Safeguarding Adults and Children

Safeguarding of children and adults who are considered vulnerable within the society is a topic that has widely hit the news headlines both locally and internationally. Various discussions have been organized in an effort to champion this course so that means and methods are explored to see how it can be improved. There have been several cases of high profile abuses on both children and adults who are vulnerable within society. These abuses arouse debates on the need to increase vigilance by those who are responsible for the provision of security and safety measures to the victim of the abuses that were committed. Research studies have been conducted by the government and other authorities of administration, formulating legislations that provide a clear guide on how to deal with cases of safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. These legislations have clearly outlined what to do in the event if contravention of regulations safeguarding the vulnerable and children within the society. Punishments are stipulated to that effect that is meant to deter people from disobeying the safeguard rules. This senior paper looks at the safe process that is meant to protect children and vulnerable adults in the UK in regards to the various legislations, policies and practices that are aimed at protecting these vulnerable members of the society. It also highlights high profile cases that have been identified as safeguard abuses and the policy reforms that were conducted in an attempt to develop the process of safeguard protection.In the UK, there exists a children’s act that was legislated in the year 1989. It defines and guides the process of safeguarding the children. There is also report by the joint chief inspectors, which was done in the year 2002 to undertake the process of arranging safeguards to children. The UK Children Act of 1989 outlines safeguards to children and the vulnerable adults within the society to refer to the whole process that is undertaken by different agencies and organizations in attempt to closely work with children and young people and take reasonable measures that risks of harm their welfare are minimized. It also dictates that in the event that concerns the general welfare of the young and vulnerable members within the society, the agencies and organizations must take all the necessary but appropriate measures that will be aimed at addressing these concerns. They must also work towards formulating local policies that are generally acceptable, develop procedures, and collaborate with other partners in providing safety and security to the vulnerable members of the society.Under the Human Rights Act of 1998, which was legislated to protect citizens’ right, every individual is said to have a right to live a life that is free from any form of violence or abuse. According to the British House of Commons report of the Health Committee, evidence reveals that close to half a million vulnerable adults experience some kind of abuse at any given time. It further states that one out of two disabled women experiences domestic violence or sexual abuses, which are found to be four times higher than it is found in the case of non-disabled individuals. Either, when it comes to learning institutions, close to 32% of those with learning disabilities experience some kind of harassment with individuals having mental problem and found to be subjected to sexual abuses or physical assault by those close to them. The safeguard procedures that are aimed at providing safety to the adults within the UK target individuals who are aged 18 years and above and are specific to individuals, who in one way or the other, are deemed to be in need of constant community care services due to their condition. These are individuals who are either mentally ill or have other disabilities due to old age. These individuals are deemed unable to take care of themselves or even protect themselves against any possible and potential harm of any nature. They are also protected from being over-exploited due to their conditions.There is also protection that is offered to individuals below the age of 18, who are in this case regarded as children. The government passed two Children Acts that protect this set of vulnerable population. The Acts were passed in the year 1989 and the year 2004, since the government has a legislative responsibility to provide protection and safeguards to the children, as it is required to be vigilant and responsive in dealing with organizations and agencies providing care services to these children. The prevalence of cases of child abuse has driven the campaign to change the manner in which practices are done towards safeguarding children and the vulnerable adults who cannot take care of themselves. Cases that involved child abuses, with one of them having lead to the death of a youth by the name of Peter Connelly who was aged 17 years, are among the instances that have awakened the government's call for improved safeguard practices towards providing safety to the children and the vulnerable adults. The death resulted from the inability of the concerned parties to identify the various signs of the abuses that occurred at that particular time. This made researchers like Crompton do extensive study on how safety measures that are aimed at protecting the vulnerable members of the society, such as the youths and adults, who are not able to protect themselves could be improved.The British police have developed an old-form based management model to encourage community self-governance towards protecting members within the community. This has further been encouraged by the invention of community policing. Either, the UK has built a system that integrates the work of the police and those of individual agencies and organizations working towards providing safety and protection to the children and the vulnerable adults within societies. In addition, through the Central Board of Education, the government has initiated seminars that are aimed at training community workers the appropriate safety practices that can enable them provide better safety services to the children and vulnerable adults with whom they deal. The system is also funded and supported by the municipal councils of communities, social assistance offices, the Regional Committee of Health, and Human Services, and public and private agencies so as to supplement the work of the central government. This collaboration has ensured that social protection and assistance is given to various categories of people who are considered to be in need of government protection due to ethnicity, age, other characteristics, which are associated with demographics, or even physical impairments and mental health conditions,.Some of the measure that are taken towards addressing the issue of safety provision to the children and the vulnerable adults within societies include giving various social workers, agencies, and organizations the authority to raise issues of the child or vulnerable adults abuse with their respective local authorities. These issues must revolve around the dangers concerning the psychological or physical development of the children or vulnerable adults who are cared for by these agencies. The authority, in collaboration with the local judicial system, then institutes legal proceedings that are aimed at prosecuting the culprits in accordance to the laws and regulations protecting children and vulnerable adults from any form of abuse or physical and mental harm. This ensures that the probability of such occurrences taking place is significantly reduced.The government has also taken to making legislations that protect children and vulnerable adults from any form of exploitation or harm. In the year 1998, the government introduced legislative paper that is known as the White Paper Modernizing Social Services. This legislative paper was mainly meant for adult protection, and it stressed the need of having improved protection services that are offered to vulnerable adults who are in dire need of care services. In the same year, the criminal justice system completed a report that highlighted the various treatments that were given to witnesses who were either mistreated or intimidated in attempts to obtain evidence that was considered best to the prosecutors. This report was titled “Speaking up for Justice”, and the result was the instituting of outstanding support as measures within the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act of the 1999, which was also supported by the Home Office for Justice and Achieving Best Evidence guidance. In the year 2003, the state introduced Sexual Offence Act, which prohibited any form of sexual assaults or exploitations on the children or any other member of the society that is vulnerable due to old age or medical condition. There is also the Disability Discrimination Act, which prohibits discrimination of any kind on the basis of one’s disability either in public or work places. This act spells out measures that should be taken as penalties on those who are found to discriminate the disabled either through mentally or even physically torturing, thus, causing some kind of harm to these vulnerable members of the society.In the year 2004, there was a legislation act on domestic violence, which prohibits any harm that may be caused to individuals based. The Act spells out severe penalties on individuals who are found guilty of such crimes. There is also a mental capacity Act of 2005, which is restricted to the prohibition of any form of abuse towards the mentally challenged members of the society. This act spells out penalties for inflicting mental of physical harm to the mentally challenged members of the society. The most notable one is the Safeguarding Adults Act, which was a national framework that was meant for safeguarding the vulnerable adults within the societies. It was issued by the Association of Directors of Social Services. This national framework comprises 11 sets of standard practices that are considered best practices meant to safeguard the adults within the society. It stipulates specific actions that are to be taken in the process of safeguarding the adults who are specific in nature.In conclusion, therefore, to ensure that the children and the vulnerable adults within the society are properly protected, various stakeholders who are charged with the responsibility of ensuring that these vulnerable members of the society are given proper and appropriate protection from many form of harm must ensure that there is continuous inspection of the agencies, organizations, and individuals who undertake providing safety for these members of the society. The inspection must ensure that there are appropriate leadership systems that are strong enough to formulate provisions for giving safety to the vulnerable. The agencies should also be well managed to ensure that their personnel do not inflict harm on their clients, and in the event that such incidents occur, action concerning such individuals should be taken as soon as possible. The procedures of safeguarding should also be vetted to ensure that they meet the current government requirement for providing safety to the children and the vulnerable adults.

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