What is child abuse?

This is the persistent failure to meet a child's basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child's health or development. It includes not being taken to see a doctor or nurse and can occur during pregnancy as a result of maternal substance abuse.

This may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning, scalding, drowning, suffocating, or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. It can also be caused when a parent/carer fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces illness in a child. In sport it maybe when a child is forced into training and competition which exceeds the capacity of their immature and growing body; or where the child is given drugs to enhance performance or delay puberty.

This is the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve:

• Conveying to children that they are worthless, unloved, or inadequate
• Age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children
• Not giving a child opportunities to express their views, deliberately silencing them or making fun of what they have to say
• Serious bullying (including cyber bullying) causing children to frequently feel frightened or in danger

This involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including penetrative or non-penetrative acts or non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of sexual online images, watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child in preparation of abuse (including via the internet).

This is any incident of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are, or have been intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. In nine out of ten cases, children are in the same or next room when the violence is going on and so the domestic abuse impacts on their wellbeing.

This is repeated behaviour which is intended to hurt someone either emotionally or physically and it can often be aimed at certain people because of their race, religion, gender or sexual orientation or disability.