Communities 1st - Safeguarding Policy and Procedure

Principles

Communities 1st is committed to the safeguarding of all children, young people and adults at risk with whom it has contact. Staff, volunteers, and members, both in these roles and as citizens, should take action to safeguard children and adults at risk when they have concerns. As an “umbrella organisation,” we will encourage and support groups in the sector to provide effective safeguarding.

Everyone involved in the care of children, young people and adults at risk has a responsibility to take action for the protection of those individuals from harm. It is also essential that we honour the trust of those who allow us to care for their children, young people and adults at risk. For quick reference on who to report to, see Section 8.

There is a duty placed on public agencies under the Human Rights Act (1998) to intervene to protect the rights of citizens. Also the Children Act (1989) makes it clear that the welfare of the child is paramount and that everyone involved in the care of children has a responsibility to protect those children from harm. The Care Act 2014 put safeguarding adults on a statutory footing and sets out clear principles of empowerment, prevention, proportionate intervention when necessary, protection, partnership and accountability.

In order to protect everyone from potential and actual abuse it is necessary for all staff, volunteers, trustees, and member organisations to have an understanding of the issues involved and that appropriate procedures are in place that are shared and understood by all concerned. We will also ensure that our partner organisations and suppliers adhere to effective safeguarding policies.

Communities 1st’s safeguarding policy embodies the following principles:

The welfare of the child, young person or adult at risk is paramount;
Everyone, regardless of age, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion, economic status or ethnic origin has a right to be protected from all forms of harm, abuse, neglect and exploitation.
Some children and adults are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs or other issues. Extra safeguarding may be needed to keep those who are additionally vulnerable safe from abuse.
It is not your responsibility as staff or volunteers working on behalf of Communities 1st to decide whether or not abuse is occurring, but it is your responsibility to act on any concerns and do something about it.
All suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately.
Communities have a vital role in preventing, identifying, and reporting cases of abuse and neglect. Communities 1st has a key role in supporting the voluntary and community sector in these activities.
Safeguarding should be delivered proportionally to the risks involved.
Safe recruitment practices are followed and the suitability of staff and volunteers are continually assessed to prevent the employment/deployment of unsuitable individuals.

Objectives

The key objectives of this policy are:

To explain the responsibilities Communities 1st and its staff, volunteers, trustees, member organisations and strategic partners have in respect of safeguarding children and adults at risk.

To provide staff, volunteers, management committee members and trustees with an overview of child and adult safeguarding and online safety.
To provide a clear procedure that will be implemented where a child or adult at risk safeguarding issue arises in line with our values and within the law.
To protect all adults at risk or children involved with our organisation, accessing our services and those who make use of technology while in our care.

This policy applies to anyone working on behalf of Communities 1st, including senior managers and the board of trustees, paid staff, volunteers, sessional workers, agency staff, and volunteers.

Age Category Definitions

A child is a child before their birth (i.e. during pregnancy) and until their 18th birthday.

An adult at risk is any adult with care and support needs (regardless of whether the local authority or other agency or group is meeting any of those needs) because of mental or other disability, age or illness and who are, or may be, unable to take care of themselves against harm or exploitation. The term adult at risk should be used instead of “vulnerable adult” or “alleged victim”.

It should be recognised that with regard to young adults, there may be overlap between the groups of “children” and “adults at risk,”

Identifying abuse and what to do if abuse is suspected

The term ‘abuse’ is used to describe various ways that someone can be harmed or mistreated.

Abuse can happen anywhere and at any time, but research indicates that the perpetrators of abuse are likely to be known and trusted by the child or young person, including family members and others known to the family. For adults at risk, perpetrators of abuse include family and neighbours, including spouses, other adults at risk, as well as professional carers, volunteers, and also strangers or people who do not know the adult.

Child abuse is split into four main categories - physical, neglect, sexual and emotional. In addition, there are some variations, including but not limited to sexual exploitation, child trafficking, female genital mutilation, online abuse, and bullying/cyber bullying. Children and young people may also be subjected to radicalisation.

