Reports of children being emotionally abused in Scotland have 'soared', according to NSPCC report

Reports of children being emotionally abused has soared by an alarming 427% in Scotland in just seven years, according to new figures released by the NSPCC today.

The charity’s annual child protection report ‘How Safe Are Our Children’ found that since 2009/10 the number of contacts to the NSPCC Helpline from people concerned about children in Scotland being subjected to emotional abuse has risen from 83 to 438 in 2016/2017.

Across the UK, the figure has also increased significantly during this same period from 3,341 to 10,009 reports.

NSPCC Scotland is concerned the full scale of the problem could be much greater and is demanding that the Scottish Government, in conjunction with its UK counterpart, commissions a nationwide study that looks at the prevalence of child abuse and neglect in the UK.

Helpline staff are hearing accounts of parents telling their children they hate them or wished they were dead, threatening them with extreme violence and blaming them for issues they are facing themselves such as unemployment or financial problems.

Last year alone (2016/17) the NSPCC’s child protection experts dealt with 10,009 UK-wide contacts relating to emotional abuse – the equivalent to 27 a day - with three quarters (75%) deemed so severe they were referred to the police and/or children’s services.

In Scotland 335 of the 438 contacts received from worried members of the public were referred to police and/or children’s services.

Despite a huge increase in the amount of people reporting emotional abuse to the NSPCC Helpline over the last seven years, it is unclear how many more children in the UK are suffering from emotional abuse, or any other form of maltreatment, because of a lack of research in to the extent of abuse. The last study of this kind took place in 2009.

On-going emotional abuse can make children feel worthless and unloved and can have a profound effect on a child’s development, which can lead to issues in later life, such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, substance misuse and suicidal feelings.

Children who are emotionally abused may also be experiencing or be at risk of another type of abuse or neglect. The NSPCC Helpline has heard from people who were repeatedly worried that the emotional abuse they witnessed would turn into physical abuse.

Helpline practitioners identified three common themes raised by callers concerned that a child was being emotionally abused. These included domestic violence, alcohol or substance abuse, and mental health issues.

Because there's an element of emotional abuse in all other types of child abuse and neglect, it can be difficult to spot the signs and to separate what's emotional abuse from other types of abuse. The NSPCC has published advice on the signs you may notice in a child's actions or emotions:

• be overly-affectionate towards strangers or people they haven’t known for very long

• lack confidence or become wary or anxious

• be aggressive or nasty towards other children and/or animals

• struggle to control strong emotions or have extreme outbursts

• lack social skills or have few, if any, friends

Joanna Barrett, Acting Head of Service for NSPCC Scotland, said: “Hearing reports from our Helpline about parents or carers who are consistently verbally assaulting, bullying, isolating or humiliating their children is devastating.

“The huge increase in people recognising and reporting emotional abuse to our Helpline indicates people are willing to take action, but the disturbing truth is that the UK has no idea how many other children are suffering from emotional abuse or in fact, any type of abuse.

“We urgently need the Scottish Government in conjunction with the UK Government to step in now, before another eight years go by, and commission a study that gives us the clearest possible picture of the extent of child abuse and neglect in the UK.