How disclosures are handled is crucially important if safeguarding reporting is to be effective. This section is an opportunity to explore and discuss good practice.
NARRATOR: Let us look at disclosure. Through working with vulnerable adults of all ages, you will have developed some skills in identifying some of the signs of abuse. There may be occasions when a vulnerable adult discloses to you about abuse that
he or she has suffered. Unfortunately, the majority of vulnerable adults will not wish to talk about what is happening to them. In a situation where a vulnerable adult discloses, your role is to simply find out just enough about the alleged abuse,
in order to make a decision about whether or not the disclosure should be referred.
If an adult does choose to disclose a concern they are having difficulty with, it is important the practitioner takes the time to listen, are sensitive throughout and responds appropriately to their needs. You may need to ask the vulnerable adult
or clarify what is being said. Ensure in these cases that you never use questions that will lead the adult to give you a certain reply. In these situations, you must use open questions, such as: please explain to me what happened? Can you explain
a little more? Can you tell me more about? It is essential that you do not contaminate any of the evidence provided by the vulnerable adults by asking leading questions or putting words into the adult’s mouth, as this could affect the case, should
it end in court. Remember, if a vulnerable adult chooses to disclose to you, it will be because you are an individual who the adult views is significant and who they can trust. It is essential for the vulnerable adults that the person they disclose
to is supportive. Vulnerable adults will often give you small clues over time.
Be supportive each time this happens, as this encourages further disclosure when the adult feels ready. Never push the adults by asking too many questions. It is better to offer support and allow the adult the space to disclose in his or her own words,
in their own time. Any individual working with vulnerable adults can, at any time during their work, be faced with a vulnerable adult who wants to talk to you about an abusive situation. When this occurs, it is essential that you are aware of
what is going on and your responsibility in relation to disclosure, reporting, referring, processes that are followed by agencies following referral.
If a vulnerable adult discloses to you, it is essential that you make sure that he or she realises that you take very seriously what is said. Listen carefully. Let the vulnerable adults know how brave you think he or she is to tell you and that you
understand how hard it must be, reassuring them that they were right to tell you. Do not jump to conclusions or give your own opinion, good or bad, to the raised concern. Ensure the vulnerable adult does not feel that she or he is to blame. Remain
calm and reassuring. Do not show disbelief, shaking of the head, shock, et cetera. Explain that you cannot promise to keep what the vulnerable adult tells you a secret.
Explain you have a duty to inform their line manager in order to keep them safe from risk of harm. Inform them that you may have to involve a social worker or police officer in order to maintain safety. Clearly, simply explain what will happen next.
We’ll continue to offer support, reassuring them that they will be involved in the decision-making process. Record complete, accurate, unbiased, factual and legible notes. Let us look at these key steps a little more closely. During the disclosure,
if it’s possible you should write down phrases and words whilst the vulnerable adult is talking. These will be useful to trigger your memory when you come to recall and record your full notes, following the disclosure.
This should only be done if the vulnerable adult agrees and is comfortable with you writing things down. Immediately following the disclosure. Immediately after the disclosure, it is very important to record exactly what the vulnerable adult said,
in as much detail as you can remember. It is very important to use the vulnerable adult’s own words and vocabulary, even if the words do not make a great deal of sense. What is very important is that there is an accurate record of what the vulnerable
adult actually said and not your interpretation of what was said. Your own responses. Your verbal and nonverbal response should be accurately recorded. It is very important that it is clear that you used a non-leading approach.
The environmental context of the disclosure. The environmental context, in which the vulnerable adult decided to disclose the abuse, can be valuable information later on for the investigation. For example, listening to a discussion on a radio programme
could trigger emotions of how they are feeling about a situation. The emotional context of the disclosure. The emotional context will provide valuable science to the investigating team. The vulnerable adult may have made serious statements in
a joking fashion or may have been upset and concerned. Vulnerable adults may speak about very serious matters in a direct way, which can be a surprise for those caring for them. Repetition. If a vulnerable adult repeats statements or certain words,
these should be recorded.
Reliability in a vulnerable adult’s repeated statements gives the evidence strength. It is important that the practitioner gains the agreement of the vulnerable adults prior to reporting a safeguarding concern. This may not always be possible, especially
those who are unable to give the consent themselves, i.e., those who lack mental capacity. However, in the majority of cases, the concerns raised must always be agreed with the vulnerable adult first before reporting. At all times, it must be
considered whether it is in the interests of the vulnerable adult that a safeguarding concern is raised. Remember, honourable adults often retract allegations of abuse. This does not discredit the allegation but should prompt questions about why
the allegation has been withdrawn.
