For children and young people

In Orkney, there's a website just for children and young people called Growing Up in Orkney.

You have the right to be looked after and kept safe by the adults you live with, whether that's your parents, grandparents, other family, or foster carers. If your home life isn't safe and loving, help is available.

Are Any of These Things Happening to You?

• Not getting enough food to eat
• Not going to school
• Having to wear dirty clothes, or not being able to keep clean
• Being hit, slapped, punched, kicked, burnt, or hurt in any other way by an adult
• Being touched in a way you don't like
• Being made to watch films or read magazines that make you uncomfortable
• Being shouted at, criticised, humiliated, or ignored by an adult you live with
• Being left alone for long periods because the adult you live with is ill or hungover
• Having to look after yourself, your brother or sister, or your parent, like making meals, because the adult you live with is ill or hungover

If any of this sounds like your life, you might feel worried, angry, or scared, especially if you don't have anyone to talk to about it.

Tell Someone

It's important to tell someone what things are like for you at home. This could be a teacher you like, a relative you get on well with, your doctor, or a police officer. You can also contact Children and Families at the Orkney Islands Council. 

Telling someone can feel really scary, especially if you've been told to keep it a secret. You can phone Childline for free. You don't have to give your name, and the call won't show up on your phone, so no one will know you've called. Whoever you tell will believe you, and will try to help make things better.

Childline's Zipit App

Childline's free Zipit app uses humour to help young people deal with unwanted requests for sexual images. It offers a gallery of funny images and GIFs you can send back instead, to help handle awkward or difficult sexting situations.