What to do if a parent hits you

A form of punishment used by a few parents is "corporal punishment". What is corporal punishment? Corporal punishment is when someone inflicts pain upon another person/living thing as a way of punishing them, or "keeping their behaviour in check".

Corporal punishment is a form of domestic abuse, and is assault, common assault, child abuse, domestic assault/abuse, (potentially) battery, and also illegal, as well as being morally wrong.

If a parent/anyone 'assaults' you, then the first priority is your safety. You should keep calm, lock yourself in a room, and hide if you cannot escape, then, you should call 999/112, and ask for the #police. It is vital that your abuser does not know that you are going to/have called the police because safety comes first.

When reporting assault, you should be in a safe place, and be hidden from your #abuser, here are some examples: a neighbours house, locked in a secured room, in a hedge (quite, and hidden), in a busy/crowded public place, or around other people. Anywhere that is deemed as 'safe'.

No-one has the right to put their hands on your body in an abusive way, and it is crucial to phone the police, and report the incident (each one separately) because domestic abuse is a crime.

You should:

• Phone 999/112

• Talk to someone

• Sue the abuser

• Press charges

• Stay safe

If the incident is not an emergency, please call your non-emergency police number so that you do not hold up an emergency line, however, if you feel at risk it is crucial to trust your instinct. After all, it is better safe than sorry.

If you do not report the abuse, then your abuser will be let off the hook for causing you to suffer from totally unacceptable abuse. "No abuser should be allowed to walk free, they should be locked up", said Dwayne Hards (#LCN Founder).

If your parent "does not intend to injure you", and causes "accidental injuries", then what should you do? The exact same! #Abuse is abuse.