UNITED KINGDOM: One in five 11-17 year olds abused and neglected in childhood

Summary: Parents or guardians are responsible for over half adult violence against children, while most abuse goes unreported, says NSPCC survey.

[15 February 2011] - Nearly one in five secondary school children in the UK have been severely abused or neglected during childhood, the NSPCC finds today.

The finding comes from a survey of 2,275 children aged 11-17 and 1,761 adults aged 18-24 carried out by the charity in 2009.

In all, 18.6 per cent of the 11-17 year olds had been physically attacked by an adult, sexually abused, or severely neglected. This is equivalent to almost a million secondary school children across the UK. (1) One in four of the 18-24 year olds (25.3 per cent) also reported severe maltreatment during childhood. 

The study follows an earlier NSPCC survey of the childhood experiences of 18-24 year olds in 1998-99.  Together, the two studies reveal falling amounts of childhood abuse and neglect over the last 30 years, from when the respondents in the first study were born. (2)

Andrew Flanagan, chief executive of the NSPCC, said: "Our research gives a fuller and more up-to-date picture of child abuse and neglect than we have ever had before.

"Physical violence, neglect and forced sex are still harming the lives of hundreds of thousands of children, and most of it remains unreported. Successive governments have taken steps to improve child protection but local authorities are under strain providing child protection plans for only a small proportion of cases. The UK still faces a problem in tackling child abuse."

"However, these findings show progress can be made in the fight against child cruelty - many children are now treated less harshly than previous generations. We believe that heightened awareness and action has contributed to changing public attitudes and behaviours towards children for the better.

The surveys of 18-24 year olds show:

• 25 per cent of the young adults interviewed in 2009 reported severe abuse and neglect during childhood.
• The number of 18-24 year olds beaten up, knocked down, choked or threatened with a weapon in childhood, had dropped from 13 per cent in 1998-99 to 10 per cent in 2009.  Such violence on a regular basis had dropped even more sharply - from six per cent to two per cent in 2009. 
• Five per cent of young adults had been raped or forced or coerced into sex acts before the age of 16, compared to seven per cent in the previous study.
• The number suffering prolonged verbal abuse by adults during childhood had dropped by more than a half - from 14.5 per cent to six per cent.

The survey of 11-17 year olds shows:

• One in five (18.6 per cent) had been physically attacked by an adult, sexually abused, or severely neglected at home.
• One in fourteen (6.9 per cent) had been physically attacked by an adult, which included being hit, kicked, beaten or attacked with a weapon. Parents or guardians were responsible for more than half (55 per cent) of serious adult violence.
• One in twenty (4.8 per cent) had been sexually assaulted - either by an adult or another child or young person. Three per cent of children had been raped or forced into sex by another child and two per cent had been sexually abused by an adult.
• Physical neglect, such as malnourishment, was suffered by 1.4 per cent of children. In all, one in ten children (9.8 per cent) suffered severe parental neglect at some point in their childhood. Lack of care or supervision which placed a child at risk, and neglect of emotional needs was the most common form of child maltreatment.

The findings raise concern that the vast majority of abused and neglected children are not getting the vital help they need - either from statutory services or informal support networks in the community. There are currently around 46,000 children of all ages on a local authority child protection plan or register. (3)

Such lack of support can cause serious harm to children's development and long-term health. The study indicates that severely abused and neglected children are almost nine times more likely to try and kill themselves and almost five times more likely to self-harm than children who have not been severely abused or neglected.

Andrew Flanagan added: "The scale and impact of child abuse requires a major shift towards earlier intervention in child protection. When children do not get the protection and support they need when they most need it, they can be vulnerable to continuing physical or mental harm and further abuse.

"There are likely to be severely maltreated children in every secondary school across the country. Some will face abuse and neglect while still at school. Others will have suffered abuse and neglect in early childhood.

"Teachers have a critical role to play in helping these children, as outside the home, school is the main place of safety for a child. They must be supported to identify possible signs of abuse and neglect, like feeling suicidal. They can then work with social workers, health and other professionals to prevent the long-term harm it causes.

"The NSPCC is calling on people to be vigilant to the signs of abuse and call our 24-hour Helpline if they are concerned about a child. And we urge children themselves to contact ChildLine whenever they have a problem."

Footnotes

(1) 18.6 per cent of 2,274 11-17 year olds questioned had been severely maltreated. There were 5,231,300 children aged 11-17 years in the UK in 2009. 18.6 per cent of 5,231,300 is 973,022 children. Source: Mid Year Population Estimate 2009, Table 1

(2) The 18-24 year olds interviewed in the first study were born between 1974 and 1981

(3) There were 45,985 children on child protection plans or registers in the UK at 31 March 2010 (excluding unborn children).
http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/research/statistics/child_protection_register_statistics_wda48723.html.

Further Information:

• Domestic Violence: Zero Tolerance - Towards a Comprehensive EU-Wide Strategy [March, 2011]
• UNITED KINGDOM: Children in danger from violent father 'due to social services failures' [3 February 2011]
• More news on violence in the home and family 
• More on children's rights in the United Kingdom