In safeguarding conversations, it can be difficult to understand why a child does not disclose harm or appears to defend the adult causing it. This child abuse awareness poster offers clear language for discussing loyalty, fear, guilt and hope in situations involving domestic abuse, neglect or other harm within a family.
Use this one-page child safeguarding poster as a visual prompt in supervision, team training, reflective practice or conversations about barriers to disclosure. It places an adult’s coercive, threatening and blaming statements alongside the thoughts a child may have when they remain protective of the person who has hurt them.
The left-hand side lists examples of manipulative messages, including threats that nobody will believe the child, that siblings may be taken away, or that the family will break apart. It also includes blame-shifting language such as “Look what you made me do” and pressure to keep abuse secret as “family business”.
On the opposite side, the child’s possible responses show the emotional conflict behind non-disclosure: love for the adult, memories of good days, concern about who will care for them, self-blame, and a wish for family life to feel normal. The central message reinforces that protecting an abusive parent, carer or other adult does not mean a child is safe with them.
Social workers, child protection practitioners and domestic abuse workers may find it useful when considering a child’s lived experience, planning sensitive direct work, or helping professionals avoid interpreting silence as safety. It may also support safeguarding training for teachers, pastoral staff and family support workers working with children and teenagers affected by harm at home.
