James Gillespie is 12 years old. The world he knew is changing. Haunted by a secret, he has become a stranger in his own family. He is drawn to the canal where he creates a world of his own. He finds an awkward tenderness with Margaret Anne, a vulnerable 14 year old expressing a need for love in all the wrong ways, and befriends Kenny, who possesses an unusual innocence in spite of the harsh surroundings.
Vaguely, yes. A young teenager is seen multiple times being passed around by a group of other teens, not saying no but not consenting. She doesn't look like she wants to be there and is insulted by them throughout. At one point she doesn't look sober/awake.
A child is verbally degraded and sometimes physically abused by a parent. A child also is implied (well, sort of shown) to be sexually abused by a peer that's a few years older than them.