If you are concerned that a child or young person is being harmed, abused, or is at risk, take action now. Taking this action is widely known as ‘child protection’. It includes: 

• seeing that there might be a problem  

• intervening and reporting it 

• the steps afterwards of referring the problem to people and organisations that are trained to protect, investigate and advise. 

It’s everyone’s responsibility to look out for the children and young people around them.  

However, it’s not your responsibility to investigate whether or not a child or young person has been abused. You just need to know how to identify and report your concerns appropriately. It’s important you don’t either interrogate or attempt to put words in their mouth.  You should try to keep the discussion general to find out what took place. We explain more about this below. 

Child abuse is harming (whether physically, emotionally, or sexually), ill-treatment, abuse, neglect, or deprivation of any child or young person. It includes: 

• neglect: failure to meet basic needs, including physical, emotional, medical and educational needs 

• physical abuse: deliberately hurting a child or young person, excessive or inappropriate discipline, and can be a single event or series of events 

• sexual abuse: any sexual activity with a child or young person, in person or online 

• emotional abuse: exposure to targeted and systematic negative behaviour towards a child to devalue their self worth, such as prolonged aggression and verbal put-downs. 

It may be that you can sense things are not quite right. Maybe you’ve seen or heard something that worries you. The child may have unexplained injuries or is behaving in a way that is concerning. Talk to the child or young person to see if they are ok and actively listen to what they’re saying. 

We understand that this may lead to difficult or uncomfortable conversations. Even if they don’t open up and tell you what’s going on, it’s much better to check than to assume nothing’s going on with them.  

If they tell you that it’s nothing but you’re still concerned:  

• check in with them again later 

• continue to look for signs of concern 

• report your concerns.  

Physical and behavioural signs you may see 

The physical and behavioural signs set out below suggest the possibility of child abuse, but do not necessarily prove it is happening.  

But they are reasons to be concerned, and you should take steps to check on the wellbeing of the child or young person. 

The child or young person: 

• appears depressed or anxious, and may be withdrawn, aggressive or violent 

• has sexual knowledge and sexualised behaviour not appropriate to their age 

• is self-destructive – self-harming, suicide attempts, engaging in drug or alcohol abuse 

• is dressed inappropriately for the activity which may be to to hide bruises or other injuries 

• can’t recall how injuries occurred or gives inconsistent explanations 

• is wary of adults or a particular person 

• has poor social skills or poor understanding of self-care or basic hygiene 

• avoids training or participating in sport or other physical activities 

• seems overly wary of people beyond shyness, flinches or freezes, or is excessively vigilant. 

The child or young person: 

• has unexplained bruises, welts, cuts, abrasions, burns, broken bones and fractures 

• is inadequately supervised or left alone for unacceptable periods of time 

• appears not adequately cared for, leading to malnourishment or inadequate medical attention  

• has bruising, lacerations, redness, swelling, bleeding or itching and pain in their genital or anal areas 

• has frequent physical complaints or prolonged headaches, nausea, abdominal pains, vomiting or diarrhoea. 

Physical and behavioural signs may be isolated or present as part of clusters, so it’s important to try and identify patterns of concern. The child or young person may also be trying to articulate abuse that’s happening, but not have the words or understanding to tell you. Remember to document what you are told, or what you notice and report these concerns. 

Identifying abusive behaviours in adults is also important. One or more of the indicators set out below does not necessarily prove abuse, however, they are reasons to be concerned and you should speak up, even if you are unsure. Signs to look out for include if a person: 

• is vague about the details of the cause of injury to a child or young person, and the reasons for the injury may change 

• is violent, aggressive, attempts to injure, or intimidates, bullies or harasses a child or young person 

• delays seeking medical attention for a child or young person 

• fails to provide for the child or young person’s basic needs, such as nutrition, medical and psychological care 

• has unrealistic expectations of the child or young person 

• may be unusually over-protective of a child or young person or has physical contact or affection that appears sexual in nature or has sexual overtones 

• seeks time alone with a particular child or singles them out repeatedly for punishment, praise or gifts 

• is jealous of a child or young person’s relationships with peers or other adults or is controlling of the child or young person. 

Even if you’re not sure a child or young person is being abused or harmed, trust what you see and trust your instincts. It’s normal to feel uncertain or underestimate how serious the situation is. It’s a difficult subject and can be hard to talk about or believe it’s happening.  

Speak up, and don’t assume or hope someone else will. It might identify part of a larger pattern that shows a child or young person is being harmed or abused.  

You may only be seeing a piece of the puzzle but speaking out may help others identify the full picture of harm or abuse. Something that may appear to be one-off or insignificant may show a much bigger issue when all the pieces are put together.  

It’s difficult for a child or young person to tell an adult about being abused. They may not speak out about it even when asked directly if they: 

• can’t find the words to describe what’s happening 

• feel embarrassed or ashamed  

• fear they won’t be believed 

• fear it’s their fault  

• don’t understand or recognise that the situation is harmful or abusive to them, for example, if they are too young to understand that it’s abuse or they believe the abuse is a normal type of punishment 

• depend on the person causing harm, including emotionally or financially 

• are scared of the abuser and scared of what might happen to them 

• they don’t know who to tell or don’t know there is support for them.  

For this reason, it may take time for a child or young person to fully disclose what happened to them. Be kind and patient. Let them proceed at their own pace. 

It takes a great amount of courage for a child or young person to tell you they are being abused or harmed. It’s important to listen quietly, carefully and patiently. Show you support the child or young person. 

