This Policy Applies to All Trustees/Directors, Staff and Volunteers

Child Protection Policy

Purpose

DRASACS Board of Trustees/Directorsis responsible for ensuring that those benefiting from, or working with the organisation are not harmed in any way through contact with it. They have a legal duty to act prudently and this means that they must take all reasonable steps within their power to ensure that those are not harmed. It is particularly important where DRASACS clients are children or young people[1]. The purpose of this policy is to set out the approach of DRASACS in relation to protecting children and young people using and/or coming into contact with our services, from abuse.

This policy applies to all Trustees/Directors, staff and volunteers.

For the purposes of child protection legislation the term ‘child’ refers to anyone up to the age of 18 years.

Introduction

DRASACS operates on the basis that all service users have a right to expect a highly confidential service (see DRASACS Confidentiality Policy – within the Code of Conduct). Whilst recognising that the effective maintenance of confidentiality, for all service users, is a complex and delicate activity, respecting client’s confidences is a central feature of the work of DRASACS and forms the basis of effective quality counselling relationships.We are committed to provide a safe space for women, men and young people to work on issues related to their experiences of sexual abuse or rape.

DRASACS also believes that all children, without exception, have the right to be looked after properly, kept safe and protected from harm regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality or beliefs.

Sometimes these two statements can be in conflict and cause dilemmas for staff. Child Protection policies and procedures can pressure counsellors and organisations into feeling that they present legitimate reasons for compromising 'well established' rules of confidentiality. However, under the law in England and Wales there is no automatic reporting of suspected child abuse required of all counsellors. The Children’s Legal Centre reported that the formal Review of Child Care Law strongly rejected the idea of mandatory reporting for because it might create barriers between clients and their professional advisers[2].

This document will set out policy and guidelines for the protection of all children and young people; whether the young person is a service user, or where staff are working with an adult and become significantly alarmed regarding the welfare of a young person.

What Is Child Abuse?

Although the work of DRASACS is primarily concerned with rape and sexual abuse, this policy also applies to the other generally recognised forms of child abuse. Child abuse is the ill treatment or neglect of a child by an adult or young person resulting in the child suffering significant harm. Abuse of a child can be sexual, physical, emotional or through neglect. Child abuse and neglect occurs to children of both sexes, of all ages, and in all cultures and social classes.

Forms of Abuse

Physical AbusePhysical injury to a child by a parent or other carer

Sexual Abuse The use of a child to satisfy another person’s sexual needs or the sexual exploitation of a child or adolescent. Children may sexually abuse other children

Neglect Persistent failure to meet a child’s basic needs for food, warmth, love, protection and care. (Neglect can be of a physical and/or psychological nature)

Emotional AbuseHarm to the emotional and psychological well-being or development of a child caused by emotional ill treatment or the rejection of carers. Children can also be emotionally harmed by witnessing the abuse of others, for example during domestic abuse.

Note: All abuse involves some emotional ill treatment

For more information and what signs to look, for visit: Safeguarding Children – What you should know about Child Abuse or Child Abuse – Signs and Symptoms

Within DRASACS, both Counsellors and ISVAs (Independent Sexual Violence Advocate) may have contact with Children.

Policy Statement

DRASACS recognises that young people who have been abused are often left feeling powerless, that they have no choices and have no control over what is happening to them. They may have feelings of guilt, responsibility and not having been valued or respected. DRASACS believes that it is essential when counsellors/ISVAs enter into counselling/supportive relationships with a young person that they ensure the young person experiences none of the pressures and conflicts, which have arisen as part of the abuse. It is significant then that Child Protection policies take account of these issues by respecting the young person’s choices, encouraging them to take control of making their own decisions and respecting their wishes.

DRASACS offers young people a respectful environment in which to share and explore their thoughts and feelings about their abusive experiences. During this process, information will be offered by the counsellor to the young person about the options available to them in dealing with the abuse. The counsellor does not collect and analyse factual accuracy, details or processing experiences in chronological order. Therefore it may be that the counsellor would have information the client is sharing without a clear indication of the level or extent of potential abuse.

Daniels and Jenkins (2000), writing for BACP about counselling and child protection states that it should not always be assumed that the young person who makes risky disclosures within the counselling setting is simply asking for protection.

“No amount of multidisciplinary teamwork will substitute for an individual trusting relationship with an adult in whom a child can build up the confidence to stop abuse or to seek appropriate help[3]”.

BACP Ethical Framework for good Practice in counselling and Psychotherapy (2007) indicates that working with young people ‘requires specific ethical awareness and competence’, and, furthermore, that respecting client confidentiality is a ‘fundamental requirement for keeping trust’[4].

