Worried About Yourself or a Friend

If you’re worried about something that’s happening to you or to a friend there are a lot of people who can help you. It’s good to talk to people you trust about your worries, perhaps a teacher, a friend, your parents, or a family member.

Abuse is always wrong, no matter how many times it happens. There can be lots of different types of abuse. It might be helpful to read more on sexual abuse, neglect, emotional abuse or physical abuse on the ChildLine website

Being abused can affect young people in lots of different ways, but it’s never their fault.

It’s not unusual for young people to find it hard to talk about abuse, even with their closest friends.

When you think about telling someone, it’s important to remember that they can’t always keep what you tell them secret. If you are worried about this, you (or your friend) might want to talk to a ChildLine counsellor before you decide who else to tell. The ChildLine counsellors have a Confidentiality Promise that means they can keep most things private.

You can contact ChildLine in loads of different ways, whether that’s by going online and using the 1-2-1 chats or emailing, or by calling for free on 0800 1111 (the calls won’t even show up on the phone bill).  The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence have provided a Quick Guide to Getting Help to Overcome Abuse that you might find useful to get the support you need.

If you or a friend are at IMMEDIATE risk, you should treat this as an emergency and call 999 to report your concerns to the Police.

If you have spoken to someone you trust or ChildLine and you are still concerned that you or a friend are being abused or neglected: –

Contact the Lewisham Council Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH).  You can contact the MASH during office hours.

Tel: 020 8314 6660 or out of hours call 020 8314 6000 and ask for the emergency duty team.
Email: mashagency@Lewisham.gov.uk

The Out of Office hours (5pm -8am weekdays, weekends and bank holidays) is: 03005 551373

When you contact the MASH please give as much information as possible about your concerns. This information will be kept confidential. This will help the MASH decide the best way to help