Definitions

Abuse of adults at risk, defined by the Care Act, is split into ten categories. It includes the four used for children and also: financial or material; institutional or organisational; discriminatory; self-neglect; modern slavery; domestic abuse. Four additional types are also relevant: cyber bullying; forced marriage; hate crime; and radicalisation.

The definitions of the main types of abuse are as follows:

5.1 Child Abuse

Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm. Children may be abused in a family or in an institutional or community setting by those known to them or, more rarely, by others. Abuse can take place wholly online, or technology may be used to facilitate offline abuse. Children may be abused by an adult or adults, or another child or children.

5.2 Physical abuse

This may involve hitting, kicking, shaking, throwing, squeezing, suffocating, drowning, burning or biting the child or adult at risk. Giving a child alcohol is also a form of physical abuse. Giving a child or adult at risk (against their free and informed consent) drugs, poison or overmedicated using prescribed medications are also forms of physical abuse. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces, illness in a child.

5.3 Neglect

5.3.1 Neglect of children

The persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy as a result of maternal substance abuse. Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to:

1. provide adequate food, clothing and shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment)
2. protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger
3. ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate care-givers)
4. ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment

It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.

5.3.2 Neglect of adults at risk

Neglect is the persistent failure to meet an adult’s risk of basic physical and psychological needs. This may include the failure to meet basic needs, like food, shelter, warm clothing or medical attention.

5.4 Sexual abuse

Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child or adult at risk to take part in sexual activities, including prostitution, whether or not the child or adult is aware of what is happening. Activities may involve penetrative and non-penetrative acts or non-contact activities such as forcing a child or adult at risk to look at or take part in the production of pornographic materials.

It can also include encouraging the child or adult to behave in sexually inappropriate ways. Sexual abuse includes grooming in preparation for abuse, for example, via the internet.

Experience through research and practise has highlighted the impact of peer abuse, whereby an adult at risk, child or young person is forced into an inappropriate and abusive relationship by a peer. This has serious detrimental implications for the victim. Such cases need to be identified, reported, and responded to.

5.5 Emotional abuse

For children, emotional abuse is the persistent emotional ill-treatment of a child, such as to cause severe adverse effects on that child’s emotional development. This may involve a lack of love and affection, telling a child they are worthless, bullying or being constantly shouted at. Emotional abuse also occurs when the child is valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person, when the child is overprotected and unable to explore and learn on their own, or when they witness the ill-treatment or abuse of another (including domestic violence, or animal cruelty). Other examples are bullying, including cyber bullying, making fun of what the child says or how they communicate.

For adults at risk, emotional, sometimes called psychological, abuse can include the threats of harm or abandonment, blaming or controlling behaviour, enforced isolation, treating as incompetent, under-mining, belittling, and bullying.

5.6 Financial or material abuse

This type of abuse is commonly closely associated with adults at risk, however it can equally affect children and young people. If you think that a child is being abused financially or materially you should report this in the usual way.

Financial abuse is when an adult at risk is exploited for financial gain. This can include theft, fraud, exploitation, pressure in connection with wills, property or inheritance or financial transactions, or the misuse or misappropriation of property, possessions, or benefits.

5.7 Institutional or organisational abuse

This type of abuse may affect adults at risk, however if you think that a child or young person is experiencing this type of abuse you should report this in the usual way and also consider contacting the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) - see section on managing allegations.

Institutional abuse occurs when the routines, systems and regimes of an institution result in poor or inadequate standards of care and poor practice which affects the individual or even the whole setting and denies, restricts or curtails the dignity, privacy, choice, independence or fulfilment of adults at risk. Decisions may be taken because they are in the best interests of the staff or institution not in the best interests of the adult at risk.

5.8 Internet Abuse

This refers to the various harmful and unethical behaviours and actions individuals or groups engage in whilst using the internet and any form of online digital technology intended to harass, harm, deceive, disrupt or discredit others. It encompasses a wide range of activities that violate the law, accepted societal norms and terms of service of online digital platforms and would also be seen to violate the Communities 1st Code of Conduct and terms of service.

