Principles of safeguarding and protection in health and social care

safeguarding, who a vulnerable adult is, different types of abuse, who may abuse, factors and

When dealing with suspected or actual abuse it is important that we don’t make premature judgments and try to deal with the situation without having all information and evidence required. Just because (for example) a child comes into school regularly with cuts and bruises, this does not mean that they are being abuse. Observations can play a key role into getting actual evidence. By making premature judgments and proceeding to accuse parents/carers of abusing a child can cause a lot of unnecessary upset to both parent and child and make your workplace look inadequate.

It is important to record everything that has been said or disclosed, in the event of alleged abuse, include date/time, and sign it. This is because the information needs to be accurate, in case it is to be used in a legal investigation or proceedings. The written record should be stored in a secure place, for safety and to prevent others from seeing its content. If the alleged abuse is of sexual nature, it is advisable to ask the victim of abuse not to ‘wash’ themselves, or dispose of any clothing, as they may be contaminating/disposing vital

Abuse may be revealed in a number of different ways. For example you may find that someone wants to tell you about it because they trust you. Also it might be from someone who has observed the abuse taking place, e.g. resident seeing a care worker shaking another resident because they were too slow getting dressed. The abuse is disclosed to the professional, sometimes with a request for confidentiality.

Physical: Physical abuse is deliberate physical force that may result in bodily injury, pain, or impairment. Both old and young people can be physically abused.

By taking the Mandated Reporter Training, I learned that by law, when the victim is under age 18, and perpetrator is any person, any physical injury, sexual abuse, cruelty, injury, and neglect must be reported by all legally mandated reporters. Physical abuse including abusive bruises and burns, broken bones, and any injury with a delay in seeking treatment or medical care. Also, when parents using objects such as belts or whips to discipline the child, it counts as physical abuse incident. But what is not physical abuse? Usually a reasonable and necessary force used by an officer or a person employed by a public school is not count as a physical abuse. After that, I think sexual abuse is even more severe than physical abuse, including inappropriate

Physical abuse involves the use of force by pinching, punching, slapping, scalding, hitting, kicking, burning or misuse of medication, restraint or inappropriate sanctions. It is a form of physical attack on an individual, it can also be a intentional neglect to prevent physical injury.

As a care professional, it is your duty of care towards the victim of abuse as a priority. However, you must ensure that any evidence is preserved where a crime has been committed. It is important that you do not move or remove any evidence unless you have to make the area or person safe, do not clean up or allow access to those not dealing in the investigation. You must record any bruising, physical injuries and signs of distress, try not to disturb any evidence by removing finger prints especially anything used to abuse the individual, preserve any items such as clothing, footwear and bedding and those of the abuser if available. Preserve the items that are used to keep the victim warm as evidence and record all in writing. The use of brown

The encyclopedia of forensic sciences talks about child abuse and gives examples of abuse. The types of abuse are described in detail to help give a better understanding of each. It also mentions keywords that can help distinguish different types of abuse along with ways the abuse can damage the child’s body. Abusing a child can occur anywhere in public or in the privacy of someone’s home. The authors also mention the role of a child’s physician or care professionally has with this topic. They are not only the doctor’s of those children but also are to make sure the children they see are safe. If doctors raise any suspicions it is called a red flag. The article provides charts to help explain those red flags and also includes charts explaining

Verbal and nonverbal language can cause a lot of damage to victims of emotional and psychological abuse. Emotional abuse caused more damaged and hurt the victims more than physical abuse (Seff, Beaulaurier, and Newman, 2008). Emotional abuse is harder to identify since it is hard to discriminate. Victims are less likely to report emotional abuse because they will not have any physical proof to show to police officers (Seff et al., 2008). Victims do not want to be seen as if they are calling the police because their significant other is being mean to them. The police officers might or might not arrive to the scene and if they do they will not have evidence to arrest the abusers. Physical abuse can be proved by bruises or marks but there is no

In addition they also state “Physically injurious behavior beyond physical discipline Unexplained bruises; or a pattern of bruises Cuts and burns (cigarette, liquid) to the body Rope marks or burns Fractures/broken bones Welts, abrasions Bite marks or puncture wounds” (“reporting”)” Some things can really go to the extremes. Parents can be really harsh to kids and knowing the signs to help report child abuse is really helpful. In addition to knowing symptoms here are some other things that will be a big help when trying to help a kids around you by reporting the information that needed to make sure the child is safe. As well as knowing symptoms for abuse, it is also helpful know what will be needed. When calling to help a kid out who may be in need of help because signs of abuse have been seen, they will ask you some questions to get information for your reason to believe why the child is abused and information on how to begin their investigation. The authorities need proper information to be able to decide if the child in in a situation of child abuse or in a situation of

The criteria for abuse can be affected by many factors, such as the person(s) involved and the type of abuse. First, you need the abuser, someone that is going to take the action of abusing the other individual. “Abusers come from all walks of life and often feel insecure, powerless, and helpless, feelings that are not in line with the image they would like to project” (Chow, 2013, pg. 259). Abusers can be someone that the victim already knows from other interactions, or they can be strangers (Chow, 2013). Secondly, you need the victim, the person that is going to take the brunt of the abusers emotional or physical abuse. Nurses also have the duty to report abuse or suspected abuse as set out by the College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia

* Abuser may deny abuse took place or say it was not as bad as the victim claims

An example is a person being victim of sexual harassment or discrimination in the workplace. This conduct is offensive and should not be tolerated and the victim should take further actions by reporting these incidents to Human Recourse and contact the police to file a report against the other person. It is advised that the person should document everything including date, time, persons involved and what was said and obtain all the evidence. But I understand these situations can happen anywhere in the workplace, school and no one should be a victim of sexual harassment or discrimination.

As stated in the Handbook for Child Protection Practice, physical abuse is generally termed as an inflicted act that results in a significant physical injury or the risk of such injury (Dubowitz & DePanfilis, 2000) such as hitting, choking, shaking, kicking, or burning. Sexual abuse is a general term used to refer to nonconsensual sexual acts, sexually motivated behaviors involving children, or sexual exploitation of children (Dubowitz & DePanfilis, 2000) like fondling, genital contact, and/or oral sex. The indications I assess to be present or missing would be the interview providing a comfortable and relaxed environment, for the purpose of obtaining accurate information about the abuse (Dubowitz & DePanfilis, 2000). When Callie gave her statement