Sir Bradley Wiggins is fronting a new campaign to train members of the public how to spot and act on signs of child abuse and neglect.
The NSPCC’s Listen Up, Speak Up campaign will give people practical information on steps they can take to keep a child safe if they have concerns.
Those who sign up will take part in a 10-minute online training session and receive expert advice from 10 experts in subsequent emails.
It's even more of a responsibility for the people around children to notice and really understand and educate themselves about the signs of neglect and abuse— Sir Bradley Wiggins
It comes after the charity’s adult helpline had a 14% increase in contacts about in-person sexual abuse over a 12-month period.
From April 2021 to March 2022, the helpline was contacted 8,347 times by adults concerned about the issue, compared with 7,338 the year before.
Last year the helpline had 8,969 contacts about physical abuse, 7,370 about emotional abuse, and 10,595 about neglect.
Sir Bradley revealed last year that he had been groomed by a coach when he was 13.
Speaking at the campaign launch, he said it was not until years later, when he had become a parent himself, that he realised what he had been subjected to.
The Olympic cyclist said it is a privilege to support the campaign, which marks “a huge step forward in combating child abuse and child neglect”.
He told the PA news agency: “This whole Listen Up, Speak Up campaign is really about educating onlookers, teachers, parents, coaches, anyone around children really, to notice the signs of abuse and neglect, and try and spot that earlier and get children to speak up.
“As children that are the victims of abuse, you can become very normalised to what’s going on and unaware that you’re being abused, because it’s so often normalised by the perpetrator, so it’s even more of a responsibility for the people around children to notice and really understand and educate themselves about the signs of neglect and abuse.”
After an initial pilot stage, the campaign has a long-term aim of reaching more than a million people across the UK.
They will be encouraged to remember what to do through the initials DOTS – Don’t ignore it, Observe the situation, Think: If not you, then who?, and Speak up.
A little bit of extra knowledge can help keep a lot of children safe— Sir Peter Wanless
They will be presented with various scenarios – such as a father concerned about messages his son is receiving, and a hairdresser who notices bruises on a child – to show people what they can do if they are worried.
NSPCC chief executive Sir Peter Wanless said child protection needs to be a “national priority”, and referenced a string of “terrible cases” last year which shocked the nation.
He said: “You might never need to use the training, but it’s beneficial to take part.
“Even if children are not a big part of your everyday life, you’ll see them in your neighbourhood, on your commute, at the supermarket.
“We’re encouraging everyone to take 10 minutes to complete the digital training – a little bit of extra knowledge can help keep a lot of children safe.”
