If you are away from home and someone is making you stay away against your will, this is very serious and they are probably breaking the law.

You may have tried to leave and been prevented from going, or you may be afraid to leave, because of what might happen to you if you do. It’s important to remember that you have a right to be safe and not to be forced to stay away or to do anything you don’t want to do.

You might have left home because that’s what you felt you wanted to do; you may have left to be with the person who is making you stay away now or you may have been forced to leave home. But if you are away and you want to leave and someone is not letting you go, you may need help to get away.

You may not want to involve the police or social services, afraid that you will get into trouble or that you will get someone else into trouble. Runaway Helpline will never judge. We will always listen and try to help you and keep you safe. It might be that after talking things through, you decide that the police are the best option and we can help you talk to the police or it might be possible to find another way to make you safe and help you leave.

If we know you are in danger, we want you to be safe. We will keep your contact with us confidential (meaning we try to keep it between you and Runaway Helpline) unless we think you are at risk of serious harm.

If, because of what you tell us, we think you are at risk of serious harm and we know where you are, we might have to talk to a manager at Runaway Helpline about getting you help to make you safe. We will always try to talk to you about our concerns for you and why we are doing this as you have a right to know if we are thinking about taking any action which will affect you.