Information for Professionals

Information for Professionals

The information in this section is for all staff engaged in safeguarding adults at risk. It gives practical pointers to help people assess the risk of abuse, recognise it when it does occur and respond to it appropriately. It will also help put front line safeguarding in a context of multi-agency, cross-borough work to prevent and investigate abuse across London.

While there are similarities between practice with children and adults at risk, there are significant differences and, to a large extent this is reflected in the definition of adults at risk which contributes to that complexity.

Services have a duty to safeguard all of their service users but provide additional measures for service users who are less able to protect themselves from harm or abuse.

‘Safeguarding adults’ covers a spectrum of activity from prevention through to multi agency responses where harm and abuse occurs.

Safeguarding Resources

The Lewisham Adult Safeguarding Pathway has lots of helpful adult safeguarding resources built into it and gives you a step by step guide. 

The Lewisham Safeguarding Adults Board produces leaflets and posters on adult safeguarding which you can download for free.

Think Family

In April 2023, the Lewisham Safeguarding Adults Board (LSAB) and Lewisham Safeguarding Children Partnership (LSCP) jointly agreed to focus on Think Family as a strategic priority. Learning from Local Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews and Safeguarding Adults Reviews have highlighted the importance of adult and children’s services working collaboratively and taking a joined up, whole family approach.

Read more about Think Family in Lewisham

Skills for Care have collated practical and useful safeguarding resources for the Private Voluntary and Independent Sector. The information available includes recommendations, standards, guides and links to a whole host of related resources.

Jargon Buster

Think Local Act Personal have a useful Jargon Buster that can help professionals from fields other than social work understand the language that is commonly used in care and support work.

Disclosure and Barring Service

The Disclosure and Barring Service have produced guidance on 'Making Recruitment Easier'. 

Learning from Safeguarding Adults Reviews for Care Providers

The Institue of Public Care and the Oxford Brookes University has produced a discussion paper on How Can Care Providers Learn From Safeguarding Adult Reviews? which looks at mechanisms to identify and share relevant learning from SARs with care providers.

Second National Analysis of Safeguarding Adult Reviews: April 2019 - March 2023

This second national analysis of Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) in England identifies the headline findings.

Read more on the National Analysis on our about SAR's page.

Homelessness and Safeguarding

On this page you can find practice briefings, policies, toolkits and training opportunities on Homelessness and Safeguarding. We have also included a 7 minute briefing from a Lewisham Safeguarding Adults Review (SAR) where the adult was homeless and links to SAR reports from other areas where the adult was homeless.

If you’re a professional who is concerned that a Homeless person may be experiencing neglect (including self-neglect) and abuse and are unable to protect themselves. You can find advice for Submitting an Adult Safeguarding Concern in the Lewisham Adult Safeguarding Pathway.

Online learning

Homeless Link - Bitesize learning: Supporting adults and young people through safeguarding.

Homeless Link have created six bitesize (30-minute) sessions to give frontline staff working in homelessness services the knowledge and skills to better support people who are facing multiple disadvantage (also known as multiple and/or complex needs) and are at risk of or are experiencing homelessness.

The sessions are delivered by Fiona Bateman, Safeguarding Consultant from Safeguarding Circle and Bruno Ornelas, Head of Homelessness at Concrete and Safeguarding Consultant.

All sessions are free to watch, thanks to funding from The Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, as part of the Capacity Building programme.

Rough Sleeper Mental Health Awareness

Backed by the Mayor of London's Rough Sleeping Innovation Fund, Westminster City Council and London Borough of Lambeth, this free course supports cross-sector professionals in recognising and working with the Mental Health needs of people who sleep rough and the unstably housed.

Fifteen leading experts (incl. service users, Sir Michael Marmot, Deputy Mayor James Murray, A. Prof Nick Maguire, Jane Cook DoH MHCLG amongst others) will discuss the context and complexity of need, approaches to engagement and support, recognising and working with risk and key mental health and substance use problems.

The course will also explore the use of legislation such as the Mental Health Act, navigating the NHS and helping those with ‘no recourse to public funds’.

Length: Four modules, duration: 30 - 45 mins of study per module.

Homeless Link - How homeless services can support LGBTQI+ women

This webinar from Homeless Link, delivered in 2023, provides an introduction to issues of sexuality and gender and the relationship to homelessness.

Online Adult Safeguarding Foundation Level Training and Workbooks

The Lewisham Safeguarding Adults Board runs regular Online Adult Safeguarding Foundation Level Training Sessions, and we also have a series of adult safeguarding workbooks.

All of our Safeguarding Adults Courses are available to Private, Voluntary and Independent organisations and commissioned care providers in Lewisham.

Find out more in our learning zone.

Practice Briefings and Guidance

Multi-Agency Self Neglect Policy, Practice Guidance and Procedures

This guidance is aimed at a wide range of professionals involved in working with people who may self-neglect and sets out the response that professionals should take to this complex issue.

Annex 2

Accompanying the Practice Guidance is the Self-Neglect High Risk Panel - Risk Assessment & Action Plan Template.

LSAB Guidance on Improving our Approach to Adult and Family Engagement

This guidance provides information on Adopting a Trauma Informed Approach, Understanding the Barriers to Seeking Help, Engagement Principles and Methods that can be Used for Engagement.

Alcohol Change UK - How to use legal powers to safeguard highly vulnerable dependent drinkers in England and Wales

This guide provides an accessible introduction to three pieces of legislation that can be applied to chronic, highly vulnerable, dependent drinkers so as to improve outcomes for them, their families and their communities. The guide also outlines the limits of these legal frameworks and when they should not be used.

The Kings Fund - Delivering health and care for people who sleep rough - Going above and beyond

This report aims to help local systems improve health outcomes among people who sleep rough and to support the ambition to end rough sleeping.

Homeless Link - Taking action following the death of someone sleeping rough - Briefing for Homelessness Services

This guidance details the steps that agencies can take should there be a death of a rough sleeper in their area.

Homeless Link - Autism and Homelessness Briefing for frontline staff

This briefing aims to provide frontline staff with information to better support people experiencing homelessness who are known or suspected to have autism. It includes suggestions of how to overcome challenges and case examples of two individuals with autism who were successfully supported to address their housing needs.

Homeless Link - Supporting LGBTIQ+ people in homelessness services - An introduction for frontline staff

This guidance, updated in June 2020 by The Outside Project, is written for staff who are new to LGBTIQ+ issues, or those seeking to make their service more inclusive, welcoming, and safe. It includes links to specialist agencies and resources to help you develop service provision tailored to individuals' needs.

7 minute Briefing Supporting staff to have conversations about health

Having conversations about health can be difficult for frontline workers. This briefing jointly produced by Groundswell, Homeless Link and Pathway outlines the key ways in which organisations can ensure their staff have the resources and support they need to feel more confident when having health-related conversations.

Accessing social care assessments using the Care Act – Homelessness - Guidance for frontline staff

This guidance sets out the basic principles of referral and assessment under the Care Act 2014 and the steps that support workers should take to ensure service users are fairly assessed under the Act.

Toolkits

Learning-Disabilities and Homelessness Toolkit

This toolkit is for services who support people experiencing homelessness who may also have learning disabilities.

Safeguarding Multiple Exclusion Homelessness Toolkit 2023

The focus of this tool is to improve multi-agency support for individuals who have an appearance of need for care and support and are experiencing multiple exclusion homelessness (MEH).

Research in Practice - Radical Safeguarding Toolkit for Homelessness

The co-produced toolkit offers a new approach to safeguarding adults experiencing homelessness and multiple disadvantages, rooted in the work of social justice movements.

The toolkit explores principles of power, autonomy, solidarity and accountability in safeguarding, supporting practitioners to consider intersectional and anti-oppressive approaches to work in this area.

Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SAR’s)

• LSAB 7 Minute Briefing – Mia

• Isle of Wight -Safeguarding Adults Board - Howard - SAR
• Bexley Safeguarding Adults Board - Ms AB - SAR
• Northampton Safeguarding Adults Board - SAR Jonathan

Analysis of SAR’s

National SAR Analysis - Briefing for practitioners - Analysis of Safeguarding Adults Reviews

This briefing summarises key findings from the landmark study ‘Analysis of Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) April 2017 – March 2019’, with particular reference to professional practice in direct work with the individual at risk of abuse and/or neglect. It is therefore of particular relevance to the work of practitioners and others who have frontline contact with individuals. It aims to support practitioners to apply best practice in their direct work and thus achieve positive outcomes in adult safeguarding.

