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Child abuse and neglect includes
the following behaviour by an adult caregiver to a child under age
16:
- Physical and emotional harm;
- Sexual behaviour or invitation
to engage in sexual behaviour
- Failure to provide proper
care;
- Depriving support, medical
care and affection;
- Exposure to domestic violence.
- Abuse can happen repeatedly
or just once.
Everyone reacts differently to abuse and neglect. Signs of abuse
and neglect can vary greatly from one child to another.
Some signs abuse include:
- Facial injuries in infants
and preschool children;
- Several injuries that are in
various stages of healing;
- Afraid of adults;
- Extreme aggression;
- Extreme withdrawal;
- Severe depression;
- Frequent absence from school;
- Engaged in delinquent acts
or alcohol/drug abuse;
- Sexually explicit drawing
or descriptions;
- Prostitution;
- Seductive behaviour.
Sometimes abuse goes on for a long
time, and kids don't want to tell because they think they did something
wrong.
Even if the person hurting you says that you'll get in trouble if
you say anything, you should tell anyway. You haven't done anything
wrong, and you won't get in trouble for talking to a professional.
If you are worried about yourself or a friend, please talk to someone
you trust. You can talk to a teacher or your principal, or you can
call us.
You can also call the Kid's Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868.
You can visit one of our
offices, in Kitchener or Cambridge between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Our offices are located at:
200 Ardelt Avenue, Kitchener, Ontario view
map
168 Hespeler Road, Cambridge, Ontario view
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168
Hespeler Rd., Cambridge, ON, N1R 6V7