Child on Child Abuse

At St Peter’s Primary School, we want to make sure that you feel looked after, safe and happy when you are in and out of school. Sometimes we don’t know if something bad is happening, so you need to tell us.

We can help you by:

1. Teaching you what child-on-child abuse is.

2. Teaching you what to do if you feel like you are being abused, or if someone else is being abused.

3. Making sure you know the grown-ups you can speak to if you are worried.

What is child-on child bully and abuse?

A child is someone who might be your friend, a child at school with you, or another child you may know.

Abuse is something which usually physically or emotionally hurts another person by using behaviour that is meant to scare, hurt or upset that person.

Sometimes, it can be hard to know when abuse is happening, because not all abuse will hurt, scare or upset you, and you might not know it is happening. It’s really important you know when you are being abused so we can make sure it stops.

There are lots of different types of abuse. It is important you know what these types of abuse are so you know what to do if you see them.

Relationships and Friendships

Any relationship you have should be good and happy. A bad relationship might make someone feel scared, confused, worried and even unsafe. It’s really important that you know the difference between a good relationship and a bad relationship.

Good relationships

• You are comfortable around that person.

• You can be honest with that person.

• You can say how you feel, what you are thinking and you listen to each other.

• You support each other and treat each other nicely.

• You feel safe.

• You trust that person.

• You feel looked after.

• You are equal – you don’t boss each other around or tell each other what to do.

Bad relationships

• The person might push you, hit you or destroy your things.

• The person might tell you what to do, what to wear or who you can see.

• You might feel scared – they might say they will hurt you if you don’t do something. They might also say they will hurt you if you do something too.

• The person calls you names, makes you feel bad in front of other people and makes you feel bad about yourself.

• The person gets angry easily and you don’t know what will make them angry – it might make you feel nervous.

• The person might pressure you to do things you don’t want to or aren’t ready for, like sex, or using drugs and alcohol.

• The person might not take no for answer when you say you don’t want to do something.

What do I do if someone else is being abused?

If you see someone else being abused, it is important that you help that person.

You should never walk way and ignore the problem if you see someone else being abused, because the person might keep upsetting them.

If you can, and it is safe to do so, tell the person abusing you to stop, but never get angry or hit them.

Tell a grown-up, such as a teacher, as soon as you’ve seen someone being abused.

Grown-ups can stop the abuse and make that person feel happy again.

You should never feel scared to tell someone about abuse.

Sometimes, you might not see someone being abused, but you might be worried about them.

Or, you might think they are being abused by someone you don’t know, or someone they have told you about.

It’s really important you tell someone even if you are worried, but haven’t seen any abuse.

What do I do if I am being abused?

The first thing you should do is tell someone you trust. This could be a family member, afriend or any adult in our school.