Adult Safeguarding and Homelessness: Learning from Safeguarding Adult Reviews

This briefing identifies the number of Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) completed in England where homelessness has been a central feature. The learning from these SARs about good practice and practice shortfalls has enabled an evidence-base for positive practice to be developed. This evidence-base can be used by practitioners working with people experiencing homelessness to advocate for best practice.

Adult safeguarding and homelessness: A briefing on positive practice

This briefing is to assist senior leaders, such as members of Safeguarding Adults Boards (SABs), as well as commissioners, practitioners and operational managers who are working across relevant sectors and agencies in this field, to support people who are homeless and at risk of or experiencing abuse or neglect.

Safeguarding, homelessness and rough sleeping: An analysis of Safeguarding Adults Reviews

This report from Kings College London presents findings from an analysis of 14 Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SARs) where homelessness was a factor, and the results of a review of the literature relating to third sector and local authority policy and guidance on adult safeguarding and homelessness.

Policies

London Multi-Agency Safeguarding Policy and Procedures

Legislation

• Care Act 2014
• Homelessness Reduction Act 2017
• Data Protection Act 2018
• EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Strategies

DLUHC Ending Rough Sleeping For Good – September 2022

This strategy sets out how the whole of government is taking action to meet their ambition to end rough sleeping.

Lewisham’s Homelessness & Rough Sleeping Strategy 2023-26

This strategy builds on the hard work that already goes on a daily basis to prevent homelessness and reduce rough sleeping in Lewisham and will help support our teams in their mission to ensure everybody has a safe, secure place to call home.

Guidance

Duty to Refer

This guidance provides an overview of the duty to refer, which will help public authorities understand how to administer the duty.

Discharging people at risk of or experiencing homelessness

Guidance for staff involved in planning to discharge patients at risk of or experiencing homelessness, or who have no recourse to public funds.

Information Sharing

LSAB Information Sharing Agreement

Find out more on Information Sharing

Local Services Resources

Community directory to support health and wellbeing

A community directory to support health and wellbeing includes local organisations, voluntary and community groups and local businesses.

999 Club

The Gateway Centre in Deptford for people who are experiencing homeless, or at risk of experiencing homelessness. The centre is open from 9am to 4pm on weekdays. The centre provide showers, food, phone charging, use of a phone or computer and wifi, laundry and postal address. The centre offer support with ID, claiming benefits, finding work, searching for housing, social integration and referrals to specialist agencies. They also have a women-only space called “The Sanctuary”.

South East London Mind 

South East London Mind provides a range of high quality mental health support services for adult residents in the borough of Lewisham. This includes specialised support for people from Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and Refugee communities, for new mums, and for anyone needing help with benefits.

Change Grow Live - New Direction

Free and confidential community drug and alcohol service. If you're a professional and you'd like to refer someone to the service, use the link above to visit their website. 

Thames Reach - Deptford Reach

Lewisham Housing Options

If you need housing advice call 020 8314 7007. The service will refer anyone homeless or at risk of homelessness to a housing solutions officer who will assess you by phone.

Find more adult safeguarding information in our Adult Safeguarding Pathway

Domestic Abuse and Safeguarding

Domestic Abuse in Lewisham

Between the 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2024 there were c.11,000 domestic abuse incidents reported to police locally. Lewisham is one of the highest risk boroughs in London in this regard with 17 of the 19 Wards in the top 50% in London for reports of domestic abuse to police.

Longstanding research indicates that adults who have care and support needs such as those living with a disability, or older adults, are more likely to be the victims of domestic abuse than the general population (we must not ignore other factors such as homelessness).

Compared to the high volume of police reporting there are relatively few Adult Safeguarding Concerns submitted for Domestic Abuse in Lewisham (between 50-100 each year).

What is domestic abuse?

The UK government’s definition of domestic violence is ‘any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. The abuse can encompass, but is not limited to psychological, physical, sexual, financial, emotional.’

Domestic abuse also includes honour-based abuse and forced marriage. 

Legal Definition

The legal definition of domestic abuse is: any incident of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are 'personally connected', regardless of their gender or sexuality.

Examples of people who are ‘personally connected’ include:

• relatives, including half and step relatives
• married couples, or couples who used to be married
• civil partners, or former civil partners
• people who have ever agreed to marry, or enter into a civil partnership agreement with each other
• people who have had an intimate relationship with each other
• people who are a parent of the same child, or have ever had a parental responsibility for the same child

There is no requirement for the victim and the perpetrator to cohabit although many will have. This often then provides perpetrators with personal knowledge about what might most traumatise or impact victims, making this crime particularly distressing and sometimes leaving victims at risk of future violence and abuse.

Who are counted as family members?

Family members are defined within the legislation as the father, mother, stepfather, stepmother, son, daughter, stepson, stepdaughter, grandmother, grandfather, grandson, or granddaughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew or first cousin (whether of full blood or of half blood or by marriage or civil partnership) of that person or of that person’s spouse, former spouse, civil partner, or former civil partner.

Domestic Abuse Act 2021

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 aimed to raise awareness about the devastating impact of domestic abuse on victims and their families and to further improve the effectiveness of the justice system in providing protection for victims of domestic abuse and bringing perpetrators to justice. 

The Act introduced a statutory definition to ensure that domestic abuse is properly understood, viewed as unacceptable and is actively challenged across statutory agencies and in public attitudes. It sets out who can be a victim of domestic abuse behaviours and establishes how victims need to be ‘personally connected’ to the perpetrator. It also makes clear that children are deemed to be victims of domestic abuse if they see or hear, or experience the effects of, the abuse. There is also no requirement that they live in the same household as the abuser.

Read the Domestic Abuse Act 2021

When the Care Act 2014 came into force on the 1 April 2015 this was the first time that Domestic Abuse had been formally recognised as a type of abuse within the legal framework underpinning adult safeguarding. There is still more to do in improving the profile of this subject, and the connection between the different responses that there can be in relation to Domestic Abuse, including through the local authority led safeguarding pathway.

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance July 2022 cross-references back to the Care Act 2014, and outlines that there should be a safeguarding response when the legal duty and criteria is met.

Domestic abuse can be characterised by any of the indicators of abuse relating to

• Psychological
• Physical
• Sexual
• Financial or economic
• Emotional

Domestic abuse is rarely a one-off incident and it is the cumulative and interlinked types of abuse that have a particularly damaging effect on the victim. The ‘domestic’ nature of the offending behaviour is an aggravating factor because of the abuse of trust involved. 

Possible indicators of domestic abuse

• Low self-esteem
• Feeling that the abuse is their fault when it is not
• Physical evidence of violence such as bruising, cuts, broken bones
• Verbal abuse and humiliation in front of others
• Fear of outside intervention
• Damage to home or property
• Isolation – not seeing friends and family
• Limited access to money

New and Emerging Characters of Domestic Abuse - Digital Domestic Abuse

Digital abuse is when someone monitors, stalks, harasses, threatens, controls or impersonates another person using technology. This could involve stalking through social media, harassment by text message or humiliation by posting pictures or videos, for example.

Digital abuse can happen to anyone but it most often happens alongside other types of domestic abuse.

 Examples of digital abuse:

• Using the persons social media accounts without their permission.
• Posting information about the person online or by text/messenger.
• Creating a profile page without the persons permission.
• Sending the person threatening messages.
• Sending threatening messages to other people whilst pretending to be the person.
• Posting photos of the person without their consent (also known as revenge p*rn).
• Using spyware on the persons devices to track them.
• Taking away the person control of smart home devices such as cameras, lights, thermostats.
• Controlling the persons online bank accounts.

How does Domestic Abuse Link with Safeguarding?

Domestic abuse is perhaps most commonly thought of as violence between intimate partners, but it can take many other forms and be perpetrated by a range of people. Much safeguarding is therefore also domestic abuse but is often not recognised as such.

