Recognise

The first step in responding well to concerns is to recognise and identify that a person may be at risk of harm or abuse.

You may recognise a concern in a number of ways:

• by spotting signs or indicators of abuse - things that you see, hear, or otherwise notice that make you wonder if someone is safe and ok.
• a person may tell you directly that they are experiencing harm or may come to you for help – in safeguarding, this is called making a disclosure of abuse.
• someone may tell you, directly or indirectly, that they are harming another person.
• a friend, family member or another member of your community might pass on a concern to you.
• you might notice something about the way another worker behaves towards children or adults at risk that causes you concern.

All workers in an organisation should receive an appropriate level of safeguarding training and awareness, help them be alert to the signs and indicators of abuse, and know how to respond when a disclosure of abuse is made. They should also know what their responsibility is when they recognise a safeguarding concern.

This commitment should be included in your organisation's safeguarding policy.