Sexual Abuse

What is sex abuse?
Sex abuse is anything that makes you feel uncomfortable or anything somebody tries to do to you sexually that you don't have a choice in or don't want to happen. It can be somebody looking at you and making you feel very uncomfortable. It can be somebody forcing you to have sexual intercourse and it can be anything in between, from unwanted touching, from somebody looking at you and making you feel that maybe you're unsafe.

What should I do if I or someone I know has been abused?
It's really important that you tell somebody, because all abuse is wrong and it needs to stop. Child Line can help you by talking about the feelings, by looking at options of how you can, hopefully, stop the abuse. If you want to report somebody, then you need to go to the police, but it's important that you get some support with that because it's a very difficult thing to do, especially if it's within your family and you're telling, for example, about an uncle, or somebody close to your family, that's sexually abusing you.

What should I do if I suspect someone is an abuser?
It's important you tell somebody that you think that person is an abuser because they may well be abusing more than one person. You can ring the NSPCC Child Protection hotline or you could tell your local police station. You could report the abuser to the people you live with. If you're a child, the important thing is that you get support and that you keep yourself safe as well. You can also talk to Child Line about the feelings that this discovery has brought out for you.

What is rape?
Rape can be either a rape of a man, or rape of a woman. It is when somebody forces you to have sex for sexual intercourse against your wishes , often using violence.

What should I do if I have been raped?
There's lots of things that you should do. First of all seek medical advice. You may well be hurt. You'll also need to get a full check to see if you've contracted any sexually transmitted diseases, and also to see if maybe you are pregnant if you are a woman. You also need to tell somebody. Hopefully, if you'll tell somebody, they will make sure that you are protected but it's important that that person doesn't go on to rape other people.

What should I do if someone I know has been raped?
It's important that you listen to them and that you're there to give them support. If they want to tell somebody, for example, the police, you should offer to go along with them and encourage them to get help medically. It may be that they're pregnant, if they're a woman, or it may be a man that has contracted some sexually transmitted disease. They may or may not choose to report it to the police. You can encourage them to do that or to Crime Stoppers in confidence. It is important that they get medical help.