Making the connections between adult safeguarding and domestic abuse

• Follow the advice in the Lewisham Adult Safeguarding Pathway for safeguarding adults and children, and for domestic abuse. 
  
• Improve your understanding of the issues and develop your own good practice. Visit the LSAB Learning Zone for information on current learning opportunities.

Who needs safeguarding?

• Understand the definitions of safeguarding and domestic abuse, and how they link up for the person you are supporting.
  
• Be alert to patterns of coercive or controlling behaviour, as well as incidents of abuse.
  
• Always act to safeguard children who are living with or witnessing domestic abuse. - Remember to Think Family
  
• Take account of gender, sexuality, intergenerational issues and caring responsibilites.

Understanding the impact of domestic abuse

• Consider the likely impact of abuse on all adults and children involved. - Remember to Think Family
  
• Consider the additional likely impacts of abuse on people with additional care and support needs.
  
• Consider how these factors might affect the approach you take in working with the person at risk (and others in the household).

Barriers and challenges to ending abusive relationships

• There are many reasons why people may not leave abusive relationships.
• Additional and specific barriers may be present for ethnic minority people, older people, and people with disabilities.
• Confidentially asking routine questions about safety can aid disclosure.
• Accessible information and signposted services about abuse are crucial.

Working with people needing care and support who are experiencing domestic abuse

• There are a range of issues to consider, including the needs of a range of groups, people’s independence, self-esteem, previous experience of services, and parenting. - Remember to Think Family
• Taking time to build trust and confidence with the person being abused is important, accepting that they may not be able to describe or disclose all aspects of their situation initially, and that the issues may take time to explore fully.
• Avoid making assumptions based on stereotypes, particularly around older age, mental health and substance misuse.
• There is a risk of serious harm in forced marriage situations where one or both parties have care and support needs.
• Domestic abuse can involve the wider family and take different forms according to different family dynamics, especially when caring responsibilities are involved. - Read the 7 Minute Briefing - Arthur - for Professionals for further information.

Mental capacity, adult safeguarding and domestic abuse

• The Mental Capacity Act has five key principles, designed to protect and support the person
• An apparently unwise decision may be the result of coercion or controlling behaviour by another person
• Independent Mental Capacity Advocates (IMCAs) can support the abused person - Make a referral for an advocate POhWER
• IMCAs may not be specially trained in domestic abuse, but they can work alongside Independent Domestic Violence Advocates (IDVAs) or other workers from a specialist domestic abuse agency. - Contact the Lewisham Athena Service for an IDVA

Safeguarding Enquiries

• Take protective measures to ensure that any discussions with potential victims of abuse are conducted in a safe environment.
• Understand that victims of abuse may be reluctant to disclose what is happening to them, but that the conversation may be helping them to understand their situation better and build up trust. - Contact the Lewisham Athena Service for an IDVA
• Ask direct questions, in a safe environment.
• Keep good records of any discussions and interventions.
• Follow local policies, protocols and procedures at all times. - Lewisham Adult Safeguarding Pathway

Assessing and managing the risks of domestic abuse in safeguarding circumstances

• Understand how coercive and controlling behaviours may inhibit people disclosing or revealing the extent of domestic abuse.
• Understand local policies and procedures for safeguarding and risk assessments.
• Listen to and communicate respect towards the adult with care and support needs who is experiencing domestic abuse. Ensure they are at the centre of decision-making.
• Be aware of and vigilant against the potential of 'the rule of optimism', when professionals may place undue confidence in the capacity of families to care effectively and safely, affecting professional perceptions and recognition of risk of harm, abuse or neglect.
• Take any immediate protective measures that are needed.
• Understand how your local arrangements work in relation to safeguarding and Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences. - Lewisham MARAC
• Use risk assessment forms as tools to aid professional judgement, not as ends in themselves. Use the DASH risk cheklist
• Work with the person at risk to ensure their experiences are central to your risk assessment.
• Collate information about static risk factors, as they are the most reliable indication of long-term risk.
• Use professional curiosity and judgement in risk assessment as everybody's circumstances are different.
• Gain support from local specialist domestic abuse agencies; they are experts in risk assessment and management. - Contact the Lewisham Athena Service for advice

Domestic abuse support services and legal action

• Ensure that you develop safeguarding and support arrangements that are personalised to the person you are working with.
• There are many types of national and local support schemes for people experiencing domestic abuse, including places of immediate safety.
• Be aware of the types of legal actions and sanctions (criminal and civil) that can be used in safeguarding and domestic abuse but rememer even when a victim has reported abuse to the police, there can be complex reasons they may not see through a prosecution - love, shame, guilt, isolation, fear of the process and language barriers to name just a few.
• Know where to go to get good legal advice, both for the person you are supporting, and to advise you of the options available.
• Ensure that information and advice is provided in an accessible way.

New! Safeguarding and Domestic Abuse 7 Minute Briefing

Help and support for people experiencing or at risk of abuse in Lewisham

Lewisham Council provides the Athena service which is a confidential, non-judgemental service to support those living in Lewisham who are experiencing gender-based violence. The service provides outreach programmes, independent advocacy, group support, refuge accommodation and a specialist service for women.

You can call the Athena Service for free on 0800 112 4052 or email Lewisham VAWG

The National Domestic Abuse Helpline is a team of highly-trained female advisers who can empower you to understand your options and support you to make any decisions about the future. They offer support to increase your safety, including finding a refuge place or other specialist services.

Other sources for support include The Men’s Advice Line, a confidential helpline for male victims of domestic abuse, and Galop, a specialist helpline for LGBTQ+ people.

Timekeeper Film

This film was commissioned by Lewisham Council and funded by the Home Office. It is based on the real experience of residents in Lewisham, the film tackles very sensitive issues.

Contact details for organisations who may be able to help you if you are the victim of domestic violence.

Safeguarding in Care Homes Guidelines and Tools

NICE guideline on Safeguarding adults in care homes

The final guideline has now been published on the NICE website. You can also find the supporting evidence, tools and resources as well as all the stakeholder comments that were received during consultation and the responses to these comments. The comments were invaluable in helping NICE to develop and refine the guideline. They have also produced an equality impact assessment to support the guideline.

The recommendations from this guideline have been included in the NICE Pathway on safeguarding adults in care homes, which brings together everything which was said on safeguarding adults in care homes in an interactive flowchart. There is brief information about the guideline for people using services, carers and the public at ‘Information for the public’.

If you have any further queries, please contact SafeguardingAdults@nice  

Health and Safety Executive Guidance - Violence and aggression at work

Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking

Lewisham Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Conference 23 January 2024

The Lewisham Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Conference was held 23 January 2024.

The conference was very well attended with representation from all local health and social care services. For those who were unable to make it on the day, the presentations from the Conference are available for you to read and download.

Modern Slavery in Supply Chains - London Borough of Lewisham

Responding to Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking in Lewisham - Human Trafficking Foundation

Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Lewisham - Metropolitan Police Service

Operation Makesafe: Raising community awareness of child exploitation - Metropolitan Police Service

Operation Makesafe has been developed in partnership with London’s boroughs to raise awareness of child exploitation in the business community, such as hotels, licensed premises, taxi companies, shops, and care homes. The purpose of Operation Makesafe is to empower businesses and organisations to tackle child exploitation through increased awareness and training.

Links to further learning, advice and organisations that were shared at the Conference.

• First case of someone being prosecuted for Organ Harvesting in London: Organ harvesting: Trafficked for his kidney and now forced into hiding - BBC News
• Lewisham Modern Slavery Victim Care Pathway - this is full of resources and agencies that can help to support victims. Lewisham Safeguarding Adults Board - Lewisham Safeguarding Adults Board > Concerns Stage 1: Advice for Submitting an Adult Safeguarding (safeguardinglewisham.org.uk)
• There are specialist agencies such as Karma Nirvana working to prevent forced marriage.
• Human Trafficking Foundation report on Voice of British survivors

Modern Slavery: Duty to notify

Do you know that you have a duty to notify the Home Office of potential victims of modern slavery?

The Modern Slavery Fact-sheet can tell you more on your duty to notify.

