An analysis of children and young people's calls to ChildLine about abuse and neglect: a study for the Scottish Child Protection Review

In 2001 a young child, who was known to child protection agencies, was murdered by her stepfather. Following a recommendation of an inquiry into her death, a ministerial multidisciplinary review of child protection across Scotland was carried out. The review aimed to promote the reduction of abuse or neglect of children and to improve the services for children who experience abuse or neglect. It was carried out by a multidisciplinary team and the report made 16 recommendations. The review was informed by a series of sub-projects. This paper describes one sub-project that aimed to collect the views of children and young people who might have been abused but might not have had contact with child protection agencies. The study was carried out in conjunction with ChildLine Scotland. Call data for one year were made available for quantitative analysis. Qualitative analysis was carried out on the counsellors' notes on all calls relating to abuse and neglect taken during a 2-week period. Children described significant levels of abuse and neglect. Many had told no-one of the abuse and in particular had not contacted child protection agencies. The paper considers the implications of the findings for the child protection system.