Internet or online abuse is a significant concern in the digital age and can have serious emotional, psychological, reputational and even physical consequences for those who are targeted. Online technology can enable greater numbers of people both young and old to be considered at risk. As with face to face bullying, with online bullying, it is possible for one victim to be bullied by many perpetrators. This can be perpetrated by an adult, a child or young person.

To mitigate against this Communities 1st has installed software on all staff computers and public workstations to filter explicit and/or harmful web content and monitor activity for harmful or unethical behaviour. Communities 1st also advocates and actively promotes greater levels of digital literacy, responsible online behaviour and cybersecurity awareness. For a more detailed overview of this type of abuse and the mechanisms Communities 1st have put in place to recognise, address and report abusive activity please see the Online Abuse section of the appendix to this policy.

5.9 Discriminatory abuse

Discriminatory abuse is behaviour that makes or sees a distinction between people as a basis for prejudice or unfair treatment. This can include behaviours which are prejudiced against personal characteristics protected by law i.e. racism, sexism, homophobia, ablism and not respecting individuals’ right to worship. This can affect both adults at risk and children and young people. Incidence of abuse of this nature may also constitute a hate incident or hate crime and as such are reportable to the police.

5.10 Domestic violence, mental health, and substance misuse

Research has shown a strong correlation between parents/carers experiencing domestic violence, mental health problems, and substance misuse and children/young people experiencing abuse. When these three factors occur together they are a strong indicator of possible abuse. All three are, of course, damaging to adults at risk.

Please see section 2 of the appendix to this policy for further detail on the Domestic Abuse Act 2021

N.B These definitions are intended to help our staff and volunteers to identify and describe abuse that they may witness or have disclosed to them, enabling them to report abuse appropriately confidently and comprehensively. This is not an exhaustive list of possible indicators of abuse and it should be noted that there may be explanations for the indicator or behaviour other than abuse.

Abuse may be experienced singly or multiply

An individual may be the victim of one type of abuse/neglect or they may experience several forms at once. All types of abuse can be damaging and should be taken seriously.

Supporting victims of abuse

Victims of abuse may face particular needs, resulting from their abusive experience. These effects can be damaging and long lasting. All staff should be able to reassure victims of abuse that they are being taken seriously and will be supported. Victims should never be made to feel ashamed or that they are causing a problem reporting abuse.

Reporting - What to do if there is a concern about the welfare of a child or adult

If any member of Communities 1st suspects abuse is taking place they should immediately inform a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) listed below, who will decide whether or not to take the matter further:

Nicola O’Neill – Wellbeing Services Manager: 01727 649 931
Juli Riley – Head of Engagement & Skills: 01727 649 951
Tom Watkins – Head of Communications: 01727 649 947

A log of the concern must be kept which specifies the timescales for informing the DSL. See section 11 on Record Keeping below.

If no DSL is available then immediately inform the Designated Safeguarding Champion, Stephen Craker, Chief Executive on 01727 649 920.

If it is felt that further investigation is required in order to keep a child safe then the matter must be referred to Hertfordshire County Council’s Children’s Social Care by the DSL/DSC. Children’s Social Care may be contacted at any time for advice and consultation. In the event of a referral to Children’s Social Care all relevant information must be shared, including copies of correspondence, log of previous concerns and notes of any conversations with the child, their family or other staff.

If it is felt that further investigation is required in order to keep safe an adult who is at risk then the matter must be referred to Adult Health and Community Services or Mental Health SPA Safeguarding Team (as appropriate) by the DSL/DSC. Gateway to care may be contacted at any time for advice and consultation. In the event of a referral to Adult Health and Community Services all relevant information must be shared, including copies of correspondence, log of previous concerns and notes of any conversations with the adult at risk, their family or other staff. It is advised that, this should happen with the adult’s consent if possible, unless the adult is assessed under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 as not having mental capacity at that point to give or refuse consent, they are believed to be at significant risk of imminent harm or unless there are vital or public interests at stake, such as risk to children in the same household, or the alleged perpetrator is a member of staff or volunteer, or a crime has been committed.