The Home Office has published new modern slavery it's closer than you think campaign resources which brings together documents and promotional material related to the awareness campaign on modern slavery which you can use in your local campaigns.

Identification of victims

The Home Office has produced Modern Slavery Victims - Guidance, Referral and Assessment Forms which gives information on how to identify and refer potential victims of modern slavery/human trafficking to the national referral mechanism.

Lewisham Modern Slavery Victim Care Pathway

A new local guidance document on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking will be published later in 2022, but professionals should also refer to the Lewisham Modern Slavery Victim Care Pathway

What is the National Referral Mechanism?

The national referral mechanism (NRM) is a victim identification and support process. The NRM is designed to make it easier for all agencies that could be involved in a trafficking case (eg the police, UK Visas and Immigration, local authorities, non-governmental organisations) to share information about potential victims and facilitate their access to advice, accommodation and support.

The guidance document gives information including:

• What the NRM is
• The referral process
• How to complete the referral forms

Links to further information and resources

Lewisham Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking 7 Minute Briefing

Hope for Justice exist to bring an end to modern slavery by rescuing victims, restoring lives, and reforming society.

Hope for Justice also have comprehensive briefing documents that define human trafficking, outline the UK and global markets for the exploitation of human beings and analyse the current mechanisms for addressing this complex crime.

Human Trafficking Foundation (HTF) is a UK-based charity which grew out of the work of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Human Trafficking. HTF was created in order to support and add value to the work of the many charities and agencies operating to combat human trafficking in the UK.

London Directory of Support Services

The Human Trafficking Foundation has created a Directory of Survivor Support Services in London, which is constantly updated.

Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA)

• Workers Checklist
• Workers Rights
• Exploitation Poster- English
• Modern Slavery Government Advice - English

Sexual Assault and Sexual Abuse Information Resources 

Hoarding & Self-Neglect

What is Hoarding?

The NHS defines Hoarding Disorder as:

“Where someone acquires an excessive number of items and stores them in a chaotic manner,             usually resulting in unmanageable amounts of clutter”.

It's considered to be a significant problem if:

• The amount of clutter interferes with everyday living – for example, the person is unable to
  use their kitchen or bathroom and cannot access rooms.
• The clutter is causing significant distress or negatively affecting the person's quality of
  life or their family's – for example, they become upset if someone tries to clear the clutter
  and their relationships with others suffer.

The clutter image rating clearly illustrates the wide range of clutter in different rooms from clear to extreme.

All professionals working with adults who hoard in Lewisham must utilise the Multi Agency Self-Neglect Policy, Practice Guidance and Procedures and the Lewisham Adult Safeguarding Pathway.

What is self-neglect?

The Care Act 2014 statutory guidance defines self-neglect as:

"A wide range of behaviour neglecting to care for one's personal hygiene, health, or surroundings and includes behaviour such as hoarding."

The term itself can be a barrier to working with the issues as some individuals do not identify with this term or description of their situation. As a result, it is important that practitioners seek to negotiate a common ground to understand the individual’s own description of their lifestyle rather than making possible discriminatory value judgements or assumptions about how it can be defined. In order to prevent self-neglect, it is essential to understand the wider complexity and possible underlying factors, which may present as, or include:

• Increased incidence of depression and low self-esteem.
• History of trauma, abuse (including childhood abuse and child sexual exploitation) or bereavement.
• Physical and mental health issues.
• Hoarding or no possessions at all.
• Reclusive or co-dependent, including on pets.
• Substance misuse.
• Self-harm.

All professionals working with adults who self-neglect in Lewisham must utilise the Multi Agency Self-Neglect Policy, Practice Guidance and Procedures and the Lewisham Adult Safeguarding Pathway.

LSAB Hoarding and Self-Neglect Briefing

Read our briefing on hoarding and self-neglect.

The British Psychological Society had produced a short leaflet Understanding Hoarding - When our relationship with
possessions goes wrong. The leaflet is intended for people with hoarding disorder and their friends and families. 

GP Hoarding Awareness Leaflet

GP Awareness of Hoarding Disorder is very important. GP's can often be the first professional a person with a Hoarding Disorder discloses their living situation to. 

This GP’s leaflet is a great tool for GP’s to keep on hand and was created by Clouds End CIC and was developed after a Hoarding Awareness Training session with GPs.

If you suspect that an adult you provide healthcare for may be at risk of abuse or neglect please complete the Adult Safeguarding Concern form and return to the Lewisham Adult Gateway as instructed in the form.

Alternatively if you have concerns about the immediate safety of an adult at risk then please contact the Police on 999. 

The NHS has produced information on Hoarding Disorder including:

• Information on Hoarding disorder
• Why someone may hoard
• The difference between hoarding and collecting
• Signs of a hoarding disorder
• Why hoarding disorders are a problem
• What you can do if you suspect someone is hoarding
• How hoarding disorders are treated

New Training Resource from Safeguarding Adults in Gloucestershire

“Am I YOUR Job?” is a brand new trainer resource (training session plan and video) on Self-Neglect from Safeguarding Adults in Gloucestershire.

 

Making Safeguarding Personal in self-neglect workbook

This Making Safeguarding Personal in self-neglect workbook, produced by Research in Practice, draws on evidence from research and Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SAR's) to identify how making safeguarding personal can make a difference to the health, wellbeing and safety of people who are self-neglecting. 

Research in Practice has produced a practice tool Working with people who self-neglect

The tools in this resource focus on different aspects of good practice:

• understanding self-neglect
  
• building a relationship
  
• planning and implementing intervention
  
• using the legal framework for care, support and protection
  
• creating a supportive organisational context.

Learning from London Safeguarding Adult Reviews

Self-neglect is a widespread societal issue that will impact a large number of local residents at a lower-level, and for some this will escalate and may become very serious, including life threatening. 60% of Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SAR) in England, which are the are most serious and high-profile safeguarding cases, involved self-neglect in the recently published 2^nd National SAR Analysis, which you can read about here: Lewisham Safeguarding Adults Board - Safeguarding Adults Reviews

Please ensure that you refer to the local policy, guidance, and procedures and embed this into your ways of working. More briefings will follow.

Information for Adults you are working with who hoard

Below you can find a range of resources to support an adult who hoards.

Hoarding Ice Breaker Form

If clutter, disorganisation or hoarding is affecting your health (mental or physical health) and making you feel anxious, depressed or unwell, then it’s advisable to have a chat with your GP.

If you don’t know what to say or how to start the conversation, then simply download, print off and complete this Ice-Breaker document, and hand it to your GP, Social Worker or any other professional.

They should then start asking all sorts of questions to enable them to start working out what might be causing your symptoms, and discuss some options that will hopefully help make you feel better. There could be a number of different things causing you to feel unwell, so it’s best not to assume there’s just one cause, or just one treatment.

POhWER provide the Lewisham Advocacy Service to support residents with a variety of issues, where there may be difficulties with communication or understanding information.

Find out more avour the Lewisham Advocay Service Leaflet.

London Fire Brigade offer a service where they can visit an adult at home to provide personalised advice about fire safety. It's totally free, available 24/7, and they even fit free smoke alarms during the visit if you need them. 

Find out more about Home Fire Safety Visits

Community Connections Lewisham are able to connect you with groups, activities and services in your local community that can support your health and wellbeing ~ bringing Lewisham to you!

You can phone them on 0330 058 3464, from 9:30am-4pm Monday-Friday (*except Thursdays when our line is open from 2-4pm). You can also get in touch using their online referral form, or visit the Thursday Morning Drop In.

This website provides information, support and advice for people who hoard and their loved ones.

There is also an online community that you can contribute to with your own experiences.

The self-kindness toolkit is packed with activities to support building resilience, coping with stress and worries, and connecting with others.

Inside the self-kindness toolkit:

• resilience
• problem solving
• making decisions confidently 
• first aid
• sleep techniques
• coping with change
• creative activities
• connecting with others
• movement and mindfulness

If you suspect that an adult you work with may be at risk of abuse or neglect please complete the Adult Safeguarding Concern form and return to the Lewisham Adult Gateway as instructed in the form.

Alternatively if you have concerns about the immediate safety of an adult at risk then please contact the Police on 999. 

