Who Do I Report Abuse To?… And What To Do If You’ve Been Accused Of Abuse

Posted 5 years ago

Finding the correct authorities to report instances of abuse and harassment can be very difficult. In the past, we have had a few calls from people confusing us with such authorities, so we thought we’d create a dedicated blog post providing you with all the information and safeguarding bodies you might need to get in touch with.

The Oxford Dictionary defines abuse as ‘Use (something) to bad effect or for a bad purpose; misuse.’ or ‘Treat with cruelty or violence, especially regularly or repeatedly.’

Examples of abuse can include:

Not caring for someone properly (neglect)
Pressuring someone to give away money or property
Psychological (eg threats, harassment or forcing someone to live somewhere they don’t want to)
Physical (eg violence)
Sexual

Reporting abuse of an older person:

It’s estimated that as many as one in five people in the UK over the age of 65 have been abused. This would equate to over 2.7 million people.

What are the types of adult abuse?

Physical
Domestic
Sexual
Psychological
Emotional
Financial or material
Modern slavery
Discriminatory
Organisational or institutional abuse
Neglect
Self-neglect

What to do? If you think abuse/assault has already happened, call the local police immediately. If you think someone is in danger, contact your local council immediately.

For more information, head over to the Gov.uk reporting abuse of older person web page.

Reporting child abuse:

If you’re worried that a child or young person is at risk or is being abused contact the children’s social care team at your local council.

Call 999 if the child is at immediate risk, or call the police on 101 if you think a crime has been committed.

What are the types of child abuse?

Domestic
Sexual
Neglect
Online abuse
Physical
Emotional
Exploitation
FGM
Bullying & Cyberbullying
Trafficking
Grooming
Harmful sexual behaviour

Getting more advice: The NSPCC provide support and advice surrounding child abuse.

What to do if a report has been made about you:

If a report has been made against you, you have a few options. If the report is concerning a child, you can speak to the NSPCC who have a team of dedicated counsellors.

More information can be found here: NSPCC, a report has been made against me.

The Citizens Advice can also provide support and have a great web page dedicated to helping if you’re accused of abusing a child – Getting help if you’re accused of abusing a child.

If you are still concerned about your welfare or couldn’t find what you were looking for in this blog post or elsewhere, we’d recommend you call your local council immediately.

Our Safeguarding Courses

Our range of fantastic Safeguarding Courses can help staff prevent abuse from happening in the first place. Why not claim your free, no-obligation trial today and get access to three Safeguarding courses?