If a young person decides that she/he does not want to report the abuse then the staff member will follow DRASACS policies and procedures in making a decision about what action would be appropriate. DRASACS would want account to be taken of both the protection of the young person and respect for the young person’s stated choice.

DRASACS believes that in order to facilitateany decision making process and assist counsellors to work effectively with clients around the issues of child protection and respecting client confidentiality, consideration should be given to the following elements:-

Identifying whether the abuse is historic or current.
The young person decides that the abuse should not be reported.
The abuse is not judged by the counsellor/s and supervisor, or ISVA, to be immediately life threatening based on information from the client
Whether other potentially vulnerable children/young people are judged to be at risk from the same abuser
Reporting the abuse either with or without the clients’ consent would seriously jeopardise the counselling relationship which may be a crucial support to the young person.
Other professional workers such as teachers and social workers are currently monitoring the young person or their family
The young person is aware of other potential sources of help such as Childline or NSPCC.
DRASACS’s Child Protection policy endorses the counsellors’ professional judgement and their fiduciary duty of trust to the young person as a client.
In the case of the ISVA service, whether this is a ‘first report’ situation

The information DRASACS has about clients can be very limited and may make it difficult to take action in respect of child protection issues.

Procedural Guidance on Child Protection Practice

Children & Young People as Counselling Clients

Before any adult enters into a formal, professional confidential relationship with a child or young person under the age of 16, the adult must first ascertain whether the child is willing to inform the parents and obtain their consent to the counselling. If the child refuses to allow his or her parents to be consulted, the counsellor must consider whether counselling can be provided without the express consent of a parent. The counsellor may only offer counselling to a child or young person under the age of 16, without parental consent or knowledge, it the child is sufficiently competent to consent on his or her own behalf[5].

Therefore, young people, under the age of sixteen, who approach DRASACS for counselling, will be offered an initial meeting with the counsellor, where they will be provided with details about the service and the way that DRASACS counsellors work with clients. The Counsellor must ensure that the young person has sufficient understanding and ability to begin the process of counselling and is able to make a mature and informed choice for themselves before offering counselling. Each young person then makes a decision about how ready they feel to start a counselling relationship at DRASACS. If parents request counselling for their son or daughter but the young person does not want counselling for themselves, the young person’s wishes will be respected and counselling will not be provided. Where a young person does not wish their parent/carer to know about their decision to attend counselling, The ‘Gillick competent’ guidelines and competency checklist will be used to determine the young person’s ability to consent on their own behalf.

Once a young person reaches the age of 16 they are presumed in law to be competent and can give their own consent[6]. However, it is regarded as good practice to encourage any young person to involve their families unless the counsellor believes it would not be in their interests to do so.

Where the parent has given consent for a young person to receive counselling, it is not necessary for the parent to know the content of the counselling. Thus they do not have to be informed of what the young person said during the counselling session and the young person’s confidentiality can be maintained5.

DRASACS expects that its counsellors will be ethical, honest and open in working with their clients, colleagues and supervisors when working with Child Protection issues.
DRASACS expects that confidentiality be maintained, that the interests of the young person be given priority and their wishes given utmost respect until a definite decisionis made regarding disclosure.
Where a young person is identified as being at immediate risk of serious harm then DRASACS would expect the staff member to take action by contacting Social Services.
DRASACS will advise counsellors to share the information disclosed by the young person with the service manager (or in the absence of the service manager, a peer counsellor) within 1 working day, to jointly review the requirements of the child protection policy and to follow the stated procedures.
DRASACS will also advise the counsellor to discuss the information shared with their supervisor within 2 working days, or at the earliest opportunity.
DRASACS will expect that the counsellor and the service manager will jointly decide how to proceed, using the policies and procedures available to them. This will include decisions about how to effectively support the counsellor with the responsibility and pressure of taking this type of decision.
Counsellor and the service manager to identify how the decision to report or not toreport has been made and to record this as a written record using information given by the client.
DRASACS expects that where a decision cannot be agreed then the service manager will take responsibility for the decision.
DRASACS will provide resources for supervision and legal advice, as the organisation deems appropriate, as part of the counsellor’s work in relation to a specific Child Protection issue.
DRASACS expects the counsellor to consult with their supervisor to find appropriate ways of counselling and supporting the young person during the process of decisionmaking about disclosures of information relating to child protection.
The aim of providing counselling to the young person would be to offer the young person the opportunity to explore their thoughts and feelings in relation to the abusive experiences in a respectful environment. The counsellor should ensure that the young person is given information about all possible strategies including the option to report the abuse to the police or social services.
DRASACS would support counsellors making contact with officers at Social Services on behalf of a young person, without disclosing any clients’ details, to ask for advice and guidance on the options available to the client, for them to consider.
Once the decision to report abuse is made by either the client or counsellor, or service manager then DRASACS would direct workers to adhere to the reporting systems as laid down in South Yorkshire Core Child Protection Procedures(November 2007). This would be to contact Social Services and make a formal report initially by telephone and follow it up in writing. This would be done ideally by the young person, with support, but may be done by the counsellor.