Lewisham Policy, Procedures and Guidance

All professionals working with adults who self-neglect and hoard in Lewisham must utilise the following policies, procedures and guidance.

Multi Agency Self-Neglect Policy, Practice Guidance and Procedures

Annex 2

Accompanying the Practice Guidance is the Self-Neglect High Risk Panel - Risk Assessment & Action Plan Template.

Lewisham Adult Safeguarding Pathway

Guidance on Improving our Approach to Adult and Family Engagement

Self-Neglect and Hoarding Resources

Learning from Human Stories about Self-neglect - Webinar

Here you can find the slides and handout from the Learning from Human Stories about Self-neglect webinar held by Professor Michael Preston-Shoot.

Here you will find the resources from all of the Self-neglect and Hoarding Training held by the LSAB

• Session Form
• Clutter Image Rating
• Home Environment Index
• Homes Scale
• Hoarding Interview
• Saving Inventory
• Reasons for Saving
• Some Techniques
• Hoarding Reading List
• Consent for Services
• How to Talk to Someone with Hoarding

Criminal Exploitation of Vulnerable Adults: County Lines & Cuckooing

What is cuckooing?

Cuckooing is when a person’s home is taken over for the purpose of criminal activity. It is most commonly seen in County Lines. This is where a drug dealer or group of drug dealers takes over the premises of a vulnerable person either by friendship, force, or a combination of both, before turning it into a base to store money, weapons, and prepare, and sell drugs from. A criminal will often befriend a vulnerable person, as comfort levels rise more criminals are brought to the home, adding to the activity, and taking over the property entirely. Cuckooing is typified by some form of power imbalance in favour of those perpetrating the exploitation. Whilst age may be the most obvious, this power imbalance can also be due to a range of other factors including gender, cognitive ability, physical strength, status, and access to economic or other resources.

• Can affect any vulnerable adult over the age of 18 years;
• Can still be exploitation even if the activity appears consensual;
• Can involve force and/or enticement-based methods of compliance and is often accompanied by violence or threats of violence;
• Can be perpetrated by individuals or groups, males or females, and adults or young people.

 

Lewisham Project ADDER (Addiction, Diversion, Disruption, Enforcement, Recovery) 

The programme seeks to ensure that more people get effective treatment, with enhanced treatment and recovery provision, including housing and employment support, and improved communication between treatment providers and courts, prisons, and hospitals.

The Lewisham Project ADDER Team have produced an Are You Aware of Cuckooing leaflet. 

For additional information on cuckooing, please see the 'Introduction to Cuckooing' presentation. 

What to do if you suspect a property is being ‘cuckooed’?

Call the Metropolitan Police Service on 101 (or 999 in an emergency or crime in progress) to report your concerns.

You can also report your concerns online. 

If you don’t want to speak to the police directly, you can call

Crimestoppers 0800 555 111.

or

Lewisham Council by telephone (non-emergency only) 0800 028 2028 or contact them by email.

What to do if you are a professional who is concerned

There are many forms and ways that adult abuse and neglect can occur, so we should not be constrained by definitions and terminologies.

Adult abuse is also often complex involving more than one type of abuse occurring at any one time.

How to Report Your Concerns
Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Lewisham Victim Care Pathway

Professionals should also make a report to Police if you think someone may be a victim of exploitation, contact them on 101 or report it online.

Guidance

New! LSAB Cuckooing A Brief Guide for Professionals

A brief guide for professionals including information on 

• What is Cuckooing
• Common Indicators of Cuckooing
• What can I do to help make the adult safe?
• Relationship-Based Practices
• Person-Centred Interventions 
• Partnership Working
• Advice for Submitting an Adult Safeguarding
  Concern
• Support for Lewisham Professionals

Multi-agency guidance on tackling Cuckooing

Canterbury City and Kent County Council's and their partnership have produced multi-agency guidance on tackling Cuckooing which can be applied locally.

Tackling Cuckooing Multi-Agency Guidance.

Criminal Exploitation of children and vulnerable adults: Updated County Lines Guidance

The government has published refreshed County Lines Guidance. The guidance is primarily aimed at frontline staff who work with children, young people and potentially vulnerable adults.

If you’re a professional working in social care, education, health, housing, benefits, law enforcement (police) and related partner organisations this guidance is for you.

Criminal exploitation of children and vulnerable adults is a geographically widespread form of harm that is a typical feature of county lines activity. It is a harm which is relatively little known about or recognised by those best placed to spot its potential victims.

The guidance is intended to explain the nature of this harm to enable you, the professional, to recognise its signs and respond appropriately so that potential victims get the support and help they need.

Like other forms of abuse and exploitation, county lines exploitation:

• Can affect any vulnerable adult over the age of 18 years;
• Can still be exploitation even if the activity appears consensual;
• Can involve force and/or enticement-based methods of compliance and is often accompanied by violence or threats of violence;
• Can be perpetrated by individuals or groups, males or females, and young people or adults; and
• Is typified by some form of power imbalance in favour of those perpetrating the exploitation. Whilst age may be the most obvious, this power imbalance can also be due to a range of other factors including gender, cognitive ability, physical strength, status, and access to economic or other resources.

As so little is known about this type of abuse the national picture on county lines continues to develop but there are recorded cases of:

• Both males and females being exploited;
• White British children and young people being targeted because gangs perceive they are more likely to evade police detection but a person of any ethnicity or nationality may be exploited;
• The use of social media to make initial contact with children and young people;
• Class A drug users being targeted so that gangs can takeover their homes (known as ‘cuckooing’).

CONTEST and the Prevent Strategy

What is CONTEST and the Prevent Strategy?

The Prevent Strategy is one of the key elements of CONTEST, the Government's counter- terrorism strategy and it aims to stop people from being drawn into terrorist-related activity. Prevent has strong links to safeguarding because vulnerable adults and children can be susceptible to radicalisation and recruitment into violent extremist and terrorist organisations.

CONTEST has four strands:

• Protect: Strengthen our protection against terrorist attack.
• Prepare: Mitigate the impact of an attack.
• Pursue: Stop a terrorist attack.
• Prevent: Stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism by:

• • responding to the ideological challenge of terrorism and the threat we face from those who promote it,
  • preventing people from being drawn into terrorism and ensuring that they are given appropriate advice and support,
  • working with sectors and institutions where there are risks of radicalisation that we need to address.

What does the Prevent Duty mean for Statutory Organisations in Lewisham?

Since 2015, statutory agencies have a duty under the Counter Terrorism & Security Act "to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism". This means that local authorities should:

• Establish strategic and operational links with other specified authorities,
• Facilitate the assessment of risk for specified authorities, including providing advice and sharing threat assessments based on the Counter Terrorism Local Profiles (CTLP),
• Provide a range of training products (including but not limited to Workshops to Raise Awareness of Prevent - WRAP) to all specified authorities,
• Understand the full range of bodies affected by the new duties, and ensure they understand their responsibilities,
• Embed Prevent into commissioning, procurement, and grant funding processes,
• Embed Prevent into Safeguarding Policies and ensure all providers are signed up to local Safeguarding arrangements. In Lewisham, work has been taking place to ensure that all relevant agencies are complying with their obligations under the 2015 Counter Terrorism & Security Act. This includes delivering briefings, training and advice.

Lewisham Prevent Service

London Borough of Lewisham Prevent are available to assist agencies in complying with their Counter Terrorism Act duties. The support offer includes: 

• Prevent in Lewisham operates a Strategic Board
• Prevent Delivery Group 
• Multi-Agency Safeguarding Panel – Channel

Compliance in Lewisham

• The provision of Workshops to Raise Awareness of Prevent (WRAP training for frontline staff),
• Management briefings regarding Prevent Duty compliance,
• Coordination of strategic and operational groups,
• The provision of Prevent-related resources and dissemination of relevant information.

Safeguarding vulnerable people against radicalisation and extremism

There have been several cases where extremist groups have attempted to radicalise vulnerable adults. This can include justifying political, religious, sexist, or racist violence, or to steer individuals towards an ideology of extremism and intolerance. A vulnerable adult might be groomed and radicalised into carrying out acts of violence and cause significant harm to others.

