1.1.1 What is a safeguarding concern or allegation?
A safeguarding concern arises where someone has suspicions about a person or situation, but the reason has not
yet been established. For example, there may be concerns about a child who often comes to Sunday School upset, dirty and hungry. An allegation is a more definite assertion, for example, if someone is witnessed hitting a child.
Definitions and advice on how to recognise the signs of different types of abuse can be found in the SafeguardingChildren, Young People and Vulnerable Adults guidance. This includes statutory definitions of abuse.
The following additional questions may be useful for a safeguarding officer when making an assessment whether
a matter is a safeguarding one.
Is the allegation that a church officer has:
- behaved in a way that has harmed or may harm a child, young person or vulnerable adult?
- possibly committed a criminal offence against or related to a child, young person or vulnerable adult?
- behaved towards a child, young person or vulnerable adult in a way that indicates they may pose a risk of harm?
- behaved in a way that indicates they may not be suitable to work with children/young people or vulnerable adults?
- incited another person to harm or behave in a way that may have harmed a child, young person
or vulnerable adult?
This set of questions highlights the need to consider the potential for further harm to others, not just the harm that is alleged to have already been inflicted. For instance, when dealing with a person who is alleged to have committed non-recent sexual offences against children in a non-faith context, consideration should be given to potential risk in a church context.
A child or young person is an individual aged under 18 years.
Who is a ‘vulnerable adult’?
The term ‘vulnerable adult’ is used in section 6 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 to mean:
a person aged 18 or over whose ability to protect himself or herself from violence, abuse, neglect or
exploitation is significantly impaired through physical or mental disability or illness, old age, emotional
fragility or distress, or otherwise; and for that purpose, the reference to being impaired is to being
temporarily or indefinitely impaired.
This definition of a vulnerable adult is different to statutory guidelines in order to take into account the unique
position of the Church, which means that someone can be classified as vulnerable even if they do not meet the
statutory threshold. For the avoidance of doubt, an individual who is experiencing or has experienced domestic
abuse could be a vulnerable person in this context, as the nature of domestic abuse puts them in a position where
they may be ‘significantly impaired through…emotional fragility or distress’. The same argument would apply to
someone who is experiencing or has experienced psychological (including spiritual3) abuse. Further guidance on
definitions utilised in the Church and by statutory services can be found in the Safeguarding Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults guidance.