Safeguarding

Safeguarding is everyone’s business, because everyone has the right to live a life free of abuse and neglect. This page gives guidance and support in identifying and reporting safeguarding concerns.

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If you are concerned for your own or another person’s immediate safety, please call the police on 999

Make yourself heard

If you feel you’re in immediate danger but can’t speak make yourself heard with the silent solution.

Dial 999
Listen to the questions from the 999 operator
Respond by coughing or tapping the handset if you can
If prompted, press 55. This lets the 999 call operator know it’s a genuine emergency and you’ll be put through to the police.

What is safeguarding?

Safeguarding exists to make sure that everyone can live their lives without abuse or neglect.

It protects the vulnerable by creating a safe environment that actively prevents neglect, abuse, bullying, harassment and harm – whilst also providing ways to safely report and act if there is a problem. It empowers everybody to play an important role in the safety of those they live and work with.

Those most in need of safeguarding may be:

Children and Young People
Adults whose circumstances place them at risk (e.g. those receiving care in their own home, people with physical, sensory and mental impairments, and those with learning disabilities)

Types of Abuse:

Physical abuse
Sexual abuse
Psychological abuse
Financial abuse
Neglect
Domestic abuse
Self-neglect
Hoarding/unsanitary conditions
Exposure to substance abuse
Organisational abuse
Modern Slavery
Cuckooing

How can bpha help?

bpha recognises the important role housing plays in supporting those who are experiencing abuse and neglect and we are committed to working with residents and other key agencies to enable those living in bpha homes to live in safety.

If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse or neglect, you should contact Adult/Children’s services to raise your concerns.

You can also speak to a bpha employee if you’re worried about an adult or child or feel that you need additional support or guidance.

What other support is available?

Police: Emergency 999 or non-emergency 101
National Domestic Abuse helpline
Tel: 08082000247
Website: www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk
gov.uk
- Report Child abuse: www.gov.uk/report-child-abuse-to-local-council
- Report abuse of an older person: https://www.gov.uk/report-abuse-of-older-person
- Report domestic abuse: https://www.gov.uk/report-domestic-abuse
NSPCC
Tel: 0808 800 5000
Email: help@nspcc.org.uk
Website: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/
Victim Support
0808 16 89 111
Website: https://www.victimsupport.org.uk/

Cover your tracks online

If you are worried about someone discovering you have been visiting websites regarding domestic abuse, please take a few minutes to read the information below and to take steps to increase your safety when visiting a web page.

If you do not use a password to log on to your computer, someone else will be able to access your email and track your internet usage. All of the above information may not completely hide your tracks, so the safest way to find information on the internet would be at a local library, a friend’s house, or at work.

Private browsing

All leading web browsers have a “private browsing” mode that, once enabled, stores nothing about your activity on your computer in that browsing window. This won’t stop online services from seeing what you get up to, but it won’t leave any traces of your activity on your computer (no history, web cache or anything else) and so it’s always a useful first step to take.

Internet Explorer: Go to Safety – Tools – “InPrivate Browsing”.

Firefox: Click the Menu button with three horizontal lines – “New Private Window”.

Chrome: Click the Menu button with three horizontal lines and select “New Incognito Window”.

Similar options can be found in Opera and Safari.

Deleting internet history

Internet browsers also keep a record of all the web pages you visit. This is known as a ‘history’.

To delete history for Internet Explorer and Firefox hold down the Ctrl key on the keyboard, then press the H key (Ctrl, Alt and H for Opera).

Chrome

On the top right, click the 3 dots. Click History. History. On the left, click Clear browsing data. From the drop-down menu, select how much history you want to delete.
Check the boxes for the info you want Chrome to clear, including “browsing history.” Click Clear data.

Internet Explorer / Microsoft Edge

Click on the Tools menu and select Internet Options. On the General page, under Temporary Internet Files, click on Delete Cookies and then OK. Click on Delete Files, put a tick in the box labelled Delete all offline content and click OK. Under History, click on Clear History and then OK. Now look at the top of the window and click on the Content tab, select AutoComplete and finally, Clear Forms.

Firefox

Click on Tools and then Options, and then click on Privacy. Click on the Clear button next to Cache and Saved Form Information.

Toolbars

Toolbars such as Google, AOL and Yahoo keep a record of the search words you have typed into the toolbar search box. In order to erase all the search words you have typed in, you will need to check the individual instructions for each type of toolbar. For example, for the Google toolbar, all you need to do is click on the Google icon, and choose “Clear Search History”.

Phone history

Depending on your phone, the phones operating system or app you are using, the history will be accessed in different ways. Search for your phone online and ways to clear the history or private surfing to find the specific settings for you.

Click on the links below for more in-depth guidance (off-site)

These steps can help reduce the risk of someone tracing your activity online, but there are other means of finding it, if you have the right technical knowledge. Consider using a computer in the safety of a local library, internet cafe, friends house or at work for extra safety.