The Sexual Offences Act 2003 provides a clear, modern framework to protect the public from sexual crimes with specific laws designed to protect children and families. The Sexual Offences Act if the first major overhaul of sexual offences legislation for more than a century and a central aim of the Act is to give better protection to children and families and to put the needs of the victims first. The act plugs previous loopholes on the law and sets clear limits and boundaries about behaviour with children and reflects what is known about the patterns and impact of sexual abuse on childhood.
• Emotional Abuse - This is when a child is refused love and affect. It involves the child being continually 'put down' and criticised, or not given love
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However, usually there are very few physical signs of emotional abuse. The main indicators of this type of abuse are behavioural and these …show more content…
Suffering from an all round delay in their development.
Suffering from lack of concentration or loss of interest in the things around them.
It is important to remember that emotionally abused children are also at risk from sexual abuse as they crave love and affection and may look for this from strangers. An isolated appearance of one or two of these signs is not necessarily a reason to be worried and is not always indicative of a child suffering emotional abuse. Practitioners need to be aware if a child is showing one or some of these signs repeatedly over a period of time and must consider if they are caused by emotional abuse. • Neglect - This means that a child is not being properly cared for and not having their basic needs met by parents or carers. Basic needs include shelter, food, love, general hygiene and medical care. Physical signs may include the child:
Appearing unkempt, dirty and smelly.
Being underweight.
Not having adequate suitable clothing for the time of year e.g sandals in winter.
Suffering frequent injuries due to a lack of supervision or adequate safety devices.
Minor infections and ailments on a regular basis which go untreated, such as, earaches, coughs and