National survey of child safety and victimisation

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National survey of child safety and victimisation

NSPCC research in progress

Dr Lorraine Radford, Dr Susana Corral (NSPCC) and British Market Research Bureau (BMRB)

The National Survey of Child Safety and Victimisation is a major national study that looks at the experiences of children, teenagers, and young adults aged between 0 and 24.

This is the second major survey on the subject of child safety in the UK. The first survey was carried out in 1998-9 with over 2,500 young adults who were asked to look back on their childhoods. The 1998-9 survey revealed that, despite nine in ten young adults feeling they had had a “warm and loving family background”, around 15% had experienced physical bullying, and 6% had experienced serious absence of care when they were young.

More information about statistics of maltreatment can be found on The prevalence and incidence of abuse and neglect: topline data.

The National survey of child safety and victimisation will update the findings from the original survey ten years ago and collect further valuable information about children’s safety and exposure to dangerous and risky situations.

The survey is run by the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) on behalf of the NSPCC.