4,000 child abuses reported last year

There were more than 180 disclosures of physical and sexual abuse of children and 18 cases of child abduction reported to Women’s Aid last year.

The agency said more than 3,500 cases of emotional abuse of children were disclosed to them in 2016.

Children were slapped, punched, shouted at, called names, and even told they would be killed alongside their mothers. They also witnessed appalling violence, including their mothers being beaten or even raped.