What Is Safeguarding?

Everyone has the right to live safely free from harm and abuse. Safeguarding refers to the practice of keeping people safe from preventable harm, especially vulnerable people. Safeguarding concerns the protection of children (people under 18 years), people with disabilities, older people and anyone else at risk of harm. Safeguarding is a combination of systemic practice and case-by-case work, organisations have a duty to safeguard, as do individuals. Keeping different people safe looks different, and often depends on various competing factors as well as personal circumstances.

Generally speaking, the types of harm we are trying to guard against include: abuse, severe mental distress, physical harm, crime and exploitation. Generally speaking, we try to protect people from harm by doing the following sorts of things: sharing information, signposting, being observant, keeping records, challenging harmful behaviours, creating a culture of safety, and receiving training.