There are several ways in which vulnerable adults can be at risk of radicalisation.

• They can be groomed either online or in person by people seeking to draw them into extremist activity.
• Vulnerable adults can be radicalised online via networks or online chat platforms.
• Grooming can also be carried out by those who hold harmful, extremist beliefs, including peer or family members who have an influence over the person's life.
• People can be exposed to violent, anti-social, extremist imagery and narratives which can lead to normalising intolerance of others and extremist ideology.

All agencies play a vital role in ensuring vulnerable adults and our communities are safe from the threat of radicalisation, extremist ideologies and terrorism.

If you are concerned that a vulnerable adult or other family members may hold extremist views or are at risk of being radicalised, it is important to ensure that they receive support to protect them from being drawn into terrorism.

Making a Referral

If you are are a professional or work in the voluntary sector and are worried about a vulnerable person you should follow your own organisation’s safeguarding procedures.

If you are a member of the public your concerns should be reported to:

London Borough of Lewisham Gateway
020 8314 7777 (Lines are open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm)
Email

In an emergency always dial 999.

If you have any questions regarding Prevent in Lewisham contact the Prevent team by email.

Channel Awareness

This training package is for anyone who may be asked to contribute to, sit on, or even run a Channel Panel. It is aimed at all levels, from a professional required to input and attend a Channel Panel meeting for the first time, to a member of staff new to their role and organising a panel meeting. It covers an introduction to what Channel is, how it operates in the local area, and how to organise a Channel Panel for the first time. It also covers information sharing, including how, when and with whom to share information of a Channel case.

Public Advice

• If you see or hear anything that could be terrorist-related, trust your instincts and call the Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321.
• If you think you have seen a person acting suspiciously, or if you see a vehicle, unattended package or bag which might be an immediate threat, move away and call 999.
• If you are involved in an incident follow police advice to: 'RUN, HIDE AND TELL 
• Download the citizenAID App , which provides safety and medical advice from Google Play, Apple App or the Windows Store, for free.  

Prevent Support and Advice

You can contact the Prevent team directly and we will be more than happy to provide training, advice and support. However all referrals this should be done in addition to your usual safeguarding referral pathway.

Contact the Lewisham Prevent Team for support and information on fulfilling the duty.  

Lewisham Prevent Service Training

Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent (WRAP)

Target Group:  All professionals working with vulnerable adults in the Borough of Lewisham.

The session is intended to:

• Develop an understanding of the Prevent Strategy & roles within it.
• Develop existing expertise and professional judgement in relation to extremism and radicalisation or recruitment to extremist groups.
• Increase awareness of the national / international picture of extremism and terrorism.
• Raise awareness of the links between online risks and radicalisation.
• Improve confidence to raise concerns.
• Raise awareness of the Channel interventions, safeguarding the individual.
• Increase the whole organisations capacity to prevent extremism and safeguard vulnerable people.

The webinars will include a presentation and Q&A session.

Hosted by Lewisham Prevent Team

The training is for anyone who has been through the Prevent awareness eLearning or a Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent (WRAP), and so already understands Prevent and of their role in safeguarding vulnerable people. 

The package shares best practice on how to articulate concerns about an individual and ensure that they are robust and considered.

It is aimed at anyone who may be able to notice signs of vulnerability to radicalisation and seeks to give them confidence in referring on for help if appropriate. It is also designed for those (for example line managers) who may receive referrals and need to consider how to respond, whether that be establishing more context, or reaching out to partner agencies for support.

The Lewisham Prevent Service offer bespoke training packages designed to meet the needs of the audience. Contact the Lewisham Prevent Service to find out more and book your training event.

E-Learning

Prevent Home Office awareness eLearning.

The Prevent awareness eLearning has recently been refreshed. This includes updates to reflect the recommendations from the Parsons Green review, updated information following the change in threat and recent attacks, and new case studies. A link to the training is below. 

http://www.elearning.prevent.homeoffice.gov.uk

Prevent Referrals E-Learning

https://www.elearning.prevent.homeoffice.gov.uk/preventreferrals

Guidance and Further Reading

The Prevent Duty guidance for partners and Local Authorities

Information on Channel

Home Office guide for schools about social media and radicalisation

How people become radicalised

Scams Information and Advice

New! Scams Easy Read Booklet 

This booklet was made by Lewisham Speaking Up on behalf of the Lewisham Safeguarding Adults Board.

Read and download the Scams Easy Read Booklet

What is Fraud

Fraud is when a person lies to you, or ‘scams’ you, to gain an advantage, such as taking your money or learning private information about you.

This could be by email, text, phone or in person, either on the street or on your doorstep.

Criminals are turning to more sophisticated ways to take your money, whether through online offers, emails or telephone calls.

Scams affect the lives of millions of people across the UK. People who are scammed often experience shame and social isolation as a result.

With a little knowledge you can protect yourself from fraudsters.

Watch out for Scams like these

• Banking Fraud
• Cash Machine Fraud
• Cheque Scam
• Holiday Fraud
• Identity Theft

• Online shopping Fraud

Watch this video from the Metropolitan Police Service on online shopping fraud

• Impersonation Fraud

Watch this video from the Metropolitan Police Service on Impersonation Fraud

• Investment Fraud

Investing in stocks and shares or any other commodity can be a successful way of making money. However, it can also lead to people losing their entire life savings. Fraudsters will persuade you to invest in all kinds of products. They will offer you high rates of return, particularly over longer periods of time, which often do not exist.

Common products that will be offered include binary options, virtual currency, carbon credits, wine, rare metals, gemstones, land and alternative energy. Often, initial investments will yield small returns as an incentive to invest further funds. However, larger investments or cashing out will be met with excuses or a penalty charge. Eventually contact with the fraudster will be impossible and all funds and bogus returns lost.

Fraudsters are organised and they may have details of previous investments you have made or shares you have purchased. Knowing this information does not mean they are genuine.

Criminals may direct you to well-presented websites or send you glossy marketing material. These resources do not prove they are a genuine company. Many fraudulent companies have a polished customer image to cover their illegal activities.

It is relatively easy to register a company with Companies House. This does not confirm or endorse that they can provide genuine investments. Indeed, emerging investment markets may be unregulated, making these open to abuse.

• Invoice and Mandate Fraud
• Payment in Advance Fraud
• Purchase Scam

Companies may be registered at prestigious addresses, for example Canary Wharf or Mayfair. This does not mean they operate from there. It is an accepted business practice to rent such a virtual office to enhance a business’s status. However, fraudsters are also aware of this and exploit it. The fraudster may put pressure on you by offering a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’ or claim the deal has to be done quickly to maximise profit.

In addition - be wary of companies that offer to ‘recover’ any funds you have lost to any sort of investment scam. They may be linked to the company who initially defrauded you in the first place and may be targeting you again. This is known as ‘Recovery Fraud’.

How to protect yourself

• There are no get rich quick schemes. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
  Genuine investment companies will not cold call you. Be extremely wary of anyone who does.
• Research both what you have been offered, and the investment company. Speak to Trading Standards if you have concerns.
  Before investing, check the Financial Conduct Authority register to see if the firm or individual you are dealing with is authorised (https://register.fca.org.uk/)
• Check the FCA Warning List of firms to avoid.

REMEMBER - Don’t be pressured into making a quick decision.

CAUTION - Seek independent financial advice before committing to any investment.

THINK - Why would a legitimate investment company call me out of the blue?

• Rental Fraud

Sometimes, criminals advertise properties to rent when these properties don’t belong to them, or even don’t exist! Victims are then tricked into paying an upfront fee to rent the property.

In reality, the property does not exist, has already been rented out, or has been rented to multiple victims at the same time. The victim loses the upfront fee they have paid and is not able to rent the property they thought they had secured with the payment. Rental fraudsters often target students looking for university accommodation.

How to Protect Yourself

• Do not send money to anyone advertising rental properties online until you are certain the advertiser is genuine.
• If you need to secure accommodation in the UK from overseas, seek the help of the employer or university you are coming to, or get a friend, contact or relative to check the property exists and is available.
• Do not pay any money until you or a reliable contact has visited the property with an agent or the landlord.
• Ask for copies of tenancy agreements and any safety certificates such as Gas Electricity or HMO Licence.
• Do not be pressurised into transferring large sums of money. Transfer funds to a bank account having obtained the details by contacting the landlord or agent directly after the above steps have been followed. Be sceptical if you’re asked to transfer any money via a money transfer service like Western Union.

