Together, we can tackle child abuse

The campaign will be relaunched on 19 November 2018, in conjunction with the World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse.

The aim of the campaign is to increase public awareness of the signs of child abuse and neglect and confidence in knowing how to report it.

Most people find the decision to report child abuse a difficult one. They worry about overreacting or being wrong, and may question whether they have strong enough evidence, or if they have misread the signs of abuse or misunderstood a situation.

However, you don’t need to be absolutely certain of what you’ve seen or heard to call Stockport Council’s children’s social care team. Information is usually gathered from many sources, and your report would form one part of a bigger picture.

Another big worry people have is that someone will find out they have made a report, but this is unlikely to happen as you can make the call anonymously, although most people do give their details.

Some people don’t report suspected abuse because they think it might just be a one-off. But even if that is the case, every child deserves to be protected and it is better to be safe than sorry.

Councillor Colin Foster, Stockport Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Family Services, said: “We all have a role to play in protecting children and young people. Anything you notice can help a child at risk, so please contact the Council who will listen to your concerns and look into them.”

For more information or to report any suspicions, visit www.stockport.gov.uk/safeguardingchildren or ring 0161 217 6028 (out of hours 0161 718 2118).

More information about the national campaign can be found at: https://tacklechildabuse.campaign.gov.uk/