Please don't close you eyes to cruelty to children', the advert declares in the national press. Not only did these people not alert the authorities, they also embraced the chaos and anarchy in that household'. Such an approach can only increase suspicion and fear, both of which have a destructive impact on relations between people and within families themselves. Far from being a dark secret, stories of child abuse and neglect are never out of the news. Child abuse awareness is at an all-time high, and hardly a single interaction between adult and child goes unscrutinised.
Men shy away from touching and cuddling children.
Male nurses have been told not to cuddle their patients for fear of it being interpreted as 'inappropriate'. The 'Full stop campaign' will push people to be even more suspicious - to view everybody as a potential abuser. The general response to the campaign revealed how successful it has been in suggesting that all adult and children relationships should be looked on with suspicion. This overarching suspicion about the relationships between adults and children does nothing to help the children. It has a negative impact on the relationships they have with their parents and other friendly adults, many of whom are too worried to get close to children for fear of being suspected of abuse.