• Romance and Dating Fraud

Dating online is now one of the most popular ways for new couples to meet, with millions of people finding new relationships, romance and love this way. Unfortunately, amongst the genuine profiles are fake profiles set up by fraudsters. They are after your money, not your love. They are masters of manipulation, playing on your good nature and emotions to ultimately steal your money.

Criminals will build a relationship with online members, quickly asking to move communication off the dating website. This is so they can continue their contact with you, even if their profile is later identified by the site as fraudulent and subsequently deleted.

Fraudsters are often very flattering, appearing really interested in you within a short space of time. However, they will use a range of excuses as to why they can’t meet in person, such as they are stuck overseas, have a family emergency or have an issue with their business. They then start asking for money to help with their problems, assuring you they will pay it back as soon as they can. The fraudster may claim to be desperate to meet you as soon as this obstacle is overcome. This is all a scam and their true intention is to take as much money from you as they can.

How to Protect Yourself

• Stay on site.
  
• Keep all communication on the dating website you are using. Don’t be convinced by profile pictures, they may have been taken from somewhere else on the internet. You can check photos using a reverse image search on the internet through websites like https://www.tineye.com or https://reverse.photos
  
• Do your own research on the person – are they members of any other social networking sites? Can you confirm what they are telling you about themselves, such as where they work or where they live?
  
• Never send money to someone you have not met in person and be extremely wary of giving money to someone you have recently started a relationship with.
  
• Be wary of anyone asking you to receive money on their behalf and transfer it on. They may be using you to launder money.
  
• Talk to family and friends for advice, even if the other party is asking you to keep the relationship secret.
  
• Watch Metropolitan Police's video on Romance Fraud

REMEMBER - Stay on site! Never send money to someone you have not met in person, or receive/ transfer money on their behalf.

CAUTION - Be wary of continuing the relationship away from the dating website you initially made contact on.

THINK - Why are they so quick to declare their love for me? How do I know they are telling me the truth?

• Doorstep Crime and Scams

Remember:

Your bank, the police, or tax office will never ask you to attend your bank, withdraw, transfer or pay money over the   phone or send couriers to collect your card or cash. Nor would they ask you to buy goods or vouchers.

This is a scam.

Hang up (Never give details or money following a cold call)

Take 5 (Seek a second opinion, tell someone what has happened)

Verify (if concerned, contact the company via a pre-confirmed method)

Friends Against Scams is a National Trading Standards (NTS) Scams Team initiative, which aims to protect and prevent people from becoming victims of scams by empowering communities to "Take a Stand Against Scams".

Friends Against Scams has been created to tackle the lack of scams awareness by providing information about scams and those who fall victim to them. This information enables communities and organisations to understand scams, talk about scams and cascade messages throughout communities about scams prevention and protection.

Friends Against Scams encourages communities and organisations to take the knowledge learnt and turn it into action.

Friends Against Scams Easy Read Resources Webpage

https://www.friendsagainstscams.org.uk/easyread

Anybody can join Friends Against Scams and make a difference in their own way.

Become a friend

If you would like to be a Friend Against Scams you can attend a short awareness session in person or complete the online training.

After this session you will be asked to start taking action to "Take a Stand Against Scams". 

Click here for more information.

Take Five Campaign

Beware if you receive a text message purporting to be from a trusted organisation such as your bank – can you be sure it’s genuine?

It is a good idea to follow the advice from Take Five

STOP

Taking a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe.

CHALLENGE

Could it be fake? It’s ok to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.

PROTECT

Contact your bank immediately if you think you’ve fallen for a scam and report it to Action Fraud.

Remember these ten golden rules to help you prevent fraud and beat the scammers.

1. Be suspicious of all ‘too good to be true’ offers and deals. There are no guaranteed get-rich-quick schemes.
2. Don’t agree to offers or deals immediately. Insist on time to get independent or legal advice before making a decision.
3. Don’t hand over money or sign anything until you’ve checked someone’s credentials and their company’s.
4. Never send money to anyone you don’t know or trust, whether in the UK or abroad, or use methods of payment you’re not comfortable with.
5. Never give banking or personal details to anyone you don’t know or trust. This information is valuable so make sure you protect it.
6. Always log on to a website directly rather than clicking on links in an email.
7. Don’t just rely on glowing testimonials. Find solid, independent evidence of a company’s success.
8. Always get independent or legal advice if an offer involves money, time or commitment.
9. If you spot a scam or have been scammed, report it and get help.
10. Don’t be embarrassed about reporting a scam. Because the scammers are cunning and clever there’s no shame in being deceived. By reporting it, you'll make it more difficult for them to deceive others.

Get help or report a scam

If you think you’ve uncovered a scam, been targeted by a scam or fallen victim to fraudsters, contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or at Action Fraud.

Call the Police on 101 if you know the suspect or they’re still in the area.

Reporting crime, including fraud, is important. If you don’t tell the authorities, how do they know it’s happened and how can they do anything about it?

Remember that if you’re a victim of a scam or an attempted scam, however minor, there may be hundreds or thousands of others in a similar position. Your information may form part of one big jigsaw and be vital to completing the picture.

Other useful Information

Age UK Avoiding Scams Guide

Crimestoppers Romance Fraud e-Booklet

Change People.org Keeping-Safe-Online-Easy-Read-Guide

Scam Marshals - play a role in helping National Trading Standards (NTS) Scams Team to stop scam mail (friendsagainstscams.org.uk)

Think Family

In April 2023, the Lewisham Safeguarding Adults Board (LSAB) and Lewisham Safeguarding Children Partnership (LSCP) jointly agreed to focus on Think Family as a strategic priority. Learning from Local Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews and Safeguarding Adults Reviews have highlighted the importance of adult and children’s services working collaboratively and taking a joined up, whole family approach.

The development of the Think Family Practice Guidance is designed to help define our Think Family approach and to support practitioners in achieving this.

The Board along with the Lewisham Safeguarding Children's Partnership has also produced a toolkit for professionals Working with Father's and Male Carers Toolkit,                                                      along with the toolkit are a Toolkit Checklist and a list of Local Resources which focus on men. 

We have also produced a helpful Think Family Poster to support practitioners.

This important area of work will continue on into 2024-25. Read more about our priorities for 2024-2025.

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust Mental Health Think Family Strategy 2022-2025

The aim of the SLaM Think Family Strategy is prevention and recognition of family need and wellbeing and thereby trying to ensure positive outcomes for the whole family. Effective partnership working with families: parents, carers, young people and children, and other services is a key component of this strategy. It applies to adult mental health services, this includes Addictions, Older Adults and Learning Disability services, and Child and Adolescent services and aims to ensure improved partnership working across these services to enable seamless support for either or both parent and child.

Professional Curiosity

Professional Curiosity and Critical Evaluation

Professional Curiosity is the capacity and communication skill to explore and understand what is happening within a family (or an organisational setting) rather than making assumptions, accepting things at face value, or allowing your personal values or possible unconscious bias to influence the way that that you see and interpret risk. 

This has been described as the need for practitioners to practice ‘respectful uncertainty’ in applying Critical Evaluation to any information they receive, or ‘thinking the unthinkable’.

Watch this YouTube Video: The journey from reflection towards reflexivity (relevant for all practitioners).

The following factors highlight the need to improve professional curiosity:

• The views and feelings of some adults can be very difficult to ascertain.
• Practitioners do not always listen to adults who try to speak on behalf of another adult and who may have important information to contribute.
• Carers can prevent practitioners from seeing and listening to an adult.
• Practitioners can be misinformed with stories they want to believe are true.
• Effective multi-agency work needs to be coordinated.
• Challenging carers and other professionals requires expertise, confidence, time and a considerable amount of emotional energy.

 The key to effective safeguarding practice is to ask the right questions, including: 

1. Would I live here, and if not, why not?
2. Would I be happy with this standard of care for a member of my family?
3. What does good look like?
4. Is there anything else going on in this person’s life which might be causing harm, or the potential for adult abuse or neglect?

