Childline
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Your Questions About Abuse

How common is child abuse?

Children often don't tell about abuse because they have been threatened into keeping silent or made to feel ashamed and guilty.
They may be afraid of what will happen to their family, or that no-one will believe them. It is difficult to say exactly how many children are sexually abused. A recent study estimated between 5% and 20% of women and 2%-7% of men had experienced sexual abuse.

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Talking about being abused?

Children often find it hard to tell an adult about the abuse. They sometimes feel that it is their fault, and they are also worried about the consequences of telling - that they will be taken from their homes, or that the family will be broken up, or that their parents will get into trouble.� They may, however, feel able to talk to another member of their family - for example, an aunt or grandparent. Often families can protect and help children themselves. Children may choose to speak to someone outside their family, for example, a teacher or youth club leader. Many also ring ChildLine, as they can provide confidential counselling services to help children and young people to cope in very difficult situations as well as providing information, support and advise if they want to speak to the police and social services.��

Children who have been abused can feel very confused and scared about what has happened and unsure about what to do.� It can take a lot of courage to start talking about abuse, but if they do, this will help in feeling less lonely and isolated, better about themselves, feel more confident and able to think about ways of seeking help.

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Who abuses children?

It is not just strangers who abuse children.� Most children know the abuser. Abusers include parents, uncles, aunts, grandparents, teachers, family friends, and brothers and sisters.

The majority of abusers are men. They come from all classes, professions and backgrounds. Some women do abuse children, as do young people.

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Can sex offenders be prevented from abusing again?

If someone abuses a child, they are committing a criminal offence, and can be prosecuted and imprisoned. In prison, some abusers will be offered treatment. There is much discussion about whether treatment of abusers works - in some cases, it doesn't, but in other cases treatment can help offenders control their behaviour.

When an offender leaves prison, he now has to register his address with the local police, so that his whereabouts can be monitored. Courts can also prohibit an offender from going to specific places, for example, playgrounds or schools.

Although these measures help police keep track of known sex offenders, they do not remove the need for parents, children and the public to all take responsibility for protecting children. Giving children information and confidence is the basis of preventing abuse.

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