Mr. John Church:

Suicide ideation is very common among children. They would talk about having thoughts of committing suicide because nobody listens to them or understands them. It might be related to some sort of adverse childhood event that has happened. We deal with a lot of abuse cases as well. I am referring to children who have been sexually abused and emotionally and physically abused. That can often result in a child feeling that the only way out is suicide. On self-harm, I have grown to understand it more during my time in the ISPCC and from listening to the psychologists about it. It is seen as a way of relieving anxiety and tension. Young girls in particular will self-harm during the telephone or online engagement in order to relieve that stress, tension and anxiety. It is something I could never have imagined was possible, but it happens regularly enough for us to be concerned about it.