How to Report Child Sexual Abuse

When people have suspicions or even evidence of the sexual abuse of a child, they often do not know how to report the information. Follow these instructions to for the proper method of reporting child sexual abuse to heighten the chances of your claim being investigated.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Find out what county the child lives in. This is the body that will conduct the investigation and take any further action.

2. Look up the county's child abuse hotline number. The child abuse screeners at the county will take your call and determine if there is enough evidence to investigate your claim.

3. Arm yourself with as many details as possible about the sexual abuse and other facts related to the child. Knowing the child's name, address, school, parent's names, if there are marks on the child, when and how the abuse happened, etc will increase the chances of your claim of child sexual abuse being investigated.

4. Call 1-888-PREVENT for more information if you can't locate the number for your county, or would like to speak to a professional about your concerns and suspicions of child sexual abuse before making a report.

5. Call the local police or 911 to have them intercede if you suspect the child to be in imminent threat of danger.

Tips & Warnings

• If you make a report of child sexua abuse and know it was never investigated, don't be afraid to call again if you suspect further abuse. Each successive call can increase the likelihood of a situation being investigated.

[JComstock]

on 4/6/2009 Good concise article of a very difficult subject. Gives a good structure on how to address the problem if you come across it. Well done.