Hi there
Thanks for your letter and I’m really glad you have decided to write to me. It sounds like you are feeling very trapped and unsafe at home and you are feeling worried about what might happen if you try to help yourself out of this situation. It sounds like your brother has done a good job of trying to scare you into keeping quiet. What it is important to remember is, what your brother is doing is wrong, no one has the right to bully and physically hurt you. You could have a look at the ChildLine Physical abuse page for more information.
This is not something you should have to put up with. You say that you have spoken to your mum and she has advised you to ignore it, and whilst your mum might be trying to help you, it seems like the effect this is having on your life will make it hard for you to ignore what’s been happening. What do you think it might be like to ask mum if she has some time for you to talk to her in a little more detail about what has been happening? You could tell her how frightened you are and ask her for more support to cope with what your brother is doing.
You say that you have thought about going to the police, and you are worried this is not serious enough. It is a serious matter that you are being physically hurt and threatened, and this is something the police would be there to support you with. Speaking to them is a big step that will take a lot of courage, so perhaps this is something you could talk through with another family member, a friend or another trusted adult, perhaps a teacher. It's important to remember that if you ever feel you are in danger when you are with him you should call 999 to ask for help.
There is a range of help available to you to keep you stay safe within your family, ChildLine could help you to talk through these options and support you through this. It can be very scary to get help and ChildLine counsellors know how hard this can be, they are always there to listen and won’t judge you. There are a few ways that you can contact ChildLine, by calling 0800 1111 a free phone number from any UK phone including mobiles, and doesn’t show up on the bill or through the online service, where you can either write an email or for a quicker response you could try the 1-2-1 online chat service (a little bit like MSN) where you can directly talk to a counsellor.
Take care
Sam