News

11 April 2024 – Childhood verbal abuse by adults (CVA) is costing society an estimated $300 billion (£239 billion1) a year globally2 equating to 0.34% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as revealed today at the first international conference on childhood verbal abuse hosted by Words Matter, World Health Organization (WHO) and University College London (UCL). The Words Matter: Impact and

Words Matter has created a new resource – Talking to neurodivergent children and young people  – which has been released to mark the beginning of Neurodiversity Celebration Week (18 – 24 March 2024). Written by a team of experts, the four page resource provides practical tips and guidance to help support parents, carers, teachers, and any adults around children to communicate

Words Matter founder, Jessica Bondy, discussed the huge power and impact of the words adults say to children and young people at The Fostering Network’s ‘Empowering language in foster care’ seminar this week.  The Fostering Network is the UK’s leading fostering charity and membership organisation, which brings together all those involved in the lives of children and young people who

A special seminar titled Words Matter: Childhood Verbal Abuse is being hosted by the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH), on 13 February 2024. ACAMH has over 40,000 members from a diverse group of clinicians, practitioners and world-leading child mental health researchers, who work across an array of child and adolescent mental health areas. Its focus is on

On Wednesday 24 January 2024, Lord Philip Hunt of Kings Heath highlighted the importance of raising awareness of childhood verbal abuse by adults and the work of Words Matter when he raised an amendment during a debate about the Victims and Prisoners Bill on Committee Day One. On Wednesday 24 January 2024, Lord Philip Hunt of Kings Heath highlighted the

Jessica Bondy, Founder of Words Matter will be giving a keynote at The British Psychological Society (BPS) Division of Educational and Child Psychology (DECP) annual conference this year. Taking place from 11-12 January at the Brighton Metropole Hotel, the conference will explore the role of educational psychology in promoting social justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. The conference will bring together

Thank you for all your support this year and wishing you all the very best for 2024. Give our Words Matter word search a go over the festive period. See how many words you can spot.

A pioneering systematic review[1] on the impact of childhood verbal abuse by adults was unveiled this week. This study, published in the October issue of Child Abuse & Neglect: The International Journal[2], underscores the imperative to identify childhood verbal abuse as a standalone subtype of child maltreatment, ensuring targeted prevention and addressing the lasting harm it can inflict. Presently, child maltreatment is

Two in five children (41%) experience harmful verbal abuse by adults around them, reveals groundbreaking new study “I carry this fear with me that everything adults say about me is true.” – Girl aged 16  “Words, they stick with you forever…bruises will go away.” – Girl aged 12 “If a parent says you’re useless, it makes you feel like you

We are holding the first international event on childhood verbal abuse with the World Health Organisation (WHO), and University College London’s (UCL) Division of Psychology and Language Sciences on 11 April 2024.  It will bring together presentations from global experts in the study of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), neuroscience, developmental psychology, and public health to elucidate and promote discussions on