This is Abuse

In the last year, over 2,000 children, under the age of 19, have needed help regarding relationship abuse, according to ChildLine’s statistics. If this many people have contacted someone about it, how many more are suffering in silence?

The statistics show that, between 2012 and 2013, the majority of young people who have contacted the charity have mainly suffered emotion and physical trauma, with over a quarter suffering sexual abuse.

Currently, Hollyoaks are involved with a campaign to make people more aware of relationship abuse, and how to spot it. Nikki Sanderson and Jeremy Sheffield, who play the characters Patrick and Maxine, have been involved in a long-term domestic abuse plot, which seems to have only begun to become obvious to viewers in the recent months, despite going on for about a year. The fact that the signs of relationship abuse haven’t been clear to the public just shows that people aren’t aware of what abuse is and how to define it. The emotional abuse doesn’t seem to have been clear to viewers to begin with, whereas the physical aspect has.

Both these statistics and the public response show that domestic abuse is a serious problem that needs to be tackled now. It’s vital that not only teenagers, but also everyone else, are aware of the effects of abuse, and know how to handle the situation. Search ‘this is abuse’ for more information.