Barriers to professional curiosity

It is important to note that when a lack of professional curiosity is cited as a factor in any safeguarding enquiry or review that this does not automatically mean that blame should be apportioned. It is widely recognised that there are many barriers to being professionally curious, some of which are set out below:

The ‘rule of optimism’.
Risk enablement is about a strengths-based approach, but this does not mean that new or escalating risks should not be treated seriously. The ‘rule of optimism’ is a well-known dynamic in which professionals can tend to rationalise away new or escalating risks despite clear evidence to the contrary.

Accumulating risk – seeing the whole picture.
Reviews repeatedly demonstrate that professionals tend to respond to each situation or new risk discretely, rather than assessing the new information within the context of the whole person, or looking at the cumulative effect of a series of incidents and information.

Normalisation.
This refers to social processes through which ideas and actions come to be seen as 'normal' and become taken-for-granted or 'natural' in everyday life. Because they are seen as ‘normal’ they cease to be questioned and are therefore not recognised as potential risks or assessed as such.

Professional deference.
Workers who have most contact with the individual are in a good position to recognise when the risks to the person are escalating. However, there can be a tendency to defer to the opinion of a ‘higher status’ professional who has limited contact with the person but who views the risk as less significant. Be confident in your own judgement and always outline your observations and concerns to other professionals, be courageous and challenge their opinion of risk if it varies from your own. Escalate ongoing concerns through your manager and by using more formal procedures if necessary.

Confirmation bias.
This is when we look for evidence that supports or confirms our pre-held view, and ignores contrary information that refutes them. It occurs when we filter out potentially useful facts and opinions that don't coincide with our preconceived ideas.

‘Knowing but not knowing’.
This is about having a sense that something is not right but not knowing exactly what, so it is difficult to grasp the problem and take action.

Confidence in managing tension.
Disagreement, disruption and aggression from families or others, can undermine confidence and divert meetings away from topics the practitioner wants to explore and back to the family’s own agenda.

Dealing with uncertainty.
Contested accounts, vague or retracted disclosures, deception and inconclusive medical evidence are common in safeguarding practice. Practitioners are often presented with concerns which are impossible to substantiate. In such situations, ‘there is a temptation to discount concerns that cannot be proved’. A person-centred approach requires practitioners to remain mindful of the original concern and be professionally curious:

• ‘Unsubstantiated’ concerns and inconclusive medical evidence should not lead to case closure without further assessment.
• Retracted allegations still need to be investigated wherever possible.
• The use of risk assessment tools can reduce uncertainty, but they are not a substitute for professional judgement, and results need to be collated with observations and other sources of information.
• Social care practitioners are responsible for triangulating information such as, seeking independent confirmation of information, and weighing up information from a range of practitioners, particularly when there are differing accounts, and considering different theories/ research to understand the situation.

Other barriers to professional curiosity.
Poor supervision, complexity and pressure of work, changes of case worker leading to repeatedly ‘starting again’ in casework, closing cases too quickly, fixed thinking/preconceived ideas and values, and a lack of openness to new knowledge are also barriers to a professionally curious approach.

Disguised Compliance

Disguised Compliance involves carers giving the appearance of co-operating with agencies to avoid raising suspicions and allay concerns.

There is a continuum of behaviours from carers on a sliding scale, with full co-operation at one end of the scale, and planned and effective resistance at the other. Showing your best side or ‘saving face’ may be viewed as ‘normal’ behaviour and therefore we can expect a degree of Disguised Compliance in all families; but at its worst superficial cooperation may be to conceal deliberate abuse, and professionals can sometimes delay or avoid interventions due to Disguised Compliance.

The following principles will help front line practitioner’s deal with Disguised Compliance more effectively:

• Focus on the needs, voice and lived experience of the adult.
• Avoid being encouraged to focus too extensively on the needs and presentation of the carers, whether aggressive, argumentative or apparently compliant.
• Think carefully about the engagement of the carers and the impact of this behaviour on the practitioner’s view of risk.
• Focus on change in the family dynamic and the impact this will have on the life and well-being of the adult. This is a more reliable measure than the agreement of carers in the professionals plan.
• There is some evidence that an empathetic approach by professionals may result in an increased level of trust and a more open family response leading to greater disclosure by adults.
• Practitioners need to build close partnership style relationships with families whilst being constantly aware of the adult’s needs and the degree to which they are met.
• There is no magic way of spotting Disguised Compliance other than the discrepancy between a carer’s account and observations of the needs and account of the adult. The latter must always take precedent.
• Practitioners should aim to ‘triangulate’ and cross-reference the information they have received to confirm or refute the facts that have been presented.

Professional Challenge - having different perspectives

Having different professional perspectives within safeguarding practice is a sign of healthy and well-functioning inter-agency partnerships. These differences of opinion are usually resolved by discussion and negotiation between the practitioners concerned, but it is essential that they do not adversely affect outcomes for adults and are resolved in a constructive manner.

If you have a difference of opinion with another practitioner, remember:

• Professional differences and disagreements can help find better ways to improve outcomes for adults and families.
• All professionals are responsible for their own actions in relation to case work.
• Differences and disagreements should be resolved as simply and quickly as possible, in the first instance by individual practitioners and /or their line managers.
• All practitioners should respect the views of others whatever the level of experience – remember that challenging more senior or experienced practitioners can be hard.
• Expect to be challenged; working together effectively depends on an open approach and honest relationships between agencies and professionals.
• Differences are reduced by clarity about roles and responsibilities, the ability to discuss and share problems, and by effectively networking.

Also see this briefing from the Somerset Safeguarding Adults Board: Mendip House Practice Briefing

Cultural Competence

Culturally competent safeguarding practice is essential in achieving the right outcomes, and for improving the well-being of adults from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities.

Lack of cultural awareness among practitioners can impact on their ability to effectively work with and support adults, and therefore deal with abuse and neglect appropriately. This can also result in poor practice or interventions, which in turn can reduce trust in statutory agencies and create barriers for engagement with and from minority ethnic communities.   

It is important therefore that practitioners are sensitive to differing family patterns and lifestyles that vary across different racial, ethnic and cultural groups. At the same time they must be clear that abuse or neglect cannot be condoned for religious or cultural reasons.

All practitioners working with adults at risk and their carers whose faith, culture, nationality and recent history differs significantly from that of the majority culture, must be professionally curious and take personal responsibility for informing their work with sufficient knowledge (or seeking advice) on the particular culture and/or faith by which the adult and their family or carers live their daily lives.

Practitioners should be curious about situations or information arising in the course of their work, allowing the family to give their account as well as researching such things by discussion with other practitioners, or by researching the evidence base. Examples of this might be around attitudes towards, and acceptance of, services e.g. health and dietary choices.

In some instances reluctance to access support stems from a desire to keep family life private. In many communities there is a prevalent fear that social work practitioners will negatively interfere, and there may be a poor view of support services arising from initial contact through the immigration system, and, for some communities – particularly those with insecure immigration status – an instinctive distrust of the state arising from experiences in their country of origin.

Practitioners must take personal responsibility for utilising specialist services. Knowing about and using services available locally to provide relevant cultural and faith-related input to prevention, support and rehabilitation services for adults (and their family) will help support practice.

This includes:

• Knowing which agencies are available to access locally (and nationally).
• Having contact details to hand.
• Timing requests for expert support and information appropriately to ensure that assessments, care planning and review are sound and holistic.

Often for BAME communities, accessing appropriate services is a consistent barrier to them fully participating in society, increasing their exclusion and potential for victimisation.

Social Graces

The term ‘Social Graces’ is a mnemonic to help us remember some of the key features that influence personal and social identity. This helps to prompt a professional to have discussions with an adult in a more inclusive way, which in turn may help to improve their understanding of that person's life circumstances and risks they may be facing:

G Gender and Geography

R Race and Religion

A Age, Accent, Appearance and Ability 

C Class and Culture

E Ethnicity, Education and Employment 

S Sexual Orientation and Spirituality

Read here for more information: Social Graces: A practical tool to address inequality www.basw.co.uk