While child abuse has always existed, most children do not experience abuse. The Government updated Children First, National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children (pdf) in 2011. It emphasises that the welfare of children is of paramount importance. The Guidelines are intended to help in the identification and reporting of child abuse. The government intends putting Children First on a legislative basis to ensure compliance by all organisations working with children.
Under the Guidelines child abuse is categorised into four different types. A child may experience more than one form of abuse.
The four types of abuse are:
Neglect occurs where a child suffers significant harm by being deprived of such things as food, clothes, hygiene, medical care, intellectual stimulation and supervision. The neglect generally becomes apparent in different ways over time rather than at a specific point. Significant harm occurs where the child’s needs are neglected to such an extent that his/her wellbeing and/or development are severely affected.
Emotional abuse occurs where a child’s need for affection, approval and security is not being met by the child’s parents or carer. Examples of this are unreasonable disciplinary measures, premature imposition of responsibility and exposure to domestic violence. The effects of emotional abuse on a child are shown through the child’s behaviour, emotional state or development.
Physical abuse occurs where a child is deliberately injured or is injured due to the deliberate failure of the child’s carer to protect the child. Examples of physical abuse are shaking a child, use of excessive force or allowing a substantial risk of injury to a child.
Sexual abuse occurs where a child is used by someone for their own or someone else’s gratification or sexual arousal.
Child abuse is not always readily visible and your ability to recognise it can depend as much on your willingness to accept the possibility of its existence as on your knowledge of child abuse. There are usually three stages in recognising the abuse:
Before you act on your concerns you need to consider whether any alternative explanation might exist.
The HSE provides information on how to recognise child abuse on its website.
Anyone who suspects that a child is being abused, or is at risk of abuse, has a duty to report their suspicions to the HSE. You should report your concerns to the HSE’s Child Protection and Social Work Services in your area. Each Local Health Office has a social worker on duty.
You can report your concerns in person, by writing or by phone. While you can report your concerns anonymously, the HSE does not normally reveal the names of people who report suspicions of child abuse unless they have permission to do so. If you are unsure about your concerns, you can discuss your suspicions with the social worker before deciding to make a formal report.
The HSE will consider your report and decide whether it needs following up. If it does, the HSE will look for information from other sources and will contact the child and the child’s parents in order to establish what is going on. It will then take whatever action is required to protect the child.
If you need to report your concerns outside normal office hours (weekends and at night) you should report your concerns to the Garda Síochána.
Under the Protection for Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act 1998, so long as you report what you believe to be true and you do it in good faith you cannot be sued for making a false or malicious report.
Every organisation that provides services to children should have somebody who is responsible for dealing with suspected or actual child abuse and to whom concerns can be reported. Information in relation to schools is available in our document on reporting child abuse at primary and post primary level.