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Are you or a friend coping with a family conflict like separated, divorced, drug addicted, abused or abusive parents?
family
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Are you or a friend coping with a problem friendship, boyfriend, girlfriend, authority figure, cult or gang?
relationships
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Are you or a friend coping with poor self-esteem, stress, anxiety, loneliness, grief, anger or depression?
feelings
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Are you or a friend coping with depression or thoughts of suicide?
suicide
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Are you or a friend coping with a lack of basic needs like food, clothing, housing, employment, or trouble at school?
basic needs
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Are you or a friend coping with prejudice, neglect, emotional, physical or sexual abuse, survival sex, prostitution, domestic violence or crime?
abuse
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Are you or a friend coping with a physical disability, sexually transmitted disease (STD), HIV/AIDS, self-harm, a psychiatric or eating disorder?
health
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Are you or a friend coping with questions about sexuality, sexual hygiene, a pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease (STD) or HIV/AIDS?
sex
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Are you or a friend coping with tobacco, alcohol, street drugs or prescription drugs?
drugs & alcohol
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Are you or a friend coping with thoughts of leaving home, running away or are you already homeless?
running away
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It's free. It's 24/7. It's for you.
What is child abuse?
There are many kinds of abuse from prejudice to survival sex. If you or a friend are coping with prejudice, neglect, emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, survival sex, prostitution, domestic violence, date-rape, rape or other crimes, this is the place to talk to someone who can help at the Nineline.
What is child abuse?
Are their different kinds of abuse?
Am I being abused?
Why am I being abused?
Is it my fault?
How do I get help?
How can Nineline help me?
meet a Covenant House kid
visit our forum on abuse
download info on abuse (pdf)
abuse information for caregivers
Share your feelings about abuse in the Nineline Forum.
When someone under the age of 18 is physically, sexually or emotionally hurt, or taken advantage of by a parent or someone else responsible for protecting them, it is considered child abuse. The abuse may happen only once, but often it continues until the child or someone else tells someone who can help.
Sometimes kids are injured accidentally or are taken advantage of without their parents knowing about it. Most of the time, this is not child abuse, but you should still tell someone if this has happened even once or is happening to you.
The abuser may be a respected member of the community. He or she may be a teacher, sitter, stepparent, or a parent's boyfriend or girlfriend. Sometimes a counselor or other staff person in a foster home, a group home or some other place you live is the abuser.
Other times kids are abused by someone other than a person who is responsible for their care. While this might not be considered "child abuse", it is still illegal behavior that you need to tell someone about -- someone you trust.