Help and advice Safeguarding

Safeguarding is how we protect children and at-risk adults from violence and abuse. 

Abuse can happen anywhere, including online.

Under The Care Act 2014, an adult at risk is someone over 18 years old who:

• has care and support needs
• is experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect
• is unable to protect themself from abuse or neglect, or the risk of it, because of their care and support needs

A child, as defined by The Children Act 1989, is anyone under 18 years old.

What do we mean by abuse?

There are ten main types of adult abuse. These are:

• Discriminatory abuse – being abused because of religion, culture, age, gender, sexuality or disability
• Domestic violence – psychological, physical, sexual, financial, emotional abuse or ‘honour-based’ violence
• Financial or material abuse – money or property taken without consent or under pressure
• Modern slavery – slavery, human trafficking, forced labour or domestic servitude
• Neglect and acts of omission – not being cared for properly or being denied privacy, choice or social contact
• Organisational abuse – neglect and poor care practice within an institution or specific care setting as a result of the structure, policies, processes and practices within an organisation. This may range from one-off incidents to ongoing ill-treatment. 
• Physical abuse – hitting, pushing or slapping, as well as being physically restrained or medication being mismanaged
• Psychological abuse – shouting or swearing that makes a person afraid, or threatening or isolating behaviour 
• Self-neglect – putting yourself at risk by not caring for your personal hygiene, health or surroundings
• Sexual abuse – unwanted touching, kissing or sexual intercourse, or being made to watch sexual material

How do we safeguard children and adults at risk?

We have robust policies and procedures to ensure our customers and colleagues can live their lives free from abuse, harm and intimidation. All of our colleagues take part in safeguarding awareness training, and we have robust recruitment checks.

We are committed to Making Safeguarding Personal. This means listening to the person being abused, understanding the outcomes they want from the safeguarding process and using these to direct what happens.

We deal with all information confidentially, but we have to report the matter to the relevant local authority safeguarding team if we’re informed about abuse of a child or at-risk adult.

If you’re worried that you, or someone you know, is being abused or is at risk of abuse, please contact us immediately by emailing us or calling 0300 111 700.