There are different forms of child abuse that will be explained in this paper. People most often abuse children because they are the most vulnerable and powerless group of people. Children generally do not know how to defend themselves and ask for help or they are not even aware that they need it. By the time they become aware of what is happening, their mental health and emotional development is already at risk. Therefore, the only thing left after the abuse has already happened is to try to provide psychological and other types of help to that child. In recent years, the problem of child abuse has been intensively emphasized in the world, and different ideas about prevention and protection have been imposed. As in other countries, in the Republic of Croatia, legal regulations in this regard are increasingly regulated. In 2022, the National Plan for Children's Rights in the Republic of Croatia for the period from 2022 to 2026 was adopted. The goal of this plan is to create a policy for the protection of children's rights, in order to provide adequate protection and security to every child. On the other hand, it is expected that children could create greater trust in institutions and reveal abuse. The subject of research in this work is forms of abuse and the consequences it leaves on children. At the same time, the purpose of the research is to unite all theoretical knowledge and facts in one place in order to get a complete insight into it. The aim of the research is to understand the seriousness of the problem of child abuse and point out some shortcomings and possible room for further progres sin terms of child protection.