Physical Abuse
Physical abuse is when someone deliberately hurts or injures you. Hitting, kicking, beating with objects, throwing and shaking are all physical abuse, and can cause pain, cuts, bruising, broken bones and sometimes even death. No one has the right to hurt you in this way.
What is physical abuse?
Physical abuse is when someone is hurting you.
That could be hurting you with their hands, their feet, or an object - hitting, slapping, punching, pinching, kicking or suffocating you. It could include scalding or burning you or pulling your hair out.
If someone makes you swallow something that hurts, or makes you ill, including giving you medicine when you are not ill or do not need it, that's physical abuse too.
If this is happening to you, you might think that it's your fault. It isn't. No-one has the right to hurt you. If you speak out about physical abuse, there are people who care - they will listen to you and help you.
I'd always get the blame. If anything went wrong it would be my fault. She'd hit me, smack me, use whatever she could get her hands on... shoes, belts, whatever. My Dad didn't care, he said I deserved it.
At school I used to wear trousers and jumpers to hide the bruises. I'd skive gym so no-one could see them. My teacher called her in one day, about my behaviour - I got a right kicking that night. She went mad. She beat me till my nose bled.
I ran away that night. They wouldn't care. I couldn't stand it anymore so I called ChildLine and I told them I wanted to go into care. The counsellor calmed me down and we talked for ages. I told her what had happened and how long it'd been going on for. She agreed to contact Social Services. They came and picked me up that night.
Everything's better for me now. I'm glad I didn't hide it.
My friend is always covered in bruises - what should I do?
Try to talk to them, in private, about the problem. If they are in trouble, or someone is hurting them, then you should tell someone you trust about it. You can call us or talk to someone else like a teacher or a friend's parent.
Does telling someone about something that's happening make me a grass?
No - anyone who tells you that, is just trying to stop themselves getting involved. If you or someone you know is being physically abused, keeping things quiet is not going to make the situation any better. If you find someone you trust and tell them about it, they can try and find a way to help.
I'm being physically abused, Is it my fault?
No - no-one has the right to hurt somebody else.
Who can help me if I'm being physically abused?
Talking about what's happening to you to someone responsible is the first step to making the abuse stop. Talk to an adult you trust such as a parent or teacher and tell them what is happening. The Police and Social Services are there to protect you from being abused in any way and you can talk to them about it. If you feel that you can't talk to them about what's happening or are too scared, you can call us and we can help.
If you are being physically abused or want to talk to someone about something that is worrying you, you can call us and we can help.