Session 6 How are safeguarding concerns raised?

Despite the best efforts of organisations to prevent abuse, safeguarding concerns will still be reported. It’s important to note that this should not be seen as a bad thing – if a concern is reported, then you can do something about it.

Learning outcomes

In this session, you will:

Explore the ways you might hear about concerns.

Understand appropriate ways to respond.

Identify the reasons why many children feel unable to disclose abuse, even when they become adults – and the implications of this for those around them.

Recognise some of the differences between reports of abuse about adults and children.

Let’s get started.

There are many ways in which your organisation may become aware of concerns about someone.

What if a law may have been broken?

If there is a suspicion that a crime may have been committed, concerns must be referred to the relevant authorities (such as the police or child protection services) so that they can start a formal investigation. Remember, the authorities are responsible for investigating crimes as well as providing support to victims of abuse.

It is important to note that in some situations you may fear that making an official report to police or law enforcement might make things worse for a victim – you should always be guided by the ‘do no harm’ principle – and seek advice from trusted organisations and service providers, such as those who act as advocates for children in legal proceedings, to help in these decisions. You should also check whether reporting child abuse is mandatory in your country.

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Two characters stood next to each other. One is a male coach. The other is a young male basketball player.

When a child or adult tells someone else about an incident, or someone who has abused them, this is called a disclosure. To help you think about how best to respond to a disclosure, let’s focus your learning on how to respond to children.

Children are more likely to disclose to someone they know and trust – for example, a parent, a coach, a medic, a friend, or the Safeguarding Lead at their sports club. It is important that you are clear on some disclosure ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ in case you are the person they turn to, so you know how best to manage these situations.

Taking notes is also ok – as long as it does not affect what the child is saying, and you have explained why it is important to write down what they are telling you.

Afterwards, it is important to write as much as possible about the child’s comments (using as much of the child’s language and description as possible) and the circumstances of the disclosure. This information will support any subsequent investigation and action.

Sometimes this could be the only time a child talks to anyone about their experiences – so having an accurate record of the conversation is vital.

Experience shows that direct disclosures by children are relatively rare – usually you become aware of concerns in less direct ways.

Now let’s look at why children may never tell anyone directly.

It is important to understand why many children do not speak up about abuse: it will help your organisation put reporting processes in place that are as easy as possible for children to use.

In the next activity, you explore this in more detail.

What prevents children disclosing abuse?

In the Safeguarding Essentials course, you met Priya who was being sexually abused by a senior manager from her rugby club.

Trigger warning

Watch the video again and identify TWO reasons why Priya is reluctant to speak up about her abuse.

Download this video clip.Video player: nc5227_2023_vid004_speaking_out_1920x1080_2.mp4

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Transcript

OFA:

Priya, you shouldn't be frightened to speak up. I know he's a senior manager in our federation, but...

PRIYA:

But he's so powerful. He decides who plays and who doesn't. I might lose my place.

OFA:

I know he's powerful, but all the same, he's been touching you without your consent sexually. That's just not right. And he's doing it to some of the others, you said.

PRIYA:

I know. But we're all terrified. I'm scared for myself. I'm scared for my family. What if he tries to hurt us?

OFA:

But this must stop. We must tell someone.

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Comment

Priya is reluctant to tell anybody about her abusive experiences because:

1. Her abuser is in a position of power and can decide who plays in the team and who doesn’t.
2. Priya is terrified that the senior manager might hurt her or her family if she speaks up.

The concerns that have silenced Priya are based on losing her future participation at this level of sport – and the threats to harm her and those she loves.

Sadly, these are not the only reasons why people are reluctant to disclose their abuse. You explore this further in the next section.

Let’s read about why you are unlikely to hear about abuse directly from the child being abused.

Further reasons why children are unlikely to disclose abuse

For each statement you read, think about what was stopping the disclosure before you click on it to reveal the feedback.

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• ‘She always told me I’m as much to blame as her for what we’ve been doing – so I’ll be in trouble with everyone if it comes out – my parents, the team, even the police’

  (i.e. convinced by their abuser that they are responsible for what happened, or they may be in trouble with other adults)

• ‘No-one’s ever going to believe me over him – he’s famous – everyone loves him. Who am I – just a nobody’, and ‘It was all so long ago – they’ll all ask why I didn’t say anything when it happened.’

  (i.e. a worry that they won’t be believed)

• ‘I’m just so ashamed and embarrassed, even thinking about it – there’s no way I can tell someone else.’

  (i.e. they are deeply embarrassed and ashamed which makes describing it to someone else very difficult)

• ‘Everyone will hear about it – they’ll all know what a bad, dirty girl I am. They’ll want me to go to court and tell them all what he’s been doing to me – I just can’t do that.’

  (i.e. many children fear the practical consequences of telling or that their experiences will become known in the wider community)

• ‘Because I took his presents, and he kept me on the team, he says I’m part of it all. It’s true too – I knew it was wrong.’

  (i.e. they may fear that having accepted gifts or other favours they are partly to blame for what happened)

• ‘I don’t know who I can talk to about all this.’

  (i.e. children may not know who they can trust and go to for help)

• ‘I wanted to tell my parents, but the words did not come out.'

  (i.e. children simply may not know who to tell, or how to explain what has happened to them)

• ‘I am so confused. He says I am special to him and if I tell someone I will get him in trouble.'

  (i.e. children can be groomed into feeling loyal towards their abuser)

• ‘My coach really likes me and takes care of me.’

  (i.e. children may not realise they are being abused)

• ‘Sometimes he did bad things to me in front of other grown-ups – and no one tried to stop him.'

