Handling a possible case of child abuse in your setting will call for the utmost sensitivity. NSPCC education adviser Alison O'Brien offers professional guidance
In the UK, one child a week dies from abuse. It is a shocking statistic. Child abuse arouses strong feelings in most people and it is important that early years practitioners take the time to think about what child abuse is - or isn't - and why it happens, as this will help them deal with a situation where a child in their care is being abused.
Someone's personal definition of abuse will be influenced by a number of factors: their own experience as a child and how their parents treated them; their personal and professional experiences; external factors like the media, and their cultural background.
The effects of abuse
Child abuse affects young people in different ways, and can have short-term or long-term effects. Individual children will react differently to abusive behaviour depending on a variety of factors, including:
- age and developmental stage
- the context in which the abuse happened
- frequency of the abusive behaviour
- nature of adult/child relationship. Some children appear to be very resilient, for example, if the abuse is identified and stopped early or if there is a supportive adult on hand, so it is therefore even more important to act quickly.
The potential effects of abuse on a child can be diverse. They include:
- temporary injury
- permanent disability
- pain and distress
- behavioural difficulties
- developmental delay
- low self-esteem
- mental illness
- difficulties in forming and maintaining relationships
- ultimately, death.
Signs of abuse
There are four areas of abuse formally recognised by professionals, which are:
- physical
- emotional
- sexual
- neglect
Bullying is one more area which we are beginning to understand has equally long-term devastating effects. Although there are four categories of abuse, these rarely exist in isolation, as all involve emotional abuse to some degree.
Physical abuse is where a parent, carer or another child physically hurts, injures or kills a child - this can involve hitting, shaking, squeezing, burning or biting. It can also include deliberate poisoning, suffocation, and fabricating or inducing a child's illness (Munchausen's Syndrome by proxy).
Neglect is where parents or carers fail to meet the basic essential needs of a child, like adequate food, clothes, warmth and medical care. Another example is leaving young children alone and unsupervised.
Sexual abuse is when adults or other children seek sexual gratification by using children - this could be intercourse, fondling, masturbation, and includes encouraging children to watch pornographic material. This is not always on the basis of sexual motivation, but is a form of power with sexual expression.
Emotional abuse is where children are harmed by constant lack of love and affection, or threats, verbal attacks, taunting or shouting.
Bullying is the deliberate harassment or an aggressive act that causes either physical or psychological hurt; it is repeated often over a period of time. There can be elements of racism or homophobia.
Some signs and symptoms are common to all forms of abuse, for example, low self-esteem and changes in behaviour. On their own, the signs may not necessarily indicate abuse, but they should be recorded, as a pattern may start to emerge. When I worked as a head teacher, I used to tell my staff to immediately record their concerns and date the evidence. I remember one particular family I worked with over a long period of time - it took several years before we had enough information to get Social Services to take action, and I had taught six of the children. We also used a proforma - a body outline - where we could identify any marks observed on the child. Remember to be clear about how and where written information is stored.
Some forms of abuse will have no overt, obvious signs, but young children often communicate their distress through their behaviour. Early years practitioners will know the children in their care well and their professional training and experience should alert them to behaviour that is different to the 'norm' of a particular child and indicates distress.
At all times, remember that the child is at the centre of what you are doing. One survivor describes the consequences of their abuse: 'Today I live with rage and sadness that rules my life. I feel I shall never be a whole human being again.'
We have a duty of care for our children, and they must be protected.
Further information
- Each LEA has a designated person for child protection. There are also Area Child Protection Committees which you can contact through Social Services. National guidelines, Working Together to Safeguard Children, are issued by the DfES, DoH and Home Office. Download from www.doh.gov.uk (type title in Search), or order on 0870 600 5522.
- For information on the NSPCC Child Protection Awareness distance learning programmes contact the hotline on 01926 436 219.
