Safeguarding Issues, Legislative Risk, Policy, and Strategies for Safety and Wellbeing

SAFETY ASSESSMENT CASE STUDY
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SAFETY ASSESSMENT CASE STUDY
Social work entails the balancing act between respecting individuals' rights to make their own decisions and ensuring that they are protected from harm by others. If an individual's freedom or liberties are at risk, social workers are expected to intervene only as much as is necessary to protect the individual's wellbeing and safety. Individuals, families, and society benefit from the work of social workers when they are empowered to take charge of the wellbeing and wellbeing of their loved ones and when they are protected from harm. Governments enact policies and legislations for enhancing safety measures for their citizens. Through risk assessment, various strategies are adopted to improve safety through risk reduction and prevention. Adoption of anti-oppressive practices is ethical in ensuring the rights of children are upheld. The paper examines Sasha’s case study while examining safeguarding issues, legislative risk assessment and policy frameworks, and strategies for promoting safety and wellbeing.
Safeguarding Issues
Sasha's case reveals multiple safeguarding issues surrounding the peer group. Some of the problems identified in the case include; sexual abuse and exploitation, bullying, radicalisation practices, mental health issues, and grooming (Jules, 2021). Family history, peer groups, neighbourhood and school environment influences the practice of such illegal activities. Social workers must clearly understand the highlighted factors and determine their role in promoting children's unfavourable environment. Knowledge about the aspects helps enhance the development of suitable policies and legislation by authorities in promoting children's safety and wellbeing of children. Earlier recognition of the signs of the safeguarding concerns is vital in elevating solution implementation before the matter escalates to produce more significant negative implications in the lives of individuals. By utilising the enacted legislation and policies, the issues can best be addressed to support the safety of individuals, especially children.
The case study shows that Sasha gets bullied by Selena, which involves Selena’s possession of the bus pass that belongs to Sasha. Selena knows that Sasha belongs to a peer group that champions for support of fellow students in school. Sasha's friends do not want to interact with Selena because of her bully nature because they walk away when Selena approaches Sasha when they are in the park (Jules, 2021). Selena also forces Sasha to engage in a sexual act to give her back the bus pass. In such a case, the social worker needs to know the behaviour and nature of Selena and her motives for other students. The behavioural changes of a student raise suspicion about the activities and circumstances the student goes through.
Sexual abuse and exploitation dominate the scene in the local park where Sasha goes to take her bus pass. Due to Selena’s interaction with her peer, who are mostly boys