Abuse Never Becomes Us
UK
Supporting survivors of childhood sexual abuse in the Tamil Community
Reporting
Reporting Child Abuse
If a child is in immediate danger call If a child is in immediate danger, call the police on 999 straight away.
The NSPCC website contains more information on what to say to a child and how to respond when a child reveals abuse.
If a child reveals abuse to you, it's important to take it seriously, listen and report. And it's vital you take the next steps to help keep them safe.
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NSPCC has a free helpline service to speak to a counsellor 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Reports can be made anonymously. If you're worried about a child, even if you're unsure, contact their professional counsellors for help, advice and support.
Phone: 0808 800 5000
Or Email help@nspcc.org.uk
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/reporting-abuse/report/
Childline provides free confidential advice and support for all young people up to 19 years old.
Whatever your worry, Childline counsellors are here to help. Speak to them by phone, online or email 24 hours a day.
Phone: 0800 1111 (Freephone)
Opening Times: 24 hours
Online: http://www.childline.org.uk
Reporting Recent Sexual Abuse
It can be difficult to know where to start when considering reporting a recent sexual abuse. Rape crisis has information here.
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It's completely up to you whether or not to report to the police. No-one else can or should make that choice for you. If you do report, a medical examination will usually be carried out to collect any forensic evidence. This is evidence that can be gathered through scientific tests, like DNA from hair or body fluids.
If you’re not sure yet whether you want to report to the police but think you might at some point, you can have a forensic medical examination at your nearest Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC). Here, forensic evidence can be stored for future. If you do want forensic evidence to be collected, try and go to the SARC or police as soon as you can, and within 72 hours if possible.
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Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC):
A Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) is a special facility, independent of the police, where recent victims of rape or sexual assault can receive immediate help and support.
SARCs operate 24 hours a day 365 days a week and in most cases you can report up to 12 months post incident. You can use the services with or without reporting to the police in most cases.
You can find your nearest SARC by calling the NHS 111 non-emergency service, speaking to your GP or the Accident & Emergency (A&E) department of your local hospital.
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Or search with your post code here.
Reporting Non-Recent Sexual Abuse
There are a number of routes you can take to report non-recent child sexual abuse to police, no matter how much time has passed.
These are:
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Going to a police station,
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Dialling 101,
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Reporting online via a police website.
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Whichever route you choose to report through, you will be listened to and believed. Any report made through any of the channels will be investigated based on what you have spoken about. It will also be shared with Operation Hydrant, the national policing team set up to coordinate the investigation of non-recent child sexual abuse.
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Resources:
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Factsheet covering the reporting process
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You may also be eligible for Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, a government funded scheme designed to compensate victims of violent crime in Great Britain
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Reporting On-line Abuse
What to do if someone is threatening to share your intimate images.
Keep calm You haven’t done anything wrong and what’s happened is not your fault.
Steps to take:
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Collect evidence.
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Report to the police: non-emergency number 101,If at any point you feel like you are at immediate risk of physical danger, contact the police on 999
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Report content: If you can, try to report and block the user on the platform they are threatening you on.
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Report, block and stop communication: Once you have collected evidence, we would encourage you to block and stop all communication.
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Talk to the helpline.
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Revenge porn helpline for free, confidential support and assistance with reporting content that has been shared online.
Helpline: 0345 6000 459 *
Email: help@revengepornhelpline.org.uk
Send them a direct message through the anonymous reporting form, Whisper. Whisper: https://swgfl.org.uk/whisper/rph1/
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How to collect evidence:
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Take screenshots of any content that is online.
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Try and include the URL (website address), times and dates of when it was posted and any details who it was posted by.
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Keep copies of any public or private messages, especially those of a threatening nature, together with the dates and times sent.
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More information contained in Intimate image abuse video and information on child abuse online in reporting video.​
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Court Proceedings in CSA Cases
Shavena from the ANBU UK team is joined by Anisha who is a Barrister from Mountford Chambers with experience in Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) cases talk through what court proceedings can look like for a CSA case.
Anisha, a Barrister, and Shavena explore what special measures are in place to protect survivors during court proceedings for a CSA case.