MORE than 170 children who contacted Glasgow's ChildLine base last year because they have been sexually abused or fear they will become a victim were of primary school age.

New figures show the city's ChildLine team gave 173 children aged 11 and under counselling about sexual abuse in 2012/13.

And in nearly all the cases the youngsters knew their offender.

It came as UK-wide figures found that one in 10 children who get in touch with the charity seeking advice on sexual abuse were in that age group.

A total of 1020 children aged 11 and under contacted the round the clock helpline for those reasons in 2012/13.

For more than 40% of them it was the first time they had ever told anyone what had happened.

The statistics show in total there were more than 9100 contacts about sexual abuse where children gave their age and 11% of these were 11-years-old or younger.

Of these more than nine out of 10 children knew the offender with just 6% saying it was a stranger.

Elaine Chalmers, head of ChildLine in Scotland, said: "It's a sad reflection on society that children of primary school age are being abused in this way but it's a reality we have to face and prepare for.

"We can't just sit idly by and hope it never happens - that will simply put more children at risk of harm.

"The good news is that many young children feel confident enough to contact us for help and advice and understand that sexual abuse is never acceptable."

Ms Chalmers said the figure was a reminder of the importance of talking to youngsters.

She said: "It's incredibly important that we protect children from the risk of sexual abuse as soon as possible, and this can be done through simple conversations with children at a young age.

"It can be done in a way that doesn't scare them but gives the right level of information and confidence so they can speak to a trusted adult about anything that makes them feel uncomfortable."

As part of a new campaign the NSPCC is urged families across Scotland through to adopt a new "underwear rule" to help youngsters talk about abuse without embarrassment.

The campaign is being supported by ChildLine and urges children to talk about secrets that upset them, speak up and remember that their body belongs to them.

rachel.loxton@eveningtimes.co.uk