Safeguarding Adults Awareness Week 2024
The Kent and Medway Safeguarding Adults Board is supporting the 2024 National Safeguarding Adults Awareness Week, hosted by the Ann Craft Trust.
The week aims to raise awareness on the different types of abuse or neglect and how concerns can be reported. We all have a responsibility to look after each other, but some people don’t report their concerns because they don’t know the key signs, feel it isn’t their business or don’t know who they should talk to. The result is that councils, health providers and other organisations miss out on important information that could help them protect adults from exploitation and abuse. By working together with Kent’s many organisations, we aim to empower members of the public to act when they are worried about the welfare of another person.
Types of abuse
Adults can be at risk of different types of abuse and it can happen anywhere. This could be an adult neglecting themselves, or when someone else treats them in a way that harms or hurts them. It can happen once or on multiple occasions, people who abuse are not always strangers, they can also be partners, relatives, a friend, neighbour, or carer.
Read more about the different types of abuse
The week will be focusing on how you can prioritise the welfare and wellbeing of yourself and others, with each day presenting its own theme:
- Monday – Look, Listen, Ask - Developing Professional Curiosity
- Tuesday – Working in partnership: How to work effectively with the people you support
- Wednesday – Establishing Professional Boundaries
- Thursday – Recognising exploitation: The ladder of criminality
- Friday - Professional and organisational learning
As part of the Board's communication strategy, members are required to raise awareness and focus for prevention and work in collaboration with both statutory and non-statutory organisations who can influence and instigate meaningful change. To do this successfully, members are reliant on all agencies who have a role in caring for adults at risk or working in the health and social care sector (statutory, voluntary, charity or private) to help share these important messages.
Get involved!
You can help to share the key messages to members of the public on how to recognise abuse and report concerns by following these four steps:
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- Visit the KMSAB awareness raising resources website page to download the KMSAB Media Pack and share where you can.
- Share Social Media messages using the KMSAB social media content plan (to sign up to receive this, please email KMSAB@kent.gov.uk)
- Include the KMSAB Article into your newsletters or public facing publications
- Host events, big or small! (to request merchandise, please complete the request form)
- Let us know of your valued contributions by completing the agency activity form.