

• Some indicators are:
• Speech disorders
• Delayed physical and/or emotional development
• Substance misuse
• Asthma, allergies (often severe), stomach ulcers
• Very low self-esteem
• Lack of any sense of fun
• Excessively clingy or attention seeking behaviour
• Over reactions to mistakes or over anxious to please
• Unusual patterns of response to others showing emotion
• Self harming and/or compulsive rituals
• Anti-social, destructive or delinquent behaviour (especially older children and young people)
• Substantial failure to reach potential in learning

Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, including prostitution, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including penetrative (e.g. rape, buggery or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts. They may include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, pornographic material or watching sexual activities, or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways. (Working Together 2006, Section 1.32)

Some indicators are:

• Wetting day or night when previously dry and clean
• Difficulty walking or sitting
• Unexplained abdominal pain
• Complaints of genital itching or pain
• Chronic illness, especially throat infections
• Venereal disease or other sexually transmitted diseases
• Marked reluctance to take part in physical activity or to change clothes for PE, for example
• Withdrawn, fearful or aggressive behaviour to other children or adults
• Behaviour with sexual overtones inappropriate to age
• Severe sleep disturbances or nightmares
• Phobias or panic attacks
• Self-mutilation or attempted suicide
• Poor concentration at school or learning problems that do not match intellectual ability
• Apparent secrecy
• Distrust of a familiar adult or anxiety about being left with a particular person, relative, babysitter or lodger
• Unexplained gifts or money

Neglect

Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy as a result of maternal substance abuse. Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to provide adequate food and clothing, shelter including exclusion from home or abandonment, failing to protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger, failure to ensure adequate supervision including the use of inadequate care-takers, or the failure to ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs. (Working Together 2006, Section 1.33)

Some indicators are:

• Consistently unkempt, dirty appearance, with inappropriate clothes for weather
• Unmet medical needs
• Non-organic failure to thrive
• Lice, emaciation, distended stomach
• Delay in the child's development without other clear cause
• Regularly displays fatigue or listlessness (e.g. falls asleep in class)
• Steals or begs food from classmates
• Reports that no caregiver is at home
• Unresponsive with peers or adults in everyday social situations
• Repeated failure by parents/carers to prevent injury
• Frequent absence or lateness
• Failure to attend any sort of appointments
• School dropout (older children and young adults)

Keeping Children Safe is Everybody’s Business!

If an adult discovers that a child is being abused or is at risk of this happening, he or she should do all they can to stop the abuse.

You will find more information and contact details under What to do if You’re Worried a Child is Being Abused.