If the client is identified as being a direct risk to children or young people refer to the 'Procedures' section on page 6.

Adults as Counselling Clients

Child Protection issues may also arise when counsellors are working with adults and DRASACS feel that this area should also have clear policies and procedures to enable its counsellors and clients to enter counselling relationships with the support of relevant guidance from the organisation.

At the initial counselling meeting, clients are told that Child Protection is one of the issues which may affect confidentiality. Clients are informed that they would be involved in the discussions about any action being taken.

Adults who have been abused may be prone to feelings of mistrust, confusion and powerlessness. It is therefore essential that DRASACS take account of these issues when responding to disclosures made by adult clients.

Adult clients may make reference to concerns they have themselves about the appropriateness of their behaviour towards their own child/ren or other people’s children
Adult clients may make reference to concerns they have about the behaviour of other adults towards the clients’ own child/ren or other people’s children.
The counsellor may feel concern about their clients’ behaviour towards the clients’ child/ren or other people’s children.

If the client is identified as being a direct risk to children or young people refer to the 'Procedures' section on page 6.

Procedures

Where the client is identified as being a direct risk to children or young people :-

Where counsellors feel concerned about the information an adult client is sharing but there is no specific threat indicating an immediate, serious risk then DRASACS would expect the counsellor to consult their Service Manager within 24 hours. The consultation would be to jointly review the requirements of the child protection policy and to follow the stated procedures detailed below.
DRASACS would direct the counsellor to speak with their supervisor within 24 hours.
DRASACS expects that if the adult client is saying that they plan to act in an abusive way towards a child or young person then the counsellor would take action to report the information to Social Services within 24 hours.
DRASACS expects that if the adult client is saying that they have harmed or abused a child or young person then the counsellor would take action to report the abuse to Social Services within 24 hours.

Where the client is not identified as being a direct risk to children or young people :-

DRASACS expects that its counsellors will be ethical, honest and open in working with their clients, colleagues and supervisors when working with Child Protection issues.
DRASACS expects that confidentiality be maintained, that the interests of the adult client be given priority and their wishes given utmost respect until a definite decision is made regarding disclosure.
Where the counsellor identifies a child or young person as being at immediate risk of serious harm then DRASACS would support the counsellor taking action and reporting the information to Social Services or Waveney House*.
DRAACS expects counsellors to share the information disclosed regarding the young person with the service manager (or in the absence of the service manager, a peer counsellor) within 2 working days, to jointly review the requirements of the child protection policy and to follow the stated procedures.
DRASACS expects that counsellors would take any child protection issues to supervision within 2 working days if possible, to be examined and explored whilst reaching a decision on any actions to be taken and how to record what decisions have been made, why they have been made, by whom and when they were made.
DRASACS will expect that the counsellor and the service manager,will jointly decide how to proceed, using the policies and procedures available to them. This will include decisions about how to effectively support the counsellor with the responsibility and pressure of taking this type of decision.
Counsellors and service manager to identify how the decision to report or not toreport has been made and to record this as a written record using information given by the client.
DRASACS expects that where a decision cannot be agreed then the service manager will take responsibility for the decision.
DRASACS will provide resources for supervision, personal therapy and legal advice as part of the counsellor’s work in relation to a specific Child Protection issue.
DRASACS will expect that the counsellor to consult with their supervisor to find appropriate ways of counselling and supporting the adult client during the process of decision making about disclosures of information relating to child protection.
The aim of providing counselling to the adult client would be to offer the client the opportunity to explore their thoughts and feelings in relation to the potentially abusive situation in a respectful environment. The counsellor should ensure that the adult client is able to receive information about all possible strategies including the option to report the abuse to the police or social services.
DRASACS would support the counsellorin making contact with officers at Social Services or Waveney House* on behalf of an adult client, without disclosing any clients’ details, to ask for advice and guidance on the options available to the client, for them to consider.
Once the decision to report abuse is made by the client or counsellors and supervisor then DRASACS would direct workers to adhere to the reporting systems as laid down in South Yorkshire Core Child Protection Committees’ Procedures[7]. This would be to contact Social Services or Waveney House*and make a formal report initially by telephone and follow it up in writing.

References