Signs and Symptoms
Child Abuse, also referred to as Significant Harm, takes many forms. This summarises the different forms of abuse but is not comprehensive, see
Additional Advice below:
Click on the title for more detail
Type of Abuse Definition:
- Physical Abuse
Examples of What to Look out For
- Unexplained injuries, bruises or marks
- Fear, watchfulness, over anxiety to please
- Small, round burns or bite marks
- Frequent absences from school
- Sexual Abuse
Examples of What to Look out For
- Comments about sexual activity
- Sexual knowledge or comments which are not what you would expect from a child
- Sexual behaviour which is not what you would expect from a child
- Unexpected reactions of fear or wariness to people
- Repeated urinary or genital infections
- Pregnancy/sexually transmitted diseases
- Emotional Abuse
Examples of What to Look out For
- Unexplained gifts or money
- Withdrawn, anxious behaviour, lack of self-confidence
- Self-harm and eating disorders
- Demanding or attention-seeking behaviour
- Unwillingness to communicate
- Repetitive, nervous behaviour such as rocking, hair twisting or scratching
Examples of What to Look out For
- The child's clothes are often dirty, scruffy or unsuitable for the weatherNo one seeks medical help when child is ill or hurt
- The child is smelly and dirty
- The child is left alone or with unsuitable carers
- The child is thin, pale, lacking in energy
- Lots of accidents happen to the child
- The child is exposed to risks or dangers, such as dangers in the home or drugs or needles being left around
Additional advice:
In July 2009, The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published a quick reference guide 'When to suspect child maltreatment'.
The guidance was updated in December 2009.
This quick reference guide is for all healthcare professionals working in the NHS who work with children and young people. It may also be of interest to people outside of the NHS who work with children and young people.
This guidance is available in PDF (Hard Copy) and can be viewed 'online'.
