Safeguarding Week 2024: Building on strong foundations
National Safeguarding Week brings into focus on the huge amount of work that happens every single day of the year to protect people from harm and abuse. And this year, as in previous years, a wide range of events and activities are being delivered to raise awareness and offer practical advice to individuals and professionals across Wales.
Safeguarding week also provides important opportunities for us to consider how we can work together to make further progress in tackling the issues and barriers that may prevent people from disclosing abuse and accessing the services and support they might need to keep them safe, which have been examined in several reports published by my office.
Earlier this year, we saw the introduction of the National Action Plan to Prevent the Abuse of Older People, the first of its kind in the UK. This was a significant step forward, reflecting growing awareness of the specific ways older people may experience abuse and the barriers that might prevent them from accessing support, as well as complementing the work of the Violence Against Women Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) Sub-Stream focused on older people.
Delivering the ambition set out within the plan – to ‘put in place measures which identify, address and prevent the types of abuse to which older people may be at increased risk’ – is crucial to ensure older people see improvements and can access the help and support they may need if they find themselves at risk of or experiencing abuse.
That’s why I am keen to work with the Welsh Government and members of my Stopping Abuse Action Group, to identify areas of the plan where further detail is now needed – such as timescales for delivering key actions – to ensure aspiration becomes reality and it makes a meaningful difference to older people’s lives.
I will also be part of a ministerial board which oversees the work of the Single Unified Safeguarding Review, which is designed to remove the need for multiple reviews when a life is lost or significantly impacted through abuse, neglect, or violence, in order to ensure public bodies work together to identify and implement learning to prevent future loss of lives or serious incidents.
Alongside this, I’m working with partners across Wales to raise awareness about scams and crimes affecting older people, and sharing guidelines recently published by my office to help make information and resources more impactful and engaging, which were developed with support from a wide range of older people’s groups.
I’m also continuing to share information and resources with older people about how they can recognise potential signs of abuse and where they can find information and support if they are experiencing or at risk of abuse, or if they are concerned about someone else. A key resource to support this is my Abuse Support Services Directory, which provides contact details for over 150 organisations offering support, both locally and nationally.
As highlighted above, I will play my part in supporting further progress in preventing abuse and ensuring older people feel empowered to access services and support if they need to. But in order to build on the strong foundations we have in place here in Wales in a meaningful way, it is also incumbent on public bodies to deliver the action they have promised, something I will be closely monitoring as Commissioner on behalf of older people across Wales.
