SEND children and adults are at higher risk
Research consistently shows disabled children and adults face higher rates of:
- Physical, emotional and sexual abuse
- Neglect
- Bullying
- Disability hate crime
- Mate crime (exploitation by people pretending to be friends)
- Online grooming and exploitation
- Financial abuse (adults)
This is because perpetrators target people they think won't be believed or won't be able to tell.
Signs to watch for
- Sudden behaviour changes
- New fear of a person or place
- Bruises in unusual places, or "explained away" injuries
- Sexualised behaviour or language beyond age
- Withdrawal, regression, loss of skills
- Self-harm or eating changes
- Unexplained gifts, money, phones
- Going missing
- Adults secrecy — "don't tell mum"
What to do if a child discloses
- Listen calmly. Don't interrupt or interrogate
- Believe them
- Don't promise to keep it secret
- Use their words, not yours
- Write down what they said as soon as possible
- Report — that day if possible
Who to contact
- Police — 999 if a child is in immediate danger; 101 otherwise
- Local authority MASH (Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub) — every council has one
- NSPCC — 0808 800 5000
- Childline — 0800 1111
- Stop It Now — 0808 1000 900 (concerns about an adult's behaviour towards children)
- Ann Craft Trust — safeguarding adults at risk
- For adults at risk: local council Adult Safeguarding team
Disability hate crime
Hate incidents and hate crimes targeting someone because of disability can be reported to:
- Police 999/101
- True Vision — report-it.org.uk
- Third-party reporting centres (often local disability charities)
You can report on someone else's behalf.
Do
- Report concerns even if you're not sure
- Keep written notes
- Believe disclosures the first time
Don't
- Don't investigate yourself
- Don't confront the suspected abuser
- Don't delay reporting to "be sure"
If something feels wrong, it probably is. Report. You will not get someone into trouble unnecessarily — you will start a safeguarding process.