The following advice is taken from the NSPCCC- LINK- https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-you-can-do/report-abuse/
If you are not yet 18 years old you are called a child (or a teenager) under the Children Act 1989. This means that you are protected in law from actions or behaviours of anybody, whether acting alone or as part of a group, who may seek to harm you in any way. This may be physical or sexual harm; it may be harm that happens as a result of your physical and emotional needs being neglected or it may be emotional harm from verbal abuse, which includes bullying.
Often adults or other young people who may seek to hurt you are very well known to you; they may be your mum or dad, they may be your brother or sister; or they may be another relative. They may be at school, or have been a friend at some stage.
If someone is hurting you talk to an adult whom you trust – maybe somebody in your family or perhaps your school teacher. You can speak to your doctor or nurse or therapist in CAMHS, your school nurse, health visitor or doctor or a police officer or Childline.
CHILDLINE
Children and young people can telephone ChildLine on 0800 1111 to talk about any problem. ChildLine is the free and confidential helpline for children and young people up to the age of 18 in the UK. Young people can contact ChildLine about any problem, big or small. It is open 24 hours, 365 days a year! It is part of the NSPCC and you can find much more about it on the NSPCC site www.nspcc.org.uk.
ONLINE ABUSE
Abuse can also happen online too – on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other social networking sites. A special branch of the police called CEOP (Child Exploitation and On-line Protection) work to protect children and young people from sexual exploitation – in the online and offline world. You can check out how you can keep safe at www.thinkuknow.co.uk On this site you can get in touch with someone who can help if you are worried, or you have a gut feeling that something is not right with a conversation or a ‘meeting’ on-line.
What can I do if I am worried about someone?
If you are worried about someone, it can help to talk about it. Try and talk to your friend and ask them to tell you what is wrong. It might be very difficult for them to speak about what is wrong, especially if they are scared or worried about what will happen if they do talk. If they don’t want to talk to you, suggest that they talk to a teacher or someone else they trust about what is happening. If you think your friend might be in danger or are really worried about them, you could tell an appropriate adult, such as a parent, school nurse or teacher.
Will telling someone get me in trouble?
No, telling an adult if your friend is having problems will not get you in trouble. It’s natural that your friend might not want to tell anyone, and it might be because they are scared but it is OK to talk to someone if you are worried, even if your friend says that they don’t want you to. You may be keeping your friend safe from danger so your actions may be very helpful for your friend.
‘Epic friends’ is a website with information about how to help a friend who might be struggling (http://epicfriends.co.uk/answering)
Please don’t worry about things alone! Talk to someone you can trust to help.