Safeguarding - Reflecting on 2025

As we come to the end of a busy period for Connected Voice Advocacy, I reflect on our role in helping keep people safe.  

In Connected Voice, we do this in multiple ways: 

• We advocate for individuals who are at risk of harm or abuse 
• We track data each year on how we safeguard people and what areas of abuse they experience. This year we tracked 58% physical, 36% psychological and 36% self-neglect, 18% domestic abuse and 9% discriminatory.   
• We hold seats on the Gateshead and Newcastle Safeguarding Adults Boards to feed in data from service providers and shape the local strategy 
• We offer free awareness raising sessions for VCSE organisations on Safeguarding and Advocacy  
• We deliver safeguarding training to VCSE organisations and support them to write robust safeguarding policies.  

Independent Advocacy is under a spotlight each autumn as we take part in several awareness campaigns. Advocacy Awareness week; the national advocacy conference; Hate Crime Awareness Week and National Safeguarding Adults Week.  

The Safeguarding Adults week is led by Ann Craft Trust, this year was focused on prevention of abuse. Conversations. Prevention. Empowerment. Instincts. Safe Cultures.  

Independent Advocates, help people to understand that what is happening to them is abuse, or a crime. This can be the first step in the process. Often a victim of abuse is unaware or appears to consent to the behaviour, especially if this has been a long-time pattern or with some close to them that they trust. If we have worked alongside someone for a while we often hear disclosures of harm.  We help people create safety plans and where necessary alert the local authorities when a person needs a Care Act Section 42 enquiry to bring statutory partners together to safeguard.  We help people who are victims of harassment and hate to report the abuse to the police and recover from hate crime. We accompany parents who are undertaking child [protection proceedings to understand the safeguarding processes. We help them to take part in a fair and meaningful way, with the hope to keep families together where possible.  

Last year we joined the SAFE project steering group to ensure that the older people we advocate for could be consulted and involved in this valuable research. We access many older people, some who are under adult social care services, so it made sense to sit on the steering group.  Safeguarding is a tricky topic. We must consider people’s choice, ability to make unwise decisions and educating to make informed choices. Advocacy helps when there is conflict of interest in families, or when a person needs help to create safety plans and reduce chances of abuse happening again. 

Connected Voice has linked participants into the research project and helped them engage. We helped make the research more accessible too, not everyone can or wants to go to a focus group. Alternative ways to get housebound people’s views is necessary  

This project didn’t just want to reach the usual vocal and confident people. We are helping to reach out more widely. We have access to diverse older communities through our health and race equality forum HAREF. 

SAFE project is a qualitative study to develop best practice in safeguarding for older people. The SAFE project is led by the University of Sunderland, Northumbria University, Newcastle City Council, Oldham Council, and Made by Mortals CIC and began in 2024.  The SAFE project aims to promote a more personalised understanding of safeguarding for older people through promoting safety as understood by older people. Methods using creative workshops and interviews where each person who takes part in the study provides vital insight into preventing abuse and improving responses to abuse and neglect in their own way of communicating. 

More info on the website here The SAFE Project 

In 2026 the project will add interviews with social workers and advocates for a more in-depth range of data. They are still recruiting older people who have experience of safeguarding processes or family members who have supported them. If you would like to help with recruitment, please contact Keith Chappell at: Keith.Chappell@sunderland.ac.uk or 07354 481606.