Who can I tell?
If you or a friend of yours is being abused, you need to tell someone you trust. This can be:
f your Mum or Dad, grandparents, aunt, uncle or other adult family member
f your parish priest
f your Sunday School teacher, youth minister or other member of the Church you feel safe with
f a NSW Police Officer
f your class teacher, your coach, your doctor or other people who look after you.
You can also call the phone numbers on the back of this brochure. When you call, you will talk to people whose job it is to help you and protect you.
What do I tell?
It is important that when you talk to someone, you tell them:
f what is happening to you
f who is doing this to you
f how you are feeling.
What happens when I tell someone?
When you talk to an adult, they will listen to you, and they may ask you more questions to make sure they understand what you are telling them. They might need to talk to someone else, maybe a Police Officer. The adult should tell you who they will be talking to.
Who can I call when I need help?
Emergency: 000
Child Protection Helpline: 132 111
NSW Police (non urgent): 131 444
Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800
Mental Health Line: 1800 011 511
Lifeline: 13 11 14
Office of Safeguarding: 4979 1390
I don't feel safe. What do I need to do? For children in parishes
Websites that may help?
Kids Helpline: kidshelpline.com.au
What’s Ok At Home: woah.org.au
Youth Law Australia: yla.org.au
Australian Human Rights Commission: humanrights.gov.au
Communities & Justice: facs.nsw.gov.au
Office of Safeguarding: officeofsafeguarding.org.au
Office of Safeguarding Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle P 02 4979 1390
E childprotection@mn.catholic.org.au officeofsafeguarding.org.au
Your body lets you know if you feel unsafe
You may feel:
f scared
f confused
f sick in the tummy
f shaky all over.
You may also:
f feel your heart start to beat fast
f get goosebumps
f feel sad and start to cry
f want to go home
f feel tired or hungry a lot.
IF YOU FEEL UNSAFE, YOU MUST TELL AN ADULT YOU TRUST
What is child abuse?
Children have a right to be safe from abuse and neglect.
Abuse is violence, neglect, emotional or sexual assault that is done by someone who should be caring for you.
Adults or other children can be abusive. It could be a family member, neighbour, someone you may like or trust, someone in your parish or youth group, at your school, or in your team.
Abuse is:
f hitting, hurting, biting, cutting or burning you
f yelling and swearing at you so you feel scared
f touching your private parts, including your bottom or between your legs or making you touch them
f someone showing you their private parts
f showing you intimate photos, sexual videos, sexual or upsetting material on the internet
f your parents or carers fighting in front of you
f always putting you down, telling you that you are “ugly”, “useless”, “stupid”, “worthless”
f forgetting lots of times to give you breakfast, lunch or dinner
f not taking you to the doctors when you are sick
f not making sure you go to school regularly
f leaving you alone too long.
You should always tell someone
Sometimes the person hurting you tries to make you keep bad secrets. The person makes you promise not to tell.
That’s not okay. You can always tell a safe adult if you are being abused.
It’s not okay
Being hurt, touched or made to do things you don’t like can be scary and confusing. You might feel that you can’t tell anyone what is happening to you or maybe you have been told not to tell anyone about it.
You may not know what to do or say. You might even think that no one will believe you.
You may think things will get better on their own or that someone will notice and do something.
You may think that it is your fault you are being hurt.
But it isn’t. You deserve to feel loved and cared for without being hurt.
The important thing is that you must tell an adult you trust even if it is hard, and if they don’t help, then tell somebody else. Don’t ever give up.
REMEMBER, IT IS NEVER YOUR FAULT
