Categories of Abuse – Oakway Academy

Physical

Physical abuse is when someone hurts or harms a child or young person on purpose. It includes:

It’s important to remember that physical abuse is any way of intentionally causing physical harm to a child or young person. It also includes making up the symptoms of an illness or causing a child to become unwell.

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Emotional

Emotional abuse is any type of abuse that involves the continual emotional mistreatment of a child. It’s sometimes called psychological abuse. Emotional abuse can involve deliberately trying to scare, humiliate, isolate or ignore a child.

Emotional abuse is often a part of other kinds of abuse, which means it can be difficult to spot the signs or tell the difference, though it can also happen on its own.

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Sexual

Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, not necessarily involving a high level of violence, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including assault by penetration (for example rape or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing and touching outside of clothing.

They may also include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of sexual images, watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways or grooming a child in preparation for abuse (including via the internet). Women can commit acts of sexual abuse, as can other children.

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Neglect

Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy as a result of maternal substance abuse. Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to:

provide adequate food, shelter and clothing, (including exclusion from home or abandonment)
protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger
ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate care-givers)
ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment

It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.

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Bullying & Cyberbullying

Bullying is behaviour that hurts someone else. It includes name calling, hitting, pushing, spreading rumours, threatening or undermining someone.

It can happen anywhere – at school, at home or online. It’s usually repeated over a long period of time and can hurt a child both physically and emotionally.

Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place online. Unlike bullying offline, online bullying can follow the child wherever they go, via social networks, gaming and mobile phone.

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Child Sexual Exploitation

Child sexual exploitation (CSE) is a type of sexual abuse. When a child or young person is exploited they’re given things, like gifts, drugs, money, status and affection, in exchange for performing sexual activities. Children and young people are often tricked into believing they’re in a loving and consensual relationship. This is called grooming. They may trust their abuser and not understand that they’re being abused.

Children and young people can be trafficked into or within the UK to be sexually exploited. They’re moved around the country and abused by being forced to take part in sexual activities, often with more than one person. Young people in gangs can also be sexually exploited.

Sometimes abusers use violence and intimidation to frighten or force a child or young person, making them feel as if they’ve no choice. They may lend them large sums of money they know can’t be repaid or use financial abuse to control them.

Anybody can be a perpetrator of CSE, no matter their age, gender or race. The relationship could be framed as friendship, someone to look up to or romantic. Children and young people who are exploited may also be used to ‘find’ or coerce others to join groups.

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Child Trafficking

Trafficking is where children and young people tricked, forced or persuaded to leave their homes and are moved or transported and then exploited, forced to work or sold. Children are trafficked for:

sexual exploitation
benefit fraud
forced marriage
domestic slavery like cleaning, cooking and childcare
forced labour in factories or agriculture
committing crimes, like begging, theft, working on cannabis farms or moving drugs.

Trafficked children experience many types of abuse and neglect. Traffickers use physical, sexual and emotional abuse as a form of control. Children and young people are also likely to be physically and emotionally neglected and may be sexually exploited.

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Criminal Exploitation & Gangs

Criminal exploitation is child abuse where children and young people are manipulated and coerced into committing crimes.

The word ‘gang’ means different things in different contexts, the government in their paper ‘Safeguarding children and young people who may be affected by gang activity’ distinguishes between peer groups, street gangs and organised criminal gangs.

Peer group
A relatively small and transient social grouping which may or may not describe themselves as a gang depending on the context.
Street gang
“Groups of young people who see themselves (and are seen by others) as a discernible group for whom crime and violence is integral to the group’s identity.”
Organised criminal gangs
“A group of individuals for whom involvement in crime is for personal gain (financial or otherwise). For most crime is their ‘occupation.”

It’s not illegal for a young person to be in a gang – there are different types of ‘gang’ and not every ‘gang’ is criminal or dangerous. However, gang membership can be linked to illegal activity, particularly organised criminal gangs involved in trafficking, drug dealing and violent crime.

