World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse — November 19th   Over the years, high-profile cases — including the uncovering of historic child sexual exploitation has highlighted where child abuse had gone unnoticed, due to a lack of awareness of what might constitute abuse, or abuse being covered up or ignored. The Together, we can tackle child abuse campaign aims to raise awareness of the signs of child abuse and neglect, and increase confidence in knowing how to report concerns. Child abuse. If you think it, report it. The signs to look out for are:

• Appearance: such as unusual injuries or consistently poor hygiene
• Behaviour: such as being withdrawn, overly anxious, disruptive, self-harming or sudden changes in behaviour
• Communication: such as talking aggressively, using sexual language or becoming secretive

As an individual you can report any concerns to:

• Your local council’s social work service (find out at www.gov.uk/report-child-abuse-to-local-council using a simple post code search). For Camden, contact 020 7974 3317 or out of hours 020 7974 4444
• The NSPCC (on 0808 800 5000) or Childline (0800 111) or The Police (101 or 999 if a child is at immediate risk)
• Those with child protection responsibilities will listen and take action if necessary. Information is usually gathered from different sources and individual reports would form one part of a bigger picture and could help change a child’s life.

For more information please visit: https://tacklechildabuse.campaign.gov.uk/ Don’t let the fear of being wrong stop you from potentially keeping a child safe from harm. If you think it, report it.