Based on the Church of England Practice Guidance: Responding to Safeguarding Concerns or Allegations that relate to Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults, November 2018

 KEY INFORMATION

 Please note that if you believe that a child or adult is in immediate danger of significant or serious harm, you should contact the police on 999.

If anyone notices signs or symptoms of potential abuse of a child or adult, they should report this to the COTH parish safeguarding officer (PSO) within 24 hours of identifying a concern.

If a church officer (staff or volunteer) has concerns, they should report this to their activity leader/manager (where appropriate) and seek advice and guidance from the PSO and/or diocesan safeguarding adviser (DSA) for Guildford Diocese. This must happen within 24 hours of identifying a concern.

If the information suggests the child or adult is at risk of abuse or neglect, it will also need to be reported to the statutory services immediately - the PSO and DSA will ensure this is done.

INTRODUCTION

 This procedure must be used when there are concerns about the welfare and safeguarding of children, young people and/or adults. It covers the following areas:

•     How to identify potential or actual harm to children, young people and adults

•     How to respond to direct concerns or allegations arising from a child, young person or adult

•     Reporting procedures to the PSO/DSA

SAFEGUARDING CONCERNS – Recognise, respond, record, report/refer (4Rs)

 1. Recognise indicators of potential or actual harm/safeguarding concerns

Church officers/volunteers who come into contact with children, young people and/or adults should:

•     Be alert to potential indicators of abuse or neglect <a>

• Be alert to the risks which abusers or potential abusers may pose to children, young people and/or adults and the potential impact on the child, young person or adult

• Listen and respond well to any concerns or allegations

• Report and record any concerns or allegations.

<a> Information on signs and symptoms of abuse can be found in the Types of Abuse Fact Sheet, Appendix 1

Safeguarding concerns or allegations may be about something that is going on now, something that may happen in the future, or something that happened in the past. Non-recent abuse will be treated as seriously as abuse concerns or allegations which may be happening now.

Safeguarding concerns may arise when:

• A child, young person and/or adult discloses abuse

• Someone discloses concern for a child, young person and/or adult

• Someone notices signs of potential abuse of a child, young person and/or adult

• A child, young person and/or adult makes a disclosure about their own behaviour towards another child, young person and/or adult

• Someone witnesses concerning behaviours during a church activity or during a home visit.

2. Respond to someone who discloses abuse (victim or perpetrator)

Do:

• Listen

• Take what is said seriously

•     Only use open questions (open questions begin with words like: who, what, when, where and how; open questions cannot be answered with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’)

•     Remain calm.

•     Take into account the person’s age and level of understanding.

•     Check, if face to face, whether they mind you taking notes while they talk so you can make sure you capture the information accurately - at the end you can check with them that you have understood everything correctly

•     Offer reassurance that disclosing is the right thing to do

•     Establish only as much information as is needed to be able to tell your activity leader/manager/PSO/DSA what is believed to have happened, when and where

•     Check out what the person hopes to result from the disclosure

•     Tell the child or adult what you are going to do next.

Do not:

•     Make promises that cannot be kept (e.g. that you won’t share the information)

•     Make assumptions or offer alternative explanations

•     Investigate

•     Contact the person about whom allegations have been made

•     Do a physical or medical examination.

3. Record what is said to you/what you observe

•     Make some very brief notes at the time, if appropriate, and write them up in detail as soon as possible

•     Record the date, time, place and the actual words used

•     Record facts and observable things, not your interpretations or assumptions

•     Don’t speculate or jump to conclusions.

4. Report/refer within 24 hours

•     If there is immediate danger to a child/adult, contact the police - ring 999

•     Otherwise avoid delay and take action: talk immediately, within 24 hours, to your activity leader/manager/PSO and share any concerns

• Within 24 hours, the PSO reports the concerns to the DSA

•     The DSA will advise regarding reporting/referring to child/adult social care and/or the police and will likely complete this themselves, this must be done within 24 hours

•     The person who is the subject of the concerns will be offered appropriate support as needed, this will be co-ordinated by the DSA with the PSO and could include therapeutic support, a Support Person, spiritual and pastoral support and if appropriate an apology.

