Principles of Safeguarding Anfd Protection in Health and Social Care

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Safeguarding Abuse? There is no excuse! Abuse is a violation of an individual's human rights by another person or persons. Abuse of a person can often include behaviour that is abusive in one or more of the categories outlined in this leaflet. In particular, the majority of people who are experiencing abuse of any kind will be experiencing emotional abuse as well. For example, where one person is dependent on another for their physical care, or between a professional worker and a service user. Abuse may consist of a single act or repeated acts, whether it is physical, sexual, emotional, financial, or psychological, or it may also occur when a vulnerable person is forced to do something that they may not have consented to or be in a position where they cannot consent. Physical abuse: Evidence of physical abuse could be hitting, slapping, pushing, kicking, and restraining. Signs that physical abuse may be taking place can be injuries that are consistent with physical abuse, for example, marks on the body that show shapes, like finger tips, or pinch marks, or a person that has other unaccounted for marks to the body. Less noticeable signs could also be unexplained weight changes, depression or behaviour that indicates that the person is afraid of someone. Everyone feels low from time to time, but changes in behaviour, either emotional or physical, that can be seen for prolonged periods of time in the service user may be an indication of this. Sexual abuse: Can include rape and sexual assault, being involved in pornography, participation of acts of a sexual nature that the person has not consented to or is unable to consent to. The physical signs of sexual abuse could be scratches, bruising around the genital area, abdominal pain with no diagnosable cause or an unexplained pregnancy due to rape. Changes in behaviour could also be a sign, for example, suicide
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