99% 'would act on suspected child abuse'

A SURVEY has revealed 99 per cent of Scots would contact the authorities if they suspected a child was being abused or neglected.

Half would contact their local council's social work department and half would go straight to the police.

The tiny minority who would not alert the authorities said they would rather take matters into their own hands and confront the alleged perpetrator.

The findings were released on the 20th anniversary of ChildLine in Scotland, the counselling service for children and young people

A poll of just over 1,000 Scottish adults was conducted on behalf of the Association of Directors of Social Work (ADSW) for the Social Work Changes Lives campaign.

ADSW vice-president Andrew Lowe said it was encouraging that people with concerns were prepared to take action. But he warned against taking matters into one's own hands. He said: "We always need to consider the interests of the child first."