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14 October 2017

Adults at risk

Today was the Safeguarding Policy day for half of the GBR Province.  We were at Farnborough for the animation and presentation.  It was good again to meet many of the confreres of the south, especially those at Farnborough.

What I found most interesting of the animation today was the morning session which focused on 'adults at risk'!  Well all these years I had heard and very much been part of the discussion on 'young at risk', but never once did I ever hear of 'adults at risk' (except when Thathi was elected as provincial someone was pulling his leg and saying, now we have TaR - Thathi at risk!).  But having lived in the English context especially the present state of the GBR Province and its outreach, it made sense to me.  Taking care of those vulnerable - whatever the age group.  Mostly it was about vulnerability regarding physical ill-health and mental well-being.  The second half of the day was about the dangers faced by children in the digital world.  The latest report on children and internet states that 98% of 7-16 year olds have access to internet across the UK.  And most of these are active users of the latest apps.  Messaging and sharing information, pictures and whereabouts seem to be the most engaged activity.

Another thing that caught my attention: The stark difference in our approach to dealing issues with young people and children between the 'western' mindset and the 'eastern' mindset was visible to me in our discussions. There were a couple of us non-Europeans and in our response to certain case studies we found it most important for the family to take to first step with regard to teenagers and growing children.  In our own groups we found ourselves stating the same possible immediate responses: a calm dialogue with the teenager, asking the youngster to invite his or her friends home for a party together with the family, sitting and talking together as a family... Others felt the school and existing systems/structures needed to be initiated or approached for handling the issues.

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