One In Five Older Children Abused - Charity - Sky News

6:49am UK, Tuesday February 15, 2011

Gerard Tubb, north of England correspondent

Research by a children's charity suggests almost a million secondary school children in the UK have suffered significant abuse.

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The NSPCC has released findings from a 2009 study which show that almost one in five children reported severe neglect, physical attacks or sexual abuse.

Andrew Flanagan, the charity's chief executive, said the research indicates that most child abuse cases are still hidden away.

"Physical violence, neglect and forced sex are still harming the lives of hundreds of thousands of children, and most of it remains unreported," he said.

"Successive governments have taken steps to improve child protection but local authorities are under strain providing child protection plans for only a small proportion of cases."

She said things about my father, how he didn't want to be my father, degrading him. It just has an effect over time and you don't realise it.

Abuse victim 'Peter'

Researchers interviewed 2,275 children aged 11-17 and 1,761 adults aged 18 to 24 for the study, called Childhood Cruelty in the UK 2011.

Just over 18% of the children reported significant abuse, with the figure rising to 25% when the adults were asked if they had suffered as children.

The difference is attributed - at least in part - to young children not telling the full story.

Peter - not his real name - is a 20-year-old who took part in the research and says he was mentally and physically abused by his mother as a young child.

"The mental things could range from simple swearing, but shouted at you in your ear for minutes at a time," he said.

"She said things about my father, how he didn't want to be my father, degrading him. It just has an effect over time and you don't realise it."

"It's kind of normal because that's what you know, so you don't know any different so you kind of accept it. I'd say the majority of people haven't told anyone."

The study, which is still being analysed, shows abuse against children is falling.

In 1999 6% of young adults said they'd been regularly physically attacked as children, but that had dropped to 2% ten years later.

Mr Flanagan says many children are now treated less harshly than in previous generations.

"We believe that heightened awareness and action has contributed to changing public attitudes and behaviours towards children for the better."