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Domestic Abuse

Domestic abuse is any type of controlling, bullying, threatening or violent behaviour between people in a relationship. It can seriously harm children and young people and witnessing domestic abuse is child abuse. It’s important to remember domestic abuse:

can happen inside and outside the home
can happen over the phone, on the internet and on social networking sites
can happen in any relationship and can continue even after the relationship has ended
both men and women can be abused or abusers

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Female Genital Mutilation

FGM is when a female’s genitals are deliberately altered or removed for non-medical reasons. It’s also known as ‘female circumcision’ or ‘cutting’, but has many other names.

FGM is a form of child abuse. It’s dangerous and a criminal offence in the UK. We know:

there are no medical reasons to carry out FGM

it’s often performed by someone with no medical training, using instruments such as knives, scalpels, scissors, glass or razor blades
children are rarely given anaesthetic or antiseptic treatment and are often forcibly restrained
it’s used to control female sexuality and can cause long-lasting damage to physical and emotional health.

FGM can happen at different times in a girl or woman’s life, including:

when a baby is new-born
during childhood or as a teenager
just before marriage
during pregnancy.

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Grooming

Grooming is when someone builds a relationship, trust and emotional connection with a child or young person so they can manipulate, exploit and abuse them.

Children and young people who are groomed can be sexually abused, exploited or trafficked.

Anybody can be a groomer, no matter their age, gender or race. Grooming can take place over a short or long period of time – from weeks to years. Groomers may also build a relationship with the young person’s family or friends to make them seem trustworthy or authoritative.

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Non Recent Abuse

Non-recent child abuse, sometimes called historical abuse, is when an adult was abused as a child or young person under the age of 18. Sometimes adults who were abused in childhood blame themselves or are made to feel it’s their fault. But this is never the case: there’s no excuse for abuse.

You might have known you were abused for a very long or only recently learnt or understood what happened to you. Whether the abuse happened once or hundreds of times, a year or 70 years ago, whatever the circumstances, there’s support to help you. It’s never too late.

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Online Abuse

Online abuse is any type of abuse that happens on the internet. It can happen across any device that’s connected to the web, like computers, tablets and mobile phones. And it can happen anywhere online, including:

social media
text messages and messaging apps
emails
online chats
online gaming
live-streaming sites.

Children can be at risk of online abuse from people they know or from strangers. It might be part of other abuse which is taking place offline, like bullying or grooming. Or the abuse might only happen online.

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What is Child Sexual Exploitation?

Child sexual exploitation is when children and young people receive something (such as food, accommodation, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, affection, gifts, or money) as a result of performing, and/or others performing on them, sexual activities.

Child sexual exploitation can occur through the use of the internet or on mobile phones. In all cases, those exploiting the child or young person have power over them because of their age, gender, intellect, physical strength and/or resources. For victims, the pain of their ordeal and fear that they will not be believed means they are too often scared to come forward.

What are the signs?

Often the victims of sexual exploitation are not aware that they are being exploited. Sometimes a victim may think they won’t be believed – especially if the abuser is the partner of their mum or dad, a relative or close family friend – and so they may be reluctant to ask for help. However there are a number of tell-tale signs that a child or young person may be being groomed. These include:

going missing for periods of time or regularly coming home late
regularly missing school or not taking part in education
appearing with unexplained gifts or new possessions
associating with other young people involved in exploitation
having older boyfriends or girlfriends
suffering from sexually transmitted infections
mood swings or changes in emotional wellbeing
drug and alcohol misuse
displaying inappropriate sexualised behaviour
changes in eating pattern

Risks faced by children

Children at risk of sexual exploitation are some of the most vulnerable in our society. Many have experienced abandonment or have suffered from physical and mental abuse. They need help but don’t know where to look.
Perpetrators of these crimes are becoming increasingly sophisticated, using the internet to protect their identity and trafficking children around the country to avoid detection.

Who can offer additional support?

The NSPCC 24 Hour Child Protection Helpline, is a useful helpline, dial: 0808 800 5000

What is Prevent?

What is Prevent? What are the indicators of vulnerability to Radicalisation?

