Safeguarding

Adult safeguarding means protecting an adult’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect.

For children and young people, safeguarding means promoting their welfare, protecting them from maltreatment, preventing impairment of their health and development, and ensuring that they grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care.

There are many different types and patterns of abuse and neglect and varying circumstances in which abuse and neglect can take place.

Abuse or neglect in relation to safeguarding adults includes:

• Physical abuse
• Domestic violence
• Psychological abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Financial or material abuse
• Modern slavery
• Discriminatory abuse
• Neglect or acts of omission
• Self-neglect
• Organisational abuse.

Abuse or neglect in relation to safeguarding children includes:

• Physical abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Emotional/psychological abuse
• Neglect and/or acts of omission.

Other categories or specific acts of abuse and neglect may be categorised differently by other organisations and Habinteg is aware that abuse may also include, but isn't limited to:

• Online abuse
• Child sexual exploitation
• Female genital mutilation
• Bullying and cyberbullying
• Domestic abuse
• Child trafficking
• Grooming
• Harmful sexual behaviour.

Anyone can carry out abuse or neglect, including:

• Spouses and partners
• Other family members
• Neighbours
• Friends
• Acquaintances
• Local residents
• Paid staff and professionals
• Volunteers and strangers.

Abuse can happen anywhere e.g. in a tenant’s own home, in someone else’s home, in the street or even in an environment where it should be safe.

We'll work alongside other statutory and non-statutory organisations to prevent and stop both the risk and experience of abuse or neglect while respecting our tenants’ views, feelings and wishes where possible.

We'll treat concerns in confidence, but we cannot always guarantee confidentiality. If you raise concerns, we may need to share the details with the local authority or other agencies in order for them to investigate further.

If you raise concerns regarding another adult which identify them as being at risk of harm or neglect, we may need to share the details with the local authority and other agencies in order for them to investigate further.

There may be occasions where we need to raise a safeguarding concern with the local authority, as other residents may be at risk or a crime may have been committed.

We'll listen to you and signpost you to specialist organisations that can support you.

If there's an immediate risk to a child, young person, adult or yourself, please contact the police.

You can raise a safeguarding concern directly with your local authority, which is the lead organisation in safeguarding.

You can report your concerns to a member of Habinteg staff. If the abuse is being carried out by anyone working for Habinteg, please ask to speak to someone in our Executive Management Team.

Disabled people or people with mental ill-health

• Action on Hearing Loss: 0808 808 0123 (telephone), 18001 followed by 0808 808 0123 (textphone), 07360 268 988 (SMS)
• Royal National Institute for the Blind: 0303 123 9999, helpline@rnib.org.uk
• Mencap: 0808 808 1111, help@mencap.org.uk
• Samaritans: 116 123 (telephone), 0330 094 5717 (textphone)
• Sane Line: 0300 304 7000
• Victim Support Line: 08 08 16 89 111
• Mind: 0300 102 1234 (support line), 0300 123 3393 (Infoline)
• Respond: 020 7383 0700

Older people

• Hourglass: 0808 808 8141
• Age UK: 0800 678 1602

Women and children

• National Domestic Violence helpline (run by Refuge): 0808 200 0247 (24 hours)
• Refuge
• Women's Aid

Children and teenagers

• The Hideout: A space to help children and young people understand domestic abuse.
• NSPCC: 0808 800 5000
• ChildLine: 0800 1111

Women and men

• Rape Crisis: 0808 500 2222
• National Stalking Helpline: 0808 802 0300
• Your local Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC)

Men

• Men's Advice Line (run by Respect): 0808 801 0327
• ManKind: 0808 800 1170
• Safeline: 01926 402 498
• SurvivorsUK: 020 3322 1860 (SMS)

LGBT+ people

• National Helpline for LGBT+ Victims and Survivors of Abuse and Violence (rub by Galop): 0800 999 5428

Organisations that provide advice on trafficking

• Forced Marriage Unit: 020 7008 0151
• The POPPY Project: 020 7735 2062
• Modern slavery and exploitation helpline (run by Unseen): 08000 121 700
• Migrant Helpline: 0808 8010 503
• Kalayaan: 020 7243 2942

Other

Local social services and local voluntary agencies (your local council will have contact details for organisations in your area)

• Care Quality Commission: 03000 616161