Safeguarding awareness
Recognising and responding - safeguarding children and adults
Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, and you have a vital role to play in keeping people safe.
Many taxi drivers will have stories to tell about jobs that did not seem right, situations that caught their attention, or passengers that worried them. With your help, this information can be used to uncover domestic abuse, exploitation, and other types of abuse.
The information below is designed to develop your understanding of safeguarding, the signs to look for and what you need to do if you have concerns.
Please read the information in this section carefully as you will be asked questions with a test at the end.
What is safeguarding?
Safeguarding means protecting a person's health, wellbeing, and human rights; enabling them to live free from harm, abuse, and neglect.
What is abuse?
Abuse comes in many forms, but all involve behaviour that is intended to cause harm to another person. We will explore different types of abuse further on in this document.
What is neglect?
Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child’s* basic need, likely to result in serious impairment of the child’s health or development. Neglect may also occur during pregnancy, because of maternal substance misuse.
- Physical neglect
- Emotional neglect
- Educational neglect
- Medical neglect
*Neglect is also applicable to adults who have care needs and rely on others to meet that need.