What is safeguarding vulnerable adults & children?

Adult/children safeguarding involves empowerment, protection and justice for vulnerable adults and children who experience harm or abuse.

Abuse may be experienced by people of any age and in a variety of domestic and institutional circumstances. 

Our commitment to protect individuals from abuse applies to all our clients, including those who have children living with them.

Abuse is mistreatment by any other person, or persons, that violates a person’s human and civil rights.  Abuse can happen anywhere: for instance, in a person’s own home, in a residential or nursing home, in a supported living setting, a hospital or GP surgery, a prison, day centre or educational setting, within the workplace, or within the community. 

Users of BITMO services who may be considered most vulnerable to abuse are:

 - Children and young people

 - Young (teenage) mothers

 - Adults with learning disabilities

 - Young people with physical disabilities

 - People with mental health problems

 - Women escaping violent partners

 - Frail and disabled older people

 - People with alcohol or substance misuse problems

 - People from ‘minority groups’

These groups could be exposed to many forms of abuse, including:

 - Physical abuse such as hitting, pushing, pinching, shaking, misusing medication, scalding, restraint, hair pulling.

 - Sexual abuse such as rape, sexual assault, or sexual acts to which they were pressurised into consenting

 - Financial or Material Abuse such as theft, fraud or exploitation, pressure in connection with wills, property, or inheritance, misuse of property possessions or benefits

 - Neglect such as ignoring medical or physical care needs and preventing access to health, social care or educational services or withholding the necessities of life such as food, drink and heating

 - Discriminatory Abuse such as that based on race, sexuality or a person’s disability and other forms of harassment or slurs

 - Institutional Abuse can sometimes happen in residential homes, hospitals when people are mistreated because of poor or inadequate care, neglect and poor practice that affects the whole of that service.

Any of these forms of abuse can either be deliberate or be the result of ignorance, or lack of training, knowledge or understanding.  Often if a person is abused in one way they are also being abused in other ways.

How can abuse be reported?

If you or anyone you know is being abused, you can seek help through Leeds City Council.

To report any type of abuse you can telephone BITMO on 0113 214 1833 or Leeds Social Care on 0113 222 4401.

 - If immediate action is needed, contact the emergency services on 999

 - If you need to report a crime but it is not an emergency, telephone the police on 0845 60 60 60

 - If you are worried about contacting the police you can talk things over with staff at Leeds Social Care first, on 0113 222 4401

 - For further advice, contact Leeds Safeguarding Adults Unit on 0113 224 3511

If you have concern about a child or young person in Leeds please call the Leeds City Council Contact Centre on 0113 222 4403 (or 0113 2409536 if outside normal business hours).  This will help direct your call to whichever service is best placed to provide support