The barriers to reporting child abuse

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A majority of people (58%) are not confident they could spot the signs of sexual abuse in a child they knew, while less than a third (31%) are confident they could spot if the abuse was taking place. Fewer than one in ten people (9%) have had concerns that a child they knew was being sexually abused with 85% of people saying they have not. Of those who have had concerns, more than two thirds (69%) took action while three in ten (30%) either didn’t take action, or haven’t but still intend to.
The survey found that a plurality of people (28%) would be most likely to report sexual abuse concerns about a child they knew if they had enough evidence to be very sure that it was taking place. More than one in five (21%) would report suspicions if they thought a child was probably being abused, 19% would report if they had a few concerns that a child was being sexually abused and 8% would be most likely to report when they were completely certain that abuse was taking place.