Safeguarding, Safety and Risk - what is the difference?

Safeguarding, safety and risk management are three separate issues but in recent years they all seem to have become muddled up and all classed as safeguarding. Consequently by focusing on so many variables there is a real risk that the main focus of safeguarding is being diluted as people become distracted from the main purpose of adult safeguarding.

Safety is about being free from danger, risk, or injury 

It is about minimising these elements to enable someone to live safely. Risk management is about identifying, assessing, and controlling, risks that impact on the safety and wellbeing of the person. Everyone makes choices and decisions, some might be unwise choices and decisions, but risk management is about enabling people to make those choices and decisions. Safety and risk are issues that the person is voluntarily involved with.

Safeguarding is about abuse
Abuse happens to people not through choice. There are many types of abuse, so it is worth taking the time to review what the No Secrets 2000 guidance states. Abuse is a violation of an individual’s human and civil rights by another person or persons (section 2.5) and may consist of a single act or repeated acts. It may be physical, verbal or psychological, it may be an act of neglect or an omission to act, or it may occur when a vulnerable person is persuaded to enter into a financial or sexual transaction to which he or she has not consented, or cannot consent.

Abuse can occur in any relationship and may result in significant harm to, or exploitation of, the person subjected to it (section 2.6). The key factor in safeguarding cases is that there has been a deliberate intention to cause harm to someone or an act of omission that has had a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of the vulnerable adult, and in most cases there usually has also been a degree of criminality.

More information
A key source of information regarding safeguarding, signs and symtoms is the SET Safeguarding Adult Guidelines document. A shortened SET Sagehuarding Adults Handbook is also available. Just click the apporpriate link to view the document.

Safeguarding Adults Basic Awareness training is also a key way to strengthen an understanding of adult safeguarding and to know what to do if you have concerns. Keep an eye on the ESAB website for our training opportunities or speak to your employer about training opportunities where you work.