N.B. The Data Protection Act is not a barrier to information sharing where doing so is necessary to safeguard children or an adult at risk.

In the unlikely event that neither a DSL or the designated safeguarding champion is not available or contactable this should not delay action being taken to protect a child or adult at risk. Any member of Communities 1st may contact Children’s Social Care or Herts County Council Health and Community Services directly to raise their concerns.

Children’s Social Care

(including out of hours): 0300 123 4043 or complete this online form

Adult Health and Community Services

(including out of hours): 0300 123 4042 or complete this online form

Mental Health Single Point of Access Hertfordshire

0800 6444 101

N.B. If there are any concerns about the immediate safety of a child or an adult at risk then the police must be contacted on 999 without delay.

On occasions you may feel you need to seek advice outside of Community 1st or local agencies on how to proceed. Regarding children and young people, you can contact the NSPCC Child Protection Helpline: 0808 800 5000. Regarding adults you can contact the Samaritans on 08457 909090 or for older adults at risk you can contact Action on Elder Adults: 0808 808 8141. For adults at risk you can also contact The Ann Craft Trust on 0115 951 5400; email: ann-craft-trust@nottingham.ac.uk

Capacity

N.B. The following section applies only to adults. As a general rule children cannot be assessed for capacity under the Mental Capacity Act (2005) except in specific circumstances. (For more information on this you must access appropriate training).

In accordance with the Mental Capacity Act (2005), public agencies work from a presumption that an adult has capacity to make their own decisions unless a person’s apparent comprehension of a situation gives rise to doubt. It is the right of adults who have capacity to make their own choices, irrespective of how wise we might consider that decision to be.

However, where:

A crime is suspected or;
Allegations involve a member of staff, paid carer or volunteer, or;
There is a risk of significant harm to that person or any other adult at risk

then relevant agencies must be informed and allegations must be investigated whether the alleged victim is willing to take an active part in the process or not.

Where adults lack the capacity to safeguard themselves, other people will need to make those decisions, and to ensure that this is done appropriately you may wish to ask the following agencies to support you:

Adult Health and Community Services - (including out of hours): 0300 123 4042
The County Community Safety & Partnership Unit - 01707 638031
Beacon Victim Care Centre - 03000 11 55 55

Allegations against staff or volunteers

Any suspicion that a child, or an adult at risk, has been abused by a member of staff or a volunteer must be immediately reported to the designated safeguarding champion otherwise known as the Alerting Manager, who will take such steps as considered necessary to ensure the safety of the child or adult at risk in question and any other child or adult who may be at risk.

The Designated Safeguarding Lead will refer the allegation to Adult/Children’s Social Care within one working day of the allegations being made. Adult/Children’s Social Care may involve the police, or will refer directly to the police if out-of-hours.

For abuse (or allegations of abuse) of children, Children’s Social Care and the designated safeguarding champion will liaise with the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) whose responsibility it is to:

Provide advice and guidance;
Liaise with the police and other agencies;
Provide assistance in discussions regarding suspension and referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

The LADO in Hertfordshire can be contacted on 01992 555420

The parents or carers of the child or adult at risk will be contacted as soon as possible following advice from Adult/Children’s Social Care / Gateway to care and/or the police as appropriate.

If the Designated Safeguarding Lead is the subject of the suspicion/allegation, the concern must be made to the Designated Safeguarding Champion or the Chair of Trustees/Lead Trustee for Safeguarding.

Where there is a complaint against a member of staff there may be three types of investigation:

A criminal investigation
A child protection / safeguarding adult investigation
A disciplinary or misconduct investigation

10.1 Internal enquiries and suspension

The Designated Safeguarding Champion will make an immediate decision about whether any individual suspected of abuse should be temporarily suspended pending further police and Social Care enquiries.