If in any doubt seek advice from child/adult social care and/or the police.

RETENTION OF INFORMATION

 The PSO will gather all information relating to a particular safeguarding concern into a safeguarding case file, including how it was followed up, any actions or work subsequently undertaken and decisions reached. This case file will be held securely with restricted access in COTH electronic recording systems, in accordance with data protection legislation and shared with the DSA and statutory agencies as appropriate.

 Safeguarding case files will be kept for six years after all work related to the safeguarding concern has been completed.

  Appendix 1: Types of Abuse (taken from CofE Safeguarding Basic Awareness Training)

Neglect: “Failure to provide for basic physical, emotional or social needs; failure to administer medication; isolating a person; failing to respect their privacy or independence; failing to respect their religious, cultural or social needs.”

Domestic Abuse: “Any incident or pattern of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are, who have been, intimate partners or family members. It also includes ‘honour based violence', female genital mutilation and forced marriage. Domestic abuse can be psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional, and often includes some or all of these elements simultaneously.”

Physical Abuse: “Hitting, slapping, punching, kicking, hair-pulling, biting or pushing; rough handling, scalding or burning; administering physical punishments or inappropriate or unlawful use of restraint; deliberately making someone uncomfortable, involuntary isolation or confinement, misuse of medication, force-feeding or withholding food.”

Sexual Abuse: “Rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault. Inappropriate touch on any part of the body is sexual abuse, as is any sexual activity which the person lacks the capacity to consent to. Sexual abuse can also include inappropriate looking, sexual teasing, innuendo or sexual harassment, sexual photography, forced use of pornography, and indecent exposure.”

Financial or Material Abuse: “Theft of money or possessions; fraud; preventing someone accessing their own money; pressure of duress in connection with loans, wills, property, inheritance or financial transactions; denying necessary assistance or misuse of personal allowance, or other types of exploitation.”

Modern Slavery: “Human trafficking, forced labour, domestic servitude, sexual exploitation such as prostitution, debt bondage.”

Psychological or Emotional Abuse: “Enforced social isolation, removing mobility or communication aids, intentionally leaving someone unattended when they need assistance, preventing someone from meeting their religious or cultural needs, failure to respect privacy, or preventing the expression of choice and opinion. It may also include intimidation, coercion, harassment, use of threats, humiliation, bullying, or verbal abuse.”

Self-Neglect: “Lack of self-care that threatens personal health or safety; inability to avoid self-harm; failure to seek help or access services; inability or unwillingness to manage one’s personal affairs.”

Discriminatory Abuse: “Unequal treatment based on age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion, belief, sex or sexual orientation. Verbal abuse, harassment, denial of rights or substandard service relating to a protected characteristic.”

Organisational or Institutional Abuse: “Discouraging visits or involvement of friends or family; authoritative or absent leadership/management; abusive or disrespectful staff; inadequate staffing levels; failure to provide adequate physical needs, supervision and care, safety, or individual expression; not offering choice or independence.”

Coercive Control: Section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 created an offence of controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship, which occurs when a person repeatedly or continuously engages in behaviour towards another person to whom they are personally connected that is controlling or coercive, and that has a serious effect on their victim. Victims who experience coercive and controlling behaviour that stops short of serious physical violence, but amounts to extreme psychological and emotional abuse, can bring their alleged or known perpetrators to justice. The offence closes a gap in the law around patterns of controlling or coercive behaviour that occurs during a relationship between intimate partners, former partners who still live together, or family members.

Spiritual abuse is not a category of abuse recognised in statutory guidance but is of concern both within and outside faith communities, including the Church (Protecting All God's Children 2010, Church House 4th edition).

“Spiritual abuse" is a form of emotional and psychological abuse. It is characterised by a systematic pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour in a religious context. Spiritual abuse can have a deeply damaging impact on those who experience it. This abuse may include: manipulation and exploitation, enforced accountability, censorship of decision making, requirements for secrecy and silence, coercion to conform, control through the use of sacred texts or teaching, requirement of obedience to the abuser, the suggestion that the abuser has a ‘divine’ position, isolation as a means of punishment, and superiority and elitism.” (Oakley, 2018).