What do I do if I know someone is sexually abusing a child?
This is the type of situation none of us ever want to be in, right? Taking steps to make sure that a child is safe; that someone who is hurting that kid stops. This is courageous, and good for you!
I identified child sexual abuse. Now what?
First: your safety is a priority. That doesn’t mean a child’s safety is second to yours, but if you think that the person abusing the child is dangerous in some way and could become violent, do not do anything to put yourself in danger. You can’t help anyone if you get hurt. So, getting support to figure out how to handle this is absolutely the right thing to do.
Age-appropriate responses to child sexual abuse identification.
If you are under 18, you should know that adults need to be responsible to keep children safe. The best thing you can do is talk to a safe and trusted adult in your life about what you know. Ask for their support to help a child who is being hurt. If the person you know is also under 18, it may make sense to talk to their parents - but again, you have to keep safety in mind. If these parents are not safe people themselves and are maybe known to be violent, then find another safe adult.
If you are 18 or over, it is strongly recommended that you contact either your local police or the local child protective services. (Find services in your state here.) Sometimes not everyone feels like contacting the authorities will be helpful, but this is to protect yourself, the child and even the person who is harming that child. Working with authorities and professionals will help everyone find the resources they need to keep everyone safe.
Depending on your relationship with this person and again, thinking about your safety as priority, you may want to tell them that you know about what they are doing, and that you want to help kids stay safe AND you want to help them stop abusing and get help. They might not know that help is available and you can let them know that it is - that there are counselors who are experienced in working with people with sexual behavior problems. And then share these resources:
The WhatsOK Helpline for teens and young adults: WhatsOK.org or 1.888.532.0550
Stop It Now! also has a guidebook, Let's Talk, that might help you if you are an adult who is talking to another adult.
If a kid is being hurt, the most important step any of us can take is to try and get the abuse to stop, and help the child get to a safe place. But none of us can do that alone - support and good information is important. Our helpline counselors can talk this through with you, and help you identify some next steps.