Where an individual is suspended it is advised that other employees / volunteers should have no contact with them until enquires have concluded.

Unless statutory enquiries result in the person being barred from working with adults at risk or children, the organisation will assess all individual cases, irrespective of the findings of Social Care or police enquiries, to decide whether a member of staff or volunteer can be reinstated. The welfare of the child or adult at risk should remain of paramount importance throughout.

Record keeping

Any records kept in relation to safeguarding concerns for a child or an adult at risk must be kept securely and confidentially in an agreed place. Records must be factual, accurate and clearly written in black ink or typed, with a legible date, time and signature. For children, the file should be kept until the child is 25. For adults, the file should be kept for seven years.

Online safety, virtual delivery, and Social media

The benefits of social media have been increasingly recognised and harnessed in order to improve communication and deliver a number of services that were previously provided face-to-face. Activities, events, groups, and forums have been set up online. Social media offers many benefits. However, we also recognise that there can be threats to children, young people, and adults at risk. Their identities, locations, and other personal information may be revealed. They may become vulnerable to grooming and to taking part in inappropriate activities.

Communities 1st takes its responsibilities for online safeguarding as seriously as those applying to safeguarding in face-to-face situations. The same principles, policy and procedures apply, albeit with some modification. Staff and volunteers need to be aware of the circumstances where participants may be vulnerable so that they can avoid such situations and take appropriate action to deal with them, The need to report concerns and make referrals is just as great in relation to digital concerns as it is in face to face situations.

As part of using the internet and social media, Communities 1st commits to

Assess and manage the associated safety aspects – including what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour for staff and children when using websites, social media (including but not limited to; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc) apps, video platforms (including but not limited to; Youtube & Vimeo) and video conferencing platforms (including but not limited to; Zoom, MS Teams, Google Meet or Skype)
Be aware of how staff and volunteers in our organisation and the adults at risk or children they work with use social media both inside and outside of our setting.
Ensure that we adhere to relevant legislation and good practice guidelines when using the internet, especially through our social media channels and video conferencing software.
Ensure concerns of or disclosures of abusive behaviour which take place online are given the same focus as any other form of abuse and as such are reportable by the same procedures.
Provide training for all staff responsible for managing our organisation’s online presence, regularly reviewing existing safeguarding policies and procedures to ensure that online safeguarding issues are fully integrated.

Trustees’ responsibilities

Communities 1st Trustees take the safeguarding of children and young people and adults at risk very seriously. Effective governance is part of good safeguarding practice. The Board will consider safeguarding in relation to all its endeavours and activities, including strategic planning. It will model good safeguarding practice. To this end, the Board of Trustees will

Appoint a Board member to be the Lead Safeguarding Trustee
Ensure that all trustees have a comprehensive understanding of safeguarding principles and practice
Have safeguarding as a regular item on the Trustee Board agenda, so that Trustees can receive briefing on any safeguarding incidents and consider any actions necessary to address specific or general safeguarding concerns
Support staff and volunteers and help set a culture and set of values that enable effective safeguarding to take place
Take responsibility for ensuring that the effectiveness of the organisation’s safeguarding arrangements is quality assured on a regular basis, and that lessons are learned both from good practice and from any practice that has not been of a sufficiently high standard
Constructively seek clarification on safeguarding information presented to its meetings so that safeguarding practice is tested by means of helpful and robust challenge.

Recognising the key role that the community has in preventing maltreatment and in safeguarding children, young people, and adults at risk, Communities 1st will provide leadership and support to member organisations and other groups so that the community is effectively protected.

Additional related policies

All members of Communities 1st will receive a copy of this policy and undergo training as part of their induction to the organisation. Please refer to the Training and Development Policy to understand how this is implemented.

