Supporting a Child After an Online Abuse Report

Calm, practical, non-blaming guidance for parents and carers. After a report, the most important thing is for the child to feel safe, believed and supported.

Please do not upload, email or paste suspected child sexual abuse material to this site. Report it directly to the IWF, CEOP or police instead.

1. What to say first

Children may feel embarrassed or ashamed. How you respond in the first moments shapes everything that follows.

• Stay calm and listen. Let the child talk at their own pace. Don't interrupt, and don't ask lots of detailed questions.
• Reassure them. Tell them they are not in trouble, you believe them, they did the right thing by telling someone — and the abuse was not their fault.
• Do not investigate yourself. Don't press for extra details, confront the person causing harm, or make promises you cannot keep.
• Keep things private. Share the concern only with safeguarding professionals, police, or other people who need to know to protect the child.
• Explain the next step. Tell the child what you will do next so they are not left guessing.

2. What to do in the next 24 hours

• Keep daily routines as normal as possible. Routines are reassuring — school, meals, activities, bedtime.
• Preserve any evidence — don't delete messages, images or accounts before advice is given, unless a safeguarding professional tells you to do so.
• Report through the right route if you haven't already — CEOP for online sexual abuse/grooming, 999 for immediate danger, IWF for sexual images of under-18s.
• Check who the child wants involved — a trusted adult, school staff, or a support service.
• Help reduce contact with the abusive person or account — block, mute, or restrict where safe to do so.
• For the full step-by-step on the first day, see First 24 hours after a report.

3. What not to do

• Don't blame the child or suggest they caused it — they never did.
• Don't take away support as a punishment for coming forward.
• Don't delete messages, images or accounts before advice is given unless a safeguarding professional tells you to.
• Don't spread the story to friends, family or other parents.
• Don't promise secrecy if you need to pass information to safeguarding staff or police — honesty about this builds trust.

4. Ongoing support

After a report, children often need ongoing reassurance and routine rather than repeated questioning. Follow safeguarding procedures, seek help promptly, and remember one conversation is often not enough.

• Watch for changes in sleep, mood, school attendance, eating, or online behaviour.
• Offer a calm place to talk again later — let them set the pace.
• Keep the door open — "You can talk to me about this any time, and I won't be angry."
• Involve school staff if it helps — teachers and safeguarding leads are trained to support.
• Seek professional support if needed — the GP can refer to NHS mental health services for children.

"After an online abuse report, the most important thing is for the child to feel safe, believed, and supported. Stay calm, avoid detailed questioning, preserve any evidence, and follow safeguarding or police advice so the child is protected and the case is not harmed."

5. Get help again

• Childline — 0800 1111 — free, confidential support for children and young people up to 19.
• NSPCC Helpline — 0808 800 5000 — advice for adults worried about a child's safety.
• CEOP — ceop.police.uk — online sexual abuse, grooming, exploitation.
• IWF — iwf.org.uk — sexual images/videos of under-18s found online.
• Victim Support — 0808 168 9111 — support for victims of crime, whether or not reported.
• NAPAC — 0808 801 0331 — support for survivors of childhood abuse (including older teens and adults).

💙 Remember

The child is never at fault. Feeling safe, believed and supported is what matters most.