Abuse
Abuse is when someone hurts you on purpose or treats you badly. There are many different kinds of abuse.
- Physical abuse - when someone hits, kicks, or hurts your body in another way.
- Emotional abuse - when someone shouts at you, calls you nasty names, threatens you or says things that make you feel upset or unsafe.
- Sexual abuse - when someone makes you do or watch sexual things.
- Neglect - when an adult who should look after you isn't caring for you properly.
You can see more information about abuse on the Childline website.
Nobody has the right to harm you, no matter who they are. This includes:
- your parents or carers
- other family members or family friends
- teachers or other adults at your school or college
- your boyfriend, girlfriend or someone you are dating
- your friends
- staff and volunteers at after-school clubs
- other children or young people
- religious leaders or other people at your place of worship
- anyone!
Getting help
Abuse is never ok, and you can get help to stop it happening.
If you are being abused, or you're worried someone else is being abused, it's important to tell an adult you trust. This can be scary, but remember - you haven't done anything wrong and the abuse is not your fault.
You might want to talk to:
- a parent or family member
- a teacher or other member of school staff
- a friend's parent or a trusted family friend
- a doctor, nurse or counsellor
- a sports coach or club leader
- a religious leader, like your priest, imam or rabbi.
This person may need to talk to other adults to help keep you safe and stop the abuse.
If you don't feel able to speak to someone you know, you can also contact Childline. You can talk to their counsellors over the phone, or via text chat or email. If you're a BSL user, you can also sign with a counsellor over video chat, with the help of an interpreter.
What is grooming?
Grooming is when an abuser is very nice to you at first. Then, when they have your trust, they try to turn the relationship into something more sexual. People may also groom for other reasons - they may try to be your friend but then change the relationship to something unsafe, like getting you to join a gang or get involved in drugs.
A groomer might give you lots of attention, such as complimenting you and trying to make you feel older than you actually are. They could buy you gifts to get you to like and trust them. They might give you alcohol or drugs too. This might make you feel like you should do something they want in return.
You might feel like they are your friend or the only person who really understands you, so you start to rely on them and do whatever they want. By building up this relationship with you, they hope you won’t tell anyone about the abuse.
Remember!
Grooming and sexual exploitation are sexual abuse and can happen to anyone, by anyone, and at any age. Groomers can be male or female, the same age as you, adults, and the same or a different sex to you.
Grooming can happen in real life and online.
You can find more information about grooming on the Childline website.