What to do when harm occurs - or you suspect it

Overview

Harm to a child can happen anywhere - including at school, a hospital, playground, shopping centre, park or disability service. 

Children and young people with disability experience violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation from both people they know and from strangers. They can also experience these things because of the way some systems, such as schools or organisations, are set up. 

While some types of harm may be more visible, such as a child being physically hurt, other types of harm are less so; for example, where a child is excluded from an activity. To read more, see Fact Sheet 1: What is abuse, neglect and exploitation of children and young people with disability.

All people in contact with children and young people need to know what harm looks like and what to do when they see it occur. This includes parents, neighbours, other children, friends, teachers, support workers, sports coaches and therapists.

This fact sheet will explain what to do if you see harm occur or if you suspect harm may be occurring.

The more people that know what harm looks like – and what to do – the better.