Oakway Academy has a statutory duty under The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 and the statutory Prevent Guidance 2015 to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. Extremism is defined as vocal or active opposition to fundamental values of our society, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. Radicalisation is defined as the act or process of encouraging extremist views or actions in others, including forms of extremism leading to terrorism. There are a number of behaviours which may indicate a child is at risk of being radicalised or exposed to extremist views which could include becoming distant or showing loss of interest in friends and activities or possession of materials or symbols associated with an extremist cause.

Staff are expected to be vigilant in protecting pupils from the threat of radicalisation and refer any concerns to the Designated Safeguarding Lead. Staff have received appropriate training to ensure they have the knowledge and confidence to identify pupils at risk, challenge extremist ideas and know where and how to refer concerns.

Key Points:

1. Radicalisation refers to the process by which a person comes to support terrorism and forms of extremism leading to terrorism.

2. Extremism is defined by the Government in the Prevent Strategy as:

‘Vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. We also include in our definition of extremism calls for the death of members of our armed forces, whether in this country or overseas’.

3. Extremism is defined by the Crown Prosecution Service as:

‘The demonstration of unacceptable behaviour by using any means or medium to express views which:

Encourage, justify or glorify terrorist violence in furtherance of particular beliefs;
Seek to provoke others to terrorist acts;
Encourage other serious criminal activity or seek to provoke others to serious criminal acts; or
Foster hatred which might lead to inter-community violence in the UK.’

4. There is no such thing as a “typical extremist”: those who become involved in extremist actions come from a range of backgrounds and experiences, and most individuals, even those who hold radical views, do not become involved in violent extremist activity.

5. Students may become susceptible to radicalisation through a range of social, personal and environmental factors. It is known that violent extremists exploit vulnerabilities in individuals to drive a wedge between them and their families and communities. It is vital that school staff are able to recognise those vulnerabilities.

6. Indicators of vulnerability include:

Identity Crisis – the student / pupil is distanced from their cultural / religious heritage and experiences discomfort about their place in society;
Personal Crisis – the student / pupil may be experiencing family tensions; a sense of isolation; and low self-esteem; they may have dissociated from their existing friendship group and become involved with a new and different group of friends; they may be searching for answers to questions about identity, faith and belonging;
Personal Circumstances – migration; local community tensions; and events affecting the student / pupil’s country or region of origin may contribute to a sense of grievance that is triggered by personal experience of racism or discrimination or aspects of Government policy;
Un-met Aspirations – the student / pupil may have perceptions of injustice; a feeling of failure; rejection of civic life;
Experiences of Criminality – which may include involvement with criminal groups, imprisonment, and poor resettlement / reintegration;
Special Educational Need – students / pupils may experience difficulties with social interaction, empathy with others, understanding the consequences of their actions and awareness of the motivations of others.

7. However this list is not exhaustive, nor does it mean that all young people experiencing the above are at risk of radicalisation for the purposes of violent extremism.

8. More critical risk factors could include:

Being in contact with extremist recruiters;
Accessing violent extremist websites, especially those with a social networking element;
Possessing or accessing violent extremist literature;
Using extremist narratives and a global ideology to explain personal disadvantage;
Justifying the use of violence to solve societal issues;
Joining or seeking to join extremist organisations;
Significant changes to appearance and/or behaviour;
Experiencing a high level of social isolation resulting in issues of identity crisis and/or personal crisis.

Allegations of Abuse Policy
Anti-Bullying Policy
Child Protection Policy and Procedures September 2022
Child Sexual Exploitation Policy
HAT Children Missing From Education Policy
HAT Guide - Dealing with Sexual Bullying, Harassment & Violence - April 21
HAT Exclusion Policy 2021-2022
Digital Photography & Images Policy
Disclosure & Barring Policy
E Safety Policy
FGM Policy
Guest Speaker Policy
Looked After Children
Preventing Extremism & Radicalisation Safeguarding Policy
Searching Pupils and Confiscating Pupils Property Policy
Self-Harm Policy
KCSIE (Multiple Languages Available)
HAT Physical Restraint and Reasonable Force Policy 2020
HAT Peer to Peer Abuse Policy - Oct 2021
HAT Attendance for Learning Policy - Sept 21
Staff Code of Conduct September 2022