suspected child abuse

Ok a better answer now and I will address what I know from your post which is limited:

Why do you suspect physical abuse?
I am presuming it is from a parent or guardian as you detail 'in the home'?
What evidence do you have for your suspicions?
Has the child said anything?
What do you mean by "trivial and completely unfounded"?
Is his behaviour the driving force behind you suspicion and if so what behaviour in particular?
How much contact have you actually had with this child and in what context?
Have you seen any other indicators for abuse eg emotional or neglect?

Now don't post the answers here this could well end up in a criminal trial with you as a witness. You may be asked if you have discussed this with anyone else. But answer those questions honestly as you can and if you think you have the vaguest suspicions then take it further to a professional person in confidence. You will though open Pandora's Box and it will not be a pleasant experience. This does not mean do not do it but remember whatever suspicions you have and what damage you may think is occurring could well be completely overshadowed by the damage of an unfounded allegation. I am not saying be 100% certain you should go forth with concerns as early as possible. But the need to founded on some sort of evidence.
 
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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This...however as a former abused child I wish someone had reported any suspicions they had, it may have saved myself and especially my sister from some pretty horrific experiences. I would contact Xordium through the Trust System however, because he has the experience and knowledge to help you decide what is the right course of action to take.

Good luck and while I hope your fears are unfounded, I hope you can find a way to make sure of that.
 
Lot of questions to answer in this thread and i thank you all for the advice. I am not going to go into detail about the exact circumstances because i am trying to stay anonymous about this but lets just say its down to certain behaviour patterns and no it is not weird that i know a child to whoever mentioned that.

I'm just not sure what other people would do but posting here has helped because i think ill seek advice without mentioning any names and see what they say to me about the sort of stuff i have witnessed
 
Castiel said:
This...however as a former abused child I wish someone had reported any suspicions they had, it may have saved myself and especially my sister from some pretty horrific experiences. I would contact Xordium through the Trust System however, because he has the experience and knowledge to help you decide what is the right course of action to take.

Good luck and while I hope your fears are unfounded, I hope you can find a way to make sure of that.
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Genuinely sorry to hear about your experience
 
Just phone your local councils children's services, people do this all the time even anonymously and it gets investigated, they may already be an open case and it might be the piece of info needed to take it through proceedings to protect the children


Trust me I've just qualified in social work and work for a local authority child protection team
 
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OP if you've not yet heard from the other person who has offered, I deal with child protection/safeguarding as part of my job, so if you want to drop me an email to [email protected] I'd be happy to read your specific concerns and give you some advice.

Let me know

:)
 
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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Not really. I have attended many unfounded allegations referred to police from EDT/Childline etc and if they are unfounded then fair enough. You don't go booting the door in a cart the kids away as some believe.
 
Von Smallhausen said:
Not really. I have attended many unfounded allegations referred to police from EDT/Childline etc and if they are unfounded then fair enough. You don't go booting the door in a cart the kids away as some believe.
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Yep trying to get police to PPO a child when there is actual visible abuse is hard enough. Let alone random allegations, but it's best to check these things out
 
Relay the basis of your suspicions to the appropriate authority, who will then be best placed to decide if a follow up is required.

Don't worry about the danger of someone being falsely accused. As Von Smallhausen says, if the claims are unfounded then fair enough, better to be safe then sorry. Nothing bad will happen to the accused without clear evidence.
 
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