I had to have an interview with the police and social services after I’d told them. The police were nice but I was scared to answer the questions – I was worried that no one would believe me."
Contact the NSPCC Helpline
You can contact our Helpline by calling 0808 800 5000 or emailing [email protected].
Our voice Helpline is available 10am–4pm Monday to Friday. You can email [email protected] at any time for free. You have the option to remain anonymous.
If we have not yet responded to you and your concerns for the safety of a child increase, please contact the police or local Children’s Services directly. Please be assured that we'll action all contacts that our Helpline receives.
Under 18?
Childline offers free, confidential advice and support whatever your worry, whenever you need help.
Alice's story
I was scared about what happened and didn' t know who to turn to
"I was very young when I was sexually abused by someone known to my family. Looking back, it feels like I lost my childhood.
After the abuse, I started isolating myself from my family and friends and had problems sleeping with night terrors. I used to find it difficult to concentrate in school and had problems remembering stuff. To cope I used to self-harm.
"I told my family what had happened to me when I was a teenager. It took me 10 years to tell anyone what I'd been through."
I went through the front doors of the court as my abuser went in the back
"The police told me that they wanted to take the case to court. I got worried as it got closer to the time. My mum got in touch with NSPCC and I was linked with the Young Witness Service.
Anne*, my key worker, came out to my house to meet me which was good.She was really cheerful when I met her. I’d been nervous about another new face - a new person coming to meet me.
She went through what was going to happen during court and said that she was trying to see if I could give evidence through a live link.
It was all very formal and different. People using terms like “Your Honour” and it was hard to take the wigs seriously.
I wish the barrister could have listened more and didn't interrupt me when I was trying to talk. He didn't look at me; he just looked around at everyone else which made me feel paranoid. But, when he did look at me I got scared.
"It was really good to have Anne and Colleen*, my Young Witness Service volunteer, in the court waiting room to distract me. They're the reason why I felt supported, they were really important."
Going to court and being questioned about my evidence brought all of my memories of the abuse straight back. I felt like my recovery was set straight back at the beginning again – it had a really big effect on me.
Colleen wouldn’t let me sit on my phone and made me do something productive so we ended up playing cards. I’d have just been playing on my phone, looking through pics, making myself look occupied.
Colleen was able to sit in the corner of the live link room while I was giving evidence. It was good to have another person in the room, even though I couldn’t talk to her."
Our services for children
We have a wide range of therapeutic services to help children move on from abuse, and to support parents and families in caring for their children.
We help professionals make the best decisions for children and young people, and work with communities to prevent abuse from happening in the first place. Our service centres are based throughout the UK.
How you can help
*DISCLAiMER
Names and identifying features have been changed to protect identity. Photographs have been posed by models.