The year 2018 was a pivotal one for safeguarding in the not-for profit sector, both in the UK and internationally. The events that took place at Oxfam, Save the Children UK and other not-for-profit organisations also put the work of safeguarding teams firmly into the spotlight. Little known outside the sector, and different in many ways to the role of designated safeguarding leads in the highly regulated environments of schools or care settings, safeguarding teams occupy a curious function in the work of charities, that of “organisational safeguarding”. Their role is, at its essence, to protect children and young people, and other vulnerable groups, from harm by the organisation itself. Sometimes these are the very organisations that provide everything from lifesaving humanitarian response, to brilliant and life-changing programmes for children and young people struggling with education or getting into work.

When I tell people what I do, I get a range of reactions, from curiosity to surprise that a charity (of all places) would need to have people in my role. Occasionally I’m asked – how do you look after yourself? And that’s not only a great question, it’s an important question too, and one that leaders in every charity and not-for-profit should be asking. How do we, as an employer, look after the members of staff who, in the space of the working week, could be responding to reports of self-harm, suicidal thoughts, abuse and, more rarely but most significantly, cases where a member of staff or volunteer has behaved in a way that harmed or could potentially harm a child or young person. And all too often, a safeguarding “team” might in fact just be one person or someone who has been asked to take on safeguarding duties as part of their day job.