• Remember the safety and wellbeing of the child or young person comes first.  

• Stay calm. Don’t panic. 

• Look at the child or young person directly. Do not appear shocked. 

• Listen to the child or young person and accept what they saying without any judgement. Do not interrogate them and limit the discussion to finding out generally what happened. 

• Use language that is appropriate for their age and understanding.  

• Reassure them that telling someone was the right thing to do. 

• Assure them that it is not their fault.  

• Assure them you will do your best to help.  

• Ask open questions and don’t put words in their mouth. 

• Write down what the child or young person says in their own words, including slang or swear words.  

• Record the date, time and place and how they spoke and seemed to you.  

• Make certain you can distinguish between what the child or young person said and your opinions and assumptions. Accuracy and sticking to the facts is really important. 

• Unless it’s for the safety of the child, yourself or others, seek help only after the child has finished telling you.  

• Let them know you need to tell someone else, and you won’t keep secrets. And the person you are telling is someone whose job it is to protect children. It could be the club’s child protection officer, police or Oranga Tamariki. 

• Let them know what you are going to do next and that you will let them know what happens. 

• Look after yourself and get support if you need it. Hearing about harm or abuse to a child or young person can weigh heavily on you. 

Keep a record of:  

• what you saw, heard or were told  

• who you reported it to and when.  

If you’re at a club or organisation:  

• find out if they have a child safeguarding officer or check their process for reporting concerns  

• report your concerns following their process. 

You don’t need to have proof that abuse has occurred. Report your concerns immediately either to Police, Oranga Tamariki, or to the responsible person in accordance with the club or organisation’s child protection policy. 

You should receive confirmation your report was received after you submitted it. If not, follow up to see why you didn’t hear back.  

• Follow up with the club or organisation about what action they will take. 

• Tell the child or young person what is happening and what they should expect. 

• If the police or child protection services are involved, they will investigate. 

• Check back with the child or young person. If you think your concerns haven’t been sufficiently dealt with or progressed enough, raise it with the club. If you need to, escalate it to the police or Oranga Tamariki. 

Reporting concerns of abuse and harm that happens outside of a club or organisation 

Adults working or volunteering with children in sport and recreation may see the signs of something to be concerned about. They may even hear about something of concern directly from a child or young person. 

Act on it. Report this in line with the club or organisation’s safeguarding policy and processes. 

Clubs and organisations need to have child protection policies and processes in place designed to keep children and young people, and adults safe. They should be part of a club’s child safeguarding culture and used by everyone. They are set up so that any concerns about the safety or wellbeing of a child or young person: 

• can be reported, recorded, and followed up  

• are handled in a way that works towards the best possible outcome for the child and anybody else involved. 

Create a positive culture 

Make it clear: 

• child abuse and harmful behaviour is prohibited, and children and young people’s safety is paramount 

• harmful behaviour that can lead to abuse, for example, adults drinking heavily around children or aggressive and bullying coaching styles, won’t be tolerated and are addressed and monitored to ensure they don’t continue 

• that small doubts and concerns should be reported, even if it’s not serious. If small doubts and concerns are dealt with, it can prevent more serious incidents from happening later. 

Develop guidelines and a code of conduct. If you’re not sure how to do this, you can contact the Commission. Involve everyone when developing them. Make these available to everyone. Use them while training staff and volunteers. 

Check what other child protection policies are available 

• If the club or organisation is part of a regional or national body, contact them to find out what their child protection processes are. This is important if you are reporting child abuse at your club or organisation.  

• Make sure the reporting process aligns with other child safeguarding processes already in place. 

Appoint a child safeguarding officer 

• Appoint someone with child safeguarding responsibilities. People in these roles are sometimes known as the ‘welfare officer’ or ‘safeguarding advisor’.  

• There needs to be a robust process for appointing this person and they must be trained to know what to do to carry out child safeguarding duties. If you need support about appointing or training this person, contact the Commission. 

Know how to recognise abuse and harm 

• Build indicators of abuse and harm, including abusive adult behaviour, into policies and guidance. Your policy should make a commitment to educate everyone who is involved with children and young people at the club. 

Make reporting easy 

• Make sure everyone knows how and when to report incidents, including staff, volunteers, members, parents, young people and children. Communicate it in a way that they can understand easily what to do and when. 

• Learn how to safely listen to and document child abuse concerns.  

• Know how to pass information on to trained people and child protection services. 

Respond to all child abuse concerns, no matter how minor 

• Respond to child abuse or harm in a way that is appropriate and ensures the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. 

Share child protection policies with everyone 

The child protection policy and process should be: 

• written in plain language so that everyone can understand it 

• communicated to members and visitors, so that people know what to do and who they can go to. 

Educate people so they know what to do 

As well as creating and implementing a child protection process, train people to: 

• recognise harm and abuse in tamariki and rangatahi 

• what a disclosure of abuse may look and sound like 

• how to record the information 

• who to tell or report it to.  

Provide support and prevent further harm from happening  

• Support everyone affected so healing and recovery can happen. 

• Make sure those who have harmed can no longer be a risk to children in the future, and that the organisation trains and develops its people, so they have the skills to prevent future harm.  

• Minimise the opportunities for future harm by identifying how it happened. Look for any gaps or issues with your policies, procedures and training. Think about the environment and culture at the club or organisation. 

• Regularly review your policies to make sure they are fit for purpose to prevent and respond to harm.  

• Find and contact support services  

• Find out about the Commission’s complaints and resolution service