  (i.e. where there have been bystanders who didn’t prevent the abuse, children may find it hard to know which adults they can trust)

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Comment

This highlights that there are many reasons children may not be able to disclose their abuse. That makes it really important that you are able to spot the signs and behaviours that indicate abuse might be happening.

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A female rugby player is standing next to rugby posts and is holding a rugby ball.

You are now going to follow the experience of Rejeli (one of Priya’s team-mates) who is being abused by the same senior manager.

Rejeli’s experience: spotting the signs of abuse

The purpose of this activity is to think about the signs that could indicate Rejeli is being abused.

Read her account, and then respond to the question that follows.

‘About a year ago I met this senior manager. He’d just got an important job at the rugby federation. He always made a point of talking to us – usually at mealtimes or in the games room in the evening. I had some long chats with him about rugby and how I wanted to improve – he knows a lot about the game and seemed genuinely interested.

But this one time, most of the others had gone out somewhere and I ended up on my own with him. Then he just flipped – suddenly lunged and grabbed me. Said if I didn’t want to be dropped from the team I’d have to ‘be nice’ to him. I was terrified. Shocked and numb. I knew exactly what he meant – he wanted me to have sex with him. He took me to his room….

It’s awful, and I feel ashamed……but I have no choice. Since then, it’s happened whenever the squad have gone away to camps and matches. I dread seeing him and hate what he makes me do.’

What physical and behavioural signs might someone notice that indicate that Rejeli is unhappy and may be experiencing abuse?

A physical sign is something that you can see – like the type of clothing someone is wearing, or whether someone has washed their clothes or hair. It also includes things like bruises or being sick.

A behavioural sign is about how someone reacts or behaves in certain situations, like getting upset, or becoming withdrawn. It is connected to a person’s emotions and how they are feeling.

For each of the following indicators, choose from the drop-down menu whether it is a physical indicator or a behavioural indicator.

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These are the kind of signs that Rejeli’s teammates, coaches or others may have noticed. She is clearly unhappy with her situation, and this is likely to show in a number of ways whether or not she intended to reveal what she is experiencing.

You will notice that some of these signs don’t necessarily indicate that Rejeli is experiencing sexual abuse – however all of them should give rise to concerns that something may be seriously wrong for her – and should be referred to your Safeguarding Lead.

Advice for all adults in sport

You shouldn’t expect children to tell you about their abuse – so having an awareness of the signs and symptoms of abuse is important.

As you have learned, it is important that everyone reports any concerns they have about anyone’s safety and wellbeing. Everyone has a responsibility to act.

However, some people are reluctant and may not report concerns that they have. This may be because of fear of being wrong, or of the consequences, sometimes because of their lack of knowledge about the signs or impact of abuse, or perhaps simply not knowing what to do or how to report.

You will look at this in more detail in a later course.

When sport is a safe space for children, they may feel comfortable to share concerns with people they trust, like their coach. For example, a child may share they are affected by mental health issues or are experiencing abuse outside of the sporting context. Whatever the welfare issues, you have a responsibility to act in the best interests of the child and to share your concerns.

Meet Patience: an experienced Safeguarding Lead

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A female safeguarding lead.

Through the second half of this course, you will hear from Patience. Her story helps to illustrate some of the challenges and solutions that she experienced in her early years in the role.

Let’s hear from her and find out more.

Something I learned about safeguarding concerns

Listen to her account. What is it that Patience learned and how did she provide the support that was needed?

Download this audio clip.Audio player: nc5265_2024_aug002_unicef_ii_patience-english.mp3

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Transcript

Although I expected all safeguarding concerns to involve bad behaviour by coaches and other adults, I soon learned that this was not always the case. We have had reports from people worried about a child’s mental health. In one case it was a woman athlete who had been self-harming. In another, it was an athlete who had been struggling to cope with the death of a parent. Athletes have also confided in coaches and others about problems at home, college, or school.

Every organisation should take time to identify what types of support services are available locally. This will help you make the appropriate response much more quickly when a concern like this comes to your attention. Our organisation keeps a list of names and contacts of authorities, agencies, and organisations readily available at all times. And we add to this whenever we hear about a new service.

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As Patience suggests, it’s good practice for your organisation to find out what kind of support is available in your local community.

Safeguarding is often assumed to apply only to children (under 18 years old), but it is just as relevant to adults who may experience harassment and abuse.

Both you and your organisation need to understand the main differences between child and adult safeguarding cases in the local context. The key difference is the principle that adults should be involved in decisions about what happens in their case. This forms part of a victim or survivor-centred approach.

Adults are considered to be able to make informed choices about what they want to happen and what they will do about abuse, and in some contexts, you may need their consent to share a concern. This is not the case for children, where you are required to act if you become aware of a concern.

The important thing is to understand the rules that apply in your context, and how they are different for children and adults.

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An athletics top with task two written on it.

This is the second of two occasions in the course where we ask you to apply your learning outside the course in your own time.

These tasks will help you deepen your understanding and apply your learning in real life, and do not form part of the course assessment

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A young female person shouting into a megaphone.

The main learning and messages from this session are:

There are a number of ways that safeguarding concerns can be raised – all will need a response. There are many reasons why children will often not make a direct disclosure of their abuse, and your organisation’s understanding of these will help make reporting work better for children. Adults around children need to be alert to physical and behavioural signs that may suggest a child is being abused – and report these. Some concerns will be about a child’s general wellbeing – for example, their physical or mental health – the organisation should identify where support can be found for these types of issues. It is important to understand the main differences between child and adult safeguarding cases in your local context.

When you are ready, move on to Session 7 Managing reports and responding to concerns, where you will explore how organisations respond to a concern being reported.