Communities 1st also has other safeguarding-affiliated policies on the following related topics which all staff and volunteers must be familiar with:

Recruitment and Selection
Prevent Policy
Disciplinary / Grievance
Health and Safety
Complaints and Compliments
Whistleblowing
Code of Conduct

APPENDIX

Online Safeguarding

Introduction

Recent years have seen an exponential growth for the internet and social media. This has led to many benefits relating to learning, sharing information, and improved communications. However, there have been disadvantages which include the risks of being abused, bullied, and exploited online.

There are similarities between the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults in person and the abuse experienced online. Both are damaging and both need to be taken seriously. The safeguarding responses to both forms of abuse will be similar and the safeguarding procedures must be followed. However, we also need to be aware of important differences between online and face to face abuse.

Communities 1st staff, volunteers, members and beneficiaries use online media and the internet in the following ways:

Websites
Email
Social media (including but not limited to; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, LinkedIn etc)
Video conferencing platforms (including but not limited to; Zoom, MS Teams, Google Meet or Skype)
Apps,
Video platforms (including but not limited to; Youtube & Vimeo)

This list is not exhaustive as online digital technology is increasingly integrated into daily professional and social life.

1.1 Online Safeguarding Terminology

E-Safety

This is a generic term that refers to raising awareness about how children, young people and adults can protect themselves when using digital technology and in the online environment. It provides examples of interventions that can reduce the level of risk for children, young people and vulnerable adults. Vulnerable individuals should be supported to understand that when they use digital technology they should not give out personal information, particularly their name, address workplace or school, mobile phone numbers to anyone they do not know or trust: this particularly applies when using social networking and online gaming sites. If individuals have been asked for such information, they should always get a trusted second opinion from an independent adult such as a family member or close friend. Children should check with their parent, guardian, teacher or another trusted adult before providing such details. It is also important that children especially understand why they must take a parent or trusted adult with them if they meet someone face to face whom they have only previously met on-line. These and the following principles are and should be promoted by all working on behalf of Communities 1st, especially those delivering our Digital Inclusion projects e.g. digital champion volunteers.

Digital and Interactive Technology

This term refers to a range of electronic tools. These are constantly being upgraded and their use has become more widespread as the internet can be accessed easily on mobile / smart phones, laptops, computers, tablets and games consoles.

Internet abuse

This can include but is not limited to cyberbullying or online bullying. This is when an individual is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another person using the internet and/or mobile devices. In the case of online bullying it is possible for one victim to be bullied by many perpetrators. In any case of severe bullying it may be appropriate to consider the behaviour as abuse. Where a child or children are the victims this constitutes Child Abuse. This can be perpetrated by an adult or another child.

Social networking

Refers to dedicated websites or other applications which enables users to communicate with each other by posting information, comments, messages, images, etc. These sites are often used by perpetrators as an easy way to access children and young people and vulnerable adults for sexual abuse. In addition radical and extremist groups may use social networking to attract vulnerable adults, children and young people into rigid and narrow ideologies that are intolerant of diversity: this is similar to the grooming process and exploits the same vulnerabilities.

Indecent or Abusive Images

Production, possession or sharing of indecent or abusive images of children is a criminal offence. This is not confined to activities taking place on the internet but this is the most common medium for such images to be shared. It is also an offence to expose a child or young person to pornographic, abusive or offensive material via the internet.

Sexting

This is a term used when a person shares sexual, naked or semi-naked images or videos of themselves or others, or sends sexually explicit messages. They can be sent using mobiles, tablets, smartphones, laptops - any device that allows you to share media and messages. Sexting can be seen as harmless, but creating or sharing explicit images of a child is illegal, even if the person doing it is a child. An individual of any age is breaking the law if they:

