Incidence of child abuse

The NSPCC estimates that over 51,000¹ children in England, nearly 2,600² children in Scotland, almost 3,000³ children in Wales and almost 3,000⁴ children in Northern Ireland were identified as needing protection from abuse by the end of March 2019/2020. These are children identified as being at risk and subject to a child protection plan or put on the child protection register.

Consequences of child abuse

There are well recognised consequences of child abuse including detrimental effects on the child’s emotional development, psychological health, and physical well-being. Children who are victims of abuse are more likely to suffer from mental health disorders, long term health problems, educational failure, become substance misusers, unemployed, involved in criminal activity or homelessness. There is also an increased risk of a continuing cycle of abuse and neglect, where the current victims of abuse become the abusers of future generations.

Children at high risk of abuse

Some groups of children are considered to be at a higher risk of being abused, these include children who are:

• Disabled.
• In the care of substance misusers.
• In the care of parents with mental health problems.
• In households where there is a history of domestic violence.
• In a family where there is a history of child abuse.
• Living in poverty or families with financial or housing problems.
• Living with single parents especially where the parent is immature or unsupported.
• “lost” in the system such as asylum seekers, children of homeless families, or where the child is a carer or young offender.

The signs of child abuse are not always obvious and it is unlikely that a child will confide in you that they are being abused. This is because they may be scared that their abuser will find out and consequently worry that the abuse will get worse. They may also think that they will not be believed or simply not realise what’s happening to them is considered to be abuse.

^{1 https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/media/1181/child-protection-register-statistics-england.pdf}

^{2 https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/media/1183/child-protection-register-statistics-scotland.pdf}

^{3 https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/media/1184/child-protection-register-statistics-wales.pdf}

^{4 https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/media/1579/child-protection-register-statistics-northern-ireland.pdf}