Significant Harm

The Children Act 1989 section 31defines harm as ill-treatment (including sexual abuse and forms of ill-treatment which are not physical) or the impairment of physical  or mental health or physical, intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural development including, for example, impairment suffered from seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another.  Where the question of whether harm suffered by a child is significant turns on the child’s health or development, their health or development shall be compared with that which could reasonably be expected of a similar child.