Are you worried about a child you know experiencing sexual abuse?

As we continue our focus on child protection, as part of our intra-familial abuse campaign, we are sharing some of the more unusual signs you may encounter when a child is potentially experiencing abuse, so you know what to look out for and how to report it.

These signs have come from real-life case studies of survivors, who have bravely come forward to share their experiences with us, as we have pursued offenders and brought them to justice. 

Such cases saw survivors:

• Change the type of clothing they wore to be more loose fitting and gender-neutral
• Follow a trusted adult throughout the home and elsewhere to avoid being left alone
• Become fearful about going to sleep in their own room 
• Avoid sex education classes in school 
• Become very uncomfortable talking anatomically about the body in a school setting 
• Write their experiences down in a diary that they were highly protective of. 

We are sharing these changes in behaviour as they may help you to identify a child you know who may be at risk of experiencing abuse. 

If you are concerned about the welfare of a child, you can call us on 101, or access partner services in Staffordshire here: Contact details for social care teams - Staffordshire County Council  or in Stoke-on-Trent, here: Children and families | Stoke-on-Trent.

If you think a child is in immediate danger, call 999.