suspected child abuse

Gtiracer

Gtiracer

Gtiracer

Associate
Joined
14 Jan 2010
Posts
2,424
Location
Essex
Sticky situation here.

I know of a child that i suspect my be suffering physical abuse in his home but my reasons behind this are trivial and completely unfounded. Anyhow i don't have regular contact with this child so am not able to get a consistent kind of opinion about him or his behaviour.

So my opinion at the moment is that it is far better to report something and nothing be going on than the other way around.

If i was to contact nspcc what would actually be done? Has anyone been in this situation before. Thing is i don't want to ruin this family's life especially if what I'm thinking is just in my head and not real
 
Stay away until you have no doubt and then report it. Too many wrecked lives because of false accusations and from your posts, you have these doubts.
 
Catanonia said:
Stay away until you have no doubt and then report it. Too many wrecked lives because of false accusations and from your posts, you have these doubts.
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To be fair, there are undoubtedly more wrecked lives from abuse not being picked up than from false accusations. That sort of scaremongering isn't helpful.

For balance: a work colleague's brother and his wife were reported, by neighbours, to social services for neglect (or something), because their 4 children (age approx 9, 5, 4, 18 months!) were being allowed to spend all their time wandering the streets of the small estate they lived on, often without shoes and, apparently, sometimes knocking on doors for food. A visit from SS ensued, advice and support was given, no harm done.
 
Gtiracer said:
Sticky situation here.

I know of a child that i suspect my be suffering physical abuse in his home but my reasons behind this are trivial and completely unfounded. Anyhow i don't have regular contact with this child so am not able to get a consistent kind of opinion about him or his behaviour.

So my opinion at the moment is that it is far better to report something and nothing be going on than the other way around.

If i was to contact nspcc what would actually be done? Has anyone been in this situation before. Thing is i don't want to ruin this family's life especially if what I'm thinking is just in my head and not real
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Know of, or know the child?
 
I wouldn't ask for a forum opinion without your reasons.

some kids just get bruised a lot playing outside instead of sitting watching tv/computer games for 8 hours a day
 
Knowing someone who has been falsely accused of of something similar and seeing the devastation that is caused, be absolutely sure before you report anything.
 
OldCoals said:
Knowing someone who has been falsely accused of of something similar and seeing the devastation that is caused, be absolutely sure before you report anything.
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My point exactly.

Big difference between "thinking something is wrong" and "seeing" as in the kids late at night in the street with no shoes.
 
Catanonia said:
My point exactly.

Big difference between "thinking something is wrong" and "seeing" as in the kids late at night in the street with no shoes.
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The point is, the resulting social services action didn't rip the family to pieces. And was, in fact, positive.

i.e. the fall-out from reporting wrongly isn't comparable to the consequences of failing to report where there really is an issue.

OP probably needs to be able to put together an actual reason for reporting, though.
 
cheesyboy said:
i.e. the fall-out from reporting wrongly isn't comparable to the consequences of failing to report where there really is an issue.
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Like I said, knowing someone who was falsely accused of a crime and witnessing that devastation it caused I would urge to think long and hard about any action you take.
 
OP - I used to be Child Protection lead for my unit at well known Children's Hospital. I am busy right now but I will answer your question fully later tonight. It may be best to keep it off the forums and I'll send you a trust message because what you type here may or may not have legal implications. I would urge you to do nothing at this time until we determine what the level of risk is and what is most appropriate for you to do. There are a wide variety of suspicions you could have and each one could lead to drastic implications for this child and their family. If you are unhappy to do this (which is reasonable) then I would suggest you anonymously seek advice elsewhere from a professional source. Note that the NSPCC and the police have the power to commence legal action so you would have to be careful what your start rolling that they would be duty bound to follow up. The NSPCC is not just a charity they actually have power to start an investigation. You could contact you local paediatric ward to have them detail you their child protection team for advice which you could do anonymously and without implication.
 
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Gtiracer said:
Sticky situation here.

I know of a child that i suspect my be suffering physical abuse in his home but my reasons behind this are trivial and completely unfounded. Anyhow i don't have regular contact with this child so am not able to get a consistent kind of opinion about him or his behaviour.

So my opinion at the moment is that it is far better to report something and nothing be going on than the other way around.

If i was to contact nspcc what would actually be done? Has anyone been in this situation before. Thing is i don't want to ruin this family's life especially if what I'm thinking is just in my head and not real
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http://www.essex.gov.uk/Health-Soci...ges/Children-at-Risk-of-Abuse-or-Neglect.aspx

^ Child and Youth Protection Services will deal with your concerns confidentially and professionally. Charities are powerless, CYPS have legal support, authority and powers.
 
Xordium said:
OP - I used to be Child Protection lead for my unit at well known Children's Hospital. I am busy right now but I will answer your question fully later tonight. It may be best to keep it off the forums and I'll send you a trust message because what you type here may or may not have legal implications. I would urge you to do nothing at this time until we determine what the level of risk is and what is most appropriate for you to do. There are a wide variety of suspicions you could have and each one could lead to drastic implications for this child and their family. If you are unhappy to do this (which is reasonable) then I would suggest you anonymously seek advice elsewhere from a professional source. Note that the NSPCC and the police have the power to commence legal action so you would have to be careful what your start rolling that they would be duty bound to follow up. The NSPCC is not just a charity they actually have power to start an investigation. You could contact you local paediatric ward to have them detail you their child protection team for advice which you could do anonymously and without implication.
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Sounds like solid advice right there OP!
 
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