On 9 January 2023, the NSPCC launched their ‘Listen Up, Speak Up’ via a pilot campaign to provide training to spot and report abuse and give adults practical advice on what to do if they’re concerned about a child (see here). The NSPCC training is provided for free, digitally and only takes ten minutes to complete. It is followed by a series of emails from experts with actions people can take to help keep children safe. The advice is based on the mnemonic DOTS, which is designed to address the barriers to people acting on concerns, and stands for:
- Don’t ignore it
- Observe the situation
- Think: If not you, then who?
- Speak up
The crucial campaign aims to tackle disturbing facts, such as more than half a million children in the UK are experiencing abuse or neglect per year. The real-time impact of this campaign was experienced during the press release, with NSPCC reporting that their adult Helpline saw a 14% increase in the number of contacts about in-person sexual abuse (April 2021 to March 2022); an increase from 7,338 the year before to 8,347 in 2022. They also report receiving, over the same period, 8,969 contacts about physical abuse, 7,370 contacts about emotional abuse and 10,595 contacts about neglect.
NSPCC highlight that ‘abuse and neglect are preventable and that everyone can play their part in keeping children safe’ and the ‘Listen Up, Speak Up’ campaign helps to support the NSPCC’s long-term hope to reach at least a million people in communities and organisations across the UK, changing children’s lives.
If you and your child(ren) are experiencing a separation that featured domestic abuse or controlling behaviours, please contact us for a 30-minute free video chat, web chat or telephone call to start the conversation and to see how we can help. We are available 24/7 through the following platforms:
Telephone: 0345 222 0452
Email: info@stalwartsolicitors.com
Website: www.stalwartsolicitors.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/stalwartsolicitors
Twitter: @StalwartSol
Instagram: @stalwartsolicitors
Recent Comments