Take an explicit photo or video of themselves or a friend;
Share an explicit image or video of a child, even if it's shared between children of the same age;
Possess, download or store an explicit image or video of a child, even if the child gave their permission for it to be created.
Where there is suspected or actual evidence of anyone accessing or creating indecent images of children, this must be shared with the Police and Children's social care. Any disclosed or suspected incidence should be immediately reported to a Communities 1st Designated Safeguarding Lead.
Vulnerable adults, children and young people should be warned about the risks of taking sexually explicit pictures of themselves and sharing them on the internet or by text. It is essential that vulnerable adults and young people understand the legal implications and the risks they are taking. The initial risk posed by sexting may come from peers, friends and others in their social network who may share the images. However, once an image has been sent, it can then be shared with others or posted online. The Criminal Justice and Courts Act (2015) introduced the offence of Revenge Porn where intimate images are shared with the intent to cause distress to the specific victim.
Section 69 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 stipulates that both the distribution and the threats to distribute private sexual images or films with the explicit aim of causing emotional distress are considered punishable offences.

Grooming

This is a term used to describe any action taken by a potential abuser to prepare their intended victim for a meeting usually with the intention of committing a sexual offence. It can also be used in relation to the targeting of vulnerable individuals for the purpose of radicalisation.

Grooming is prevalent in cases of face to face as well as online sexual abuse. With face to face abuse, the internet may or may not be used as a vehicle for grooming.

The internet is the primary domain for these activities to take place. Vulnerable adults, children and young people may be targeted online, in particular through the use of social media for the purpose of sexual abuse or for the purpose of engaging in extremist ideologies or gang related violence.

1.2 Abuse Indicators Online

Often online (and offline) abuse issues, especially those involving child abuse, come to light through an accidental discovery of images or communications on a computer or other device and can seem to emerge 'out of the blue' from an otherwise trusted and non-suspicious individual. This in itself can make accepting the fact of the abuse difficult for those who know and may have trusted that individual. Partners, colleagues and friends often find it very difficult to believe and may require support. Communities 1st commits to supporting victims and those affected by the actions of a perpetrator by sourcing, referring or signposting to appropriate help.

When communicating via the internet, young people tend to become less wary and talk about things far more openly than they might when communicating face to face. There may be noticeable signs that indicate abuse is taking place by the way an individual communicates online, this is however rate and we must be vigilant to other indicators.
Children often show us rather than tell us that something is upsetting them. There may be many reasons for changes in their behaviour, but if we notice a combination of worrying signs it may be time to call for help or advice.
By contrast adults are more likely to disclose to a trusted individual that abusive behaviour is taking place or that an upsetting incident has occurred
The initial indicators of abuse are likely to be changes in behaviour and mood of the victim. Clearly such changes can also be attributed to many innocent events in and individual's life and cannot be regarded as diagnostic. However changes to a person's circle of friends or a noticeable change in attitude towards the use of computer or phone could have their origin in abusive behaviour. Similarly a change in their friends or not wanting to be alone with a particular person may be a sign that something is upsetting them.

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (and this accompanying factsheet) is intended to transform the response to domestic abuse, helping to prevent offending, protect victims and ensure that they have the support they need. The Act contains a number of measures, including the creation of a new statutory definition of domestic violence, emphasising that domestic violence is not just physical violence but also emotional, coercive or controlling and economic abuse. As part of this definition, children will be explicitly recognised as victims if they see, hear, or otherwise experience the effects of abuse.

Possible signs of abuse include:

Unexplained or suspicious injuries such as bruising, cuts, or burns, particularly if situated on a part of the body not normally prone to such injuries, or the explanation of the cause of the injury is ill-fitting.

A disclosure of abuse, or description of what appears to be an abusive act.
Someone else (child or adult) expresses concern about the welfare of another child or adult at risk.
Unexplained changes in behaviour, such as being withdrawn or sudden outbursts of temper.
The child or vulnerable adult shows signs of being fearful or afraid of particular people.
Inappropriate sexual awareness or sexually explicit behaviour.
Distrust of a particular individual, particularly those with whom a close relationship would normally be expected.
Difficulty in making friends.
Eating disorders, depression, self-harm or suicide attempts.
Deterioration in health or appearance including loss of weight.
Unexplained loss of money or material goods (financial abuse)
Unexplained possession of money or goods such as mobile phones (child sexual exploitation)
Fear or anxiety