Possible reasons that vulnerable adults will often not wish to disclose what is happening to them, they may feel uncomfortable and embarrassed, feel like they can’t talk about it, may have a disability or mental disability that does not allow them
to disclose their concerns, may be afraid of the overall impact on their life, especially if cared for by family. They have become dependent upon their abuser. They believe the abuse is normal behaviour. They do not think that anyone will believe
them or will understand what is happening. They wish for the abuse to cease but not sure how or where to begin to make it stop. You must not physically examine the vulnerable adult without their consent.
This is the role of the medically trained professional. If there are marks that are easily visible, then record what you can see. Do not look under, open or remove a vulnerable adult’s clothes to examine injuries. It is a difficult decision as to
whether or not it is acceptable to touch a vulnerable adult who was disclosing abuse, as touching, patting or hugging may have a very different meaning to the vulnerable adult. Vulnerable adults that have been abused often do not have the sense
of limits or understand they need to stay safe, so you must be cautious when sharing your understanding and empathy. The use of other means, such as voice, nonverbal behaviour, can be helpful in these situations.
If an adult is unsure of what to do next, there are many avenues that the practitioner can take to gain advice. They can speak to their colleagues, preferably their line manager, who may highlight that they also have their concerns. Adult social care
can be contacted, in addition to the Social Care Institute for Excellence, SCIE, and local safeguarding adult’s boards, who can advise on policies and procedures.
You may find that after seeking advice, that you no longer wish to report the concern and you may do some further research first to investigate whether there have been any previous reported concerns, or it may be that you decide to monitor the situation
to observe whether the concerns increase, with the thought process that adult social care will be contacted for further advice or to make a referral.
Watch the video above, which is about managing disclosure of abuse from vulnerable adults.
The table below gives some top tips when managing disclosure from SEAH adult survivors, ensuring a survivor-centred approach.
Do remember that any sharing of information to other people should be done on a need-to-know basis and as far as possible with the informed consent of the survivor.
You will remember that the UNSG Bulletin on SEA and the IASC PSEA
6 Core Principles make it mandatory for staff and personnel to promote the code of conduct and to
report SEAH ‘through established reporting mechanisms’ whether their concerns relate to the behaviour of staff from their own agency or from another.
Here are a few suggestions on what mechanisms should be in place to help make mandatory reporting effective:
Staff need to be informed when to report, to whom to report to and how. It is good practice that safeguarding concerns should be reported directly to the organisational in-country or programme-level Safeguarding Focal Points and/or Safeguarding Leads
and/or a Designated Safeguarding Board Member, all of whom should be trained and skilled to manage reports that come in.
Internal reporting mechanisms must be safe, confidential and accessible.
Reporting must be done in a timely manner, since any delay could result in greater harm.
Organisations should take a survivor-centred approach when managing reports.
Even anonymous reports should be taken seriously, and initial inquiries made.
Following donor commitment and grantee requirements emanating from the Safeguarding Summit held in London in 2018, international organisations have also included a
‘zero tolerance towards SEAH’ commitment in their policies and procedures.
This means that organisations will challenge inappropriate behaviour when it occurs and will take appropriate and timely action when concerns are brought to their attention. It also means continually improving processes and practices to keep staff, volunteers
and beneficiaries safe from harm.
Does your organisation have a mandatory reporting and/or zero tolerance policy? Do you think it has had any impact?
Reporting SEAH to authorities
In some countries it is mandatory for professionals, such as doctors and teachers, to disclose serious safeguarding concerns to authorities about children who may be affected. Such authorities may include law enforcement or social services (where they
exist).
The rules relating to mandatory reporting regarding adults may be more relaxed, unless they are classified as ‘vulnerable adults’. Professionals must report or face criminal sanctions, such as fines and/or imprisonment.
However, in some countries, mandatory reporting is hugely detrimental to survivors of SEAH, since they could be criminally prosecuted themselves. For example, in jurisdictions where a female is found to be alone with a man who is not her father or husband,
this can amount to a criminal act, even if that female was coerced or forced into that position.
In many contexts, authorities may not be equipped to question survivors or victims in a sensitive way or think about survivor-centred approaches. Sometimes they may be corrupt, disinterested or biased towards the perpetrator because of myths and assumptions
about female or male survivors in that society.
Therefore, it is very important to assess the risk of reporting to authorities and ensure that survivors are not re-traumatised or even criminally prosecuted for harm they have already suffered.
Activity 4.4 Reporting SEAH - poll
Reflect on the three following questions and respond using the poll (all responses are anonymous).
