Abuse

This section talks about what is meant by ‘abuse’ and where you can go for information, advice and support if you have been or are being abused, or if you know someone who you think is being abused.

What is abuse?

Abuse can take different forms:

Emotional:
this could be constant criticism, name-calling, being blamed for things, being shouted or sworn at and not being given love and acceptance by the people you look to for affection and care

Physical:
being hurt or injured by actions including kicking, punching, shaking or having things thrown at you

Sexual:
being touched in a way you don’t like or which makes you feel uncomfortable, being forced to have sex or to perform sexual acts or being made to look at sexual pictures or videos / DVDs

Neglect:
when you are not given proper food, clothes, shelter or protection by the people who are supposed to care for you (parents/carers or other family members who you live with)

Abuse is not restricted to any one group. Boys and girls of all ages have experienced abuse. Abusers could include family members and family friends.

Abuse is never your fault and you don’t have to cope with it alone. If you have been or are being abused, it’s important to tell yourself this as it is the first step towards getting help.

Telling Someone

Whether it’s happening now or in the past, it can be difficult to speak out against abuse. You may be afraid that no one will believe you, or of what will happen to the person you’re accusing. Many children and young people feel scared to tell anyone because they’ve been threatened or have been made to feel guilty or ashamed.

Abuse is never your fault. You don’t have to deal with it on your own and there are many ways to get help.

You could try talking to a friend or an adult you trust. This could be a family member, family friend or teacher. (The law says that your teacher, as well as some other agencies, must pass on information about abuse to the police or social services. Don’t let this put you off telling a teacher as they will only act in your best interests and will not tell anyone else about it.)

You can talk in confidence to ChildLine or the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children). This might help if you just need someone to talk to but also if you’d like some help in approaching the police or social services. See Useful contacts for more info.

If you fear for your own safety, then you should contact the police or social services. (You can call the local police station or dial 999 if it’s an emergency.) See social services contacts

Useful contacts

ChildLine

ChildLine provides a free and confidential counselling service for children and young people. The telephone helpline offers 24-hour support to children and young people who need to talk about any issue that’s bothering them.

If you call ChildLine to talk about your own experiences of abuse, the counsellor will not give the information to other agencies unless you ask them to. ChildLine will only break confidentiality against your wishes if there is a danger to your life.
Tel: 0800 1111 (freephone)
Minicom: 0800 400 222

NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children)

Information, advice and counselling through their helplines (listed below), website and e-mail service.

Tel: 0808 800 5000 - this is the freephone Child Protection Helpline, available 24 hours a day. Other helplines are available in different languages: Bengali/Sylheti, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu & Asian Helpline in English

Textphone: 0800 056 0566

e-mail:help@nspcc.org.uk

There4me

Online advice and information for young people. The website has all sorts of information and you can also speak confidentially and anonymously with an adviser on-line. You will not be asked for your name or any other details that could identify you. The website also has instructions on how to ‘cover your tracks’ in case you don’t want anyone to know you visited the site.

Local Social Services contacts

Dudley

Local Children and Families Teams:

Dudley:
Central Office, Ednam House, St James’s Road, Dudley, DY1 3JJ Tel: 01384 815822

Halesowen and Stourbridge:
Great Cornbow, Halesowen, B63 3AF Tel: 01384 815902

Brierley Hill:
Cottage St, Brierley Hill, DY5 1BR Tel: 01384 813000

Emergency Duty Team
(contact outside of normal office hours only): Tel: 01384 456111 – for all areas of Dudley.

Sandwell

Referral and Assessment Team:
Cystal House, 1/7 Crystal Drive, Smethwick, B66 1QG Tel: 0845 351 0131

Emergency Team: Tel:0121 561 3704 (out of office hours)

Walsall

Children and Families Initial Response Service:
The Quest 2nd Floor, 139-143 Lichfield Street, Walsall, WS1 1SE Tel: 01922 658170

Emergency Duty Team:
Tel: 01922 653555 (contact outside of normal office hours only)

Wolverhampton:

Assessment and Child Protection Team:
Civic Centre, St Peter’s Square, W-ton WV1 1RT Tel: 01902 555392

Emergency Duty Team:
Tel: 01902 552999; Minicom: 01902 553929 (contact outside of normal office hours only)