Information » Family & Relationships » What to do if something goes wrong » Abuse
- Abuse is a very difficult subject for people to discuss and if you are being abused it can be hard to talk about or you might be too afraid to talk about it
- Abuse can take many forms including sexual abuse, physical abuse like punching or hitting, emotional abuse like name-calling or being threatened, or neglect, which could be not having enough to eat or not being looked after properly
- Everyone has the right not to be abused and to be offered protection from abuse
- Being abused can make you feel frightened, alone, ashamed, embarrassed, guilty and angry
- The person abusing you might be one of your parents or another family member or it could be an older child. They might have told you not to tell anyone or threatened to hurt you or someone in your family if you tell anyone, but there are people who can protect you
Getting help
- Deciding to tell someone and finding help is an important step to making the abuse stop
- Choose someone you trust like a parent, a member of the family, a close friend or their parents, a teacher, a doctor, your school nurse or a neighbour. If it is hard to say to their face, write them a letter and talk about it after they have read it
- If you don´t want to tell anyone close to you, there are special organisations dedicated to helping young people who are being abused or people who think they know someone who is being abused. These organisations, which are listed below, are there to listen and help. They will not be shocked by anything you say and won´t judge you
- Unless they are worried you are in serious danger, anything you say will be in strict confidence and no-one needs to know that you spoke to them
- Sometimes if they think your safety is at risk, they might take action to protect you but this can only happen if they know who you are and where you live
- The person from the organisation will talk through what will happen if you decide to take action. You might for example need to tell the police or a doctor what has happened. Don´t worry, these people are all trying to help you and you won´t be in any trouble
- Some young people worry that they will be split up from their family if they tell. This is very rare and will only happen if you are in serious danger by staying at home. Social services will always try and keep a family together if they can
- Many people who are being abused worry that they will get into trouble or that their family won´t believe them if they told them what is happening. Remember, it is not your fault if you are being abused. You are in no way responsible for what is happening. There is always a way out of the problem and people you can talk to, so you don´t have to keep it to yourself
