Episode 7: Child G – Moving from “What is wrong with you” to “What has happened to you?”

This podcast episode highlights the key learning points from the review published by Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Partnership for a young person, Child G, who experienced trauma and instability at an early age, including experiences of emotional and sexual abuse, and a lack of certainty about who was there to look after or care for her. As a teenager this manifested in feelings of low self-esteem, mental ill health, self-harm, running away, struggling to manage her emotions at home and at school, and some substance misuse. This led to her becoming care experienced and victim to sexual exploitation and harm in the community.Learning themes include:-The importance of kind and caring relationships-Focusing on what CAN be done rather than what CAN’T be done-Victim blaming language – see The Children’s Society Language Guide-Recognition of emotional abuse and neglect-Dissociative seizures – see the Mind website-Adopting a trauma-informed approach