Definitions

A

Adult at risk - a person aged 18 or over, whose risk of harm through abuse, exploitation or neglect may be increased by their personal characteristics or life circumstances.

Adverse Childhood Experiences - Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are traumatic events that occur during childhood. ACEs can have a significant impact on a person’s physical, emotional, and mental health throughout their life. Although ACEs increase a person’s risk of certain health conditions and behaviour in adulthood, they do not guarantee them. 

Adverse Community Experiences - Adverse Community Environments are the community-wide traumatic events that occur throughout a person's life. They can be significant traumatic events that occur on a singular or ongoing basis. The traumatic events that impact a community can originate from a number of economic and social structure aspects including: structural violence, racism, conflict, politics, disability, historical context, lack of healthcare, and welfare.

B

Bullying - the use of aggression with the intention of hurting another person.

C

A Child -  a person under the age of 18

Child abuse - when a child is intentionally harmed by another person or when someone fails to prevent harm occurring to them. It can also be through neglect.

Child abuse linked to faith or belief (CALFB) - where concerns for a child's welfare are identified, and could be caused by harmful practices linked to a belief in witchcraft, spirit or demonic possession. 

Child criminal exploitation (CCE). The manipulation, coercion or control of a child/ children to undertake a criminal activity. 

Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) - involving a child in an activity for the sexual gratification or gain of another person, whether or not it is claimed they have consented or agreed.

Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) - a form of Child Sexual Abuse where a person or group manipulates or deceives a person under the age of 18 into sexual activity.

Child Sexual Abuse Material - this is pornography that unlawfully exploits children in a sexual manner. It includes images, pseudo-images, video and streamed content. Note that the phrase "child pornography" is no longer used, this term undermines the seriousness of the abuse and implies that the child has consented, which is not the case. 

Coercive control - an act or pattern of acts by one person against another to harm, punish, or frighten them and make them dependent upon the other person by isolating them from their support, exploiting them, depriving them of independence and regulating their everyday behaviour.

Complex abuse (Organised or Multiple abuse) - abuse that involves one or more abusers and several related or non-related abused children.

County Lines - where illegal drugs are transported from one area to another (often across police and local authority boundaries) usually by young children or vulnerable people who are coerced to do so by criminal gangs.  National Crime Agency

Cuckooing - this is the practice of taking over the home of a vulnerable person in order to use the home as a base for drug trafficking, prostitution and other criminal activities. The victim is often groomed with 'friendship' and 'gifts' and is afraid of going to the police in case they are suspected of involvement in the criminal activity.

Cyberbullying - (or online bullying) is any type of bullying that happens online.

D

Disclosure of abuse - when a person tells someone else about their experience of abuse.

Discriminatory Abuse - when a person is treated unfairly, bullied, or abused because of a particular characteristic.

Domestic Abuse (Domestic violence) - any threatening behaviour, violence, or abuse by one person against another where they are or have been been intimate partners or family members. See also: Children & Domestic Abuse. 

Duty of Care - The legal and moral duty of an individual or organisation to ensure they take all reasonable steps to promote the safety and well-being of a child, young person or adult involved in any activity or interaction that the individual or organisation is responsible for. 

E

Emotional Abuse - any persistent emotional ill-treatment that causes severe and long-lasting adverse effects on someone’s emotional development.

F

Fabricated or induced illness (FII) perplexing presentations - a form of child abuse that happens when a parent or carer exaggerates or deliberately causes symptoms of illness in the child.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) - procedures that involve the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or any other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

Financial harm or abuse - the attempted or actual misappropriation or misuse of a person's money, property, benefits, material goods, or other assets by another person, my means of intimidation, coercion, deception, or other ways to which the person does not or can not consent to.

Forced marriage - when one or both potential spouses doesn't consent to marry or is coerced into marriage because of physical, emotional, or psychologial threats or pressure.

G

Gangs and gang crime - street-based groups of young people who see themselves (and are seen by others) as a discernible group for whom crime and violence is an integral part of the group’s identity. See also: Paramilitarism.

Gillick competency - a method for assessing an individual child's ability to make informed decisions about their own welfare.

H

Hate crime - any incident which constitutes a criminal offence perceived as being motivated by prejudice, discrimination or hate.

Human Trafficking - moving somebody using force, fraud, coercion or deception in order to exploit them.

I

Indecent images of children (IIOC) - images of children being abused or photographed in provocative poses.

Intimate care - (or personal care) is carrying out or helping someone with any task which most people can do for themselves, but which some are unable to do for whatever reason e.g. washing, dressing or undressing, toileting, medical treatment, changing period products, incontinence pads and nappies, or supervising someone to do any of these.

J

K

L

M

Mental capacity/incapacity - Mental (in)capacity means whether a person can make a specific decision at a specific time. Everyone is assumed to have capacity unless a professional assessment shows otherwise. A person may lack capacity if, due to a condition affecting their mind or brain, they cannot understand, remember, weigh up, or communicate a decision—even with support. Capacity can change over time and between decisions, and making an unwise choice does not mean someone lacks capacity.

Modern Slavery - an umbrella term that refers to many types of exploitation where somebody loses their freedom and is controlled by another person or people for personal or financial gain.

Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) - the set of arrangements by which the Police, Probation and Prison Services work together with other agencies in Wales and England to manage the risks posed by violent and sexual offenders living in the community in order to protect the public

N

Neglect - the failure to meet a person’s basic physical or emotional needs which is likely to have a serious negative impact on their health or development.

O

Online Grooming - when someone builds a relationship with a person online so they can sexually abuse, exploit or traffic them.

Organisational Abuse - when a person is abused or mistreated within an institution such as a care home or hospital, or by an organisation providing care in the person's own home. 

P

Physical Abuse - the deliberate use of physical force by one person against another to cause harm.

Private Fostering - an arrangement that is made privately, without the involvement of a local authority, for the care of a child by someone other than a parent or close relative that lasts for 28 days or more.

Q

R

Recruiter - a person within an organisation who is responsible for verifying the identity of someone applying for a check by viewing relevant identity documents and information.

Regulated Activity - is work that a barred person must not do. Someone who does work that is considered to be in Regulated Activity needs to have a check against the appropriate barred list/s which are maintained by the DBS.

Regulated Role - In Scotland, Regulated roles are positions that involve working with children or protected adults, where there is a need for safeguarding measures to prevent unsuitable individuals from being employed. These roles require individuals to be members of the PVG scheme.

S

Self Harm - when a person injures or harms themselves on purpose rather than accidentally.

Self-neglect - when an adult lives in a way that puts their own health, safety or well-being at risk.

Sexting - when someone shares sexual, naked or semi-naked images or videos of themselves or others, or sends sexual messages.

Sexual Abuse - any behaviour perceived to be of a sexual nature which is unwanted or takes place without consent or understanding.

Sexual offender - someone who has committed sexual offences against either children or adults.

Spiritual Abuse - coercion and control of one individual by another in a spiritual context that exhibits aspects that are supported by, or intertwined with, faith and belief.

Significant Harm - the level of harm that triggers statutory action to protect a child. It is based on the individual child's health or development compared to that which could reasonably be expected of a similar child

T

U

Umbrella Body - To process criminal record checks an organisation may need to appoint an external agency to do this known as an 'Umbrella body' who can make the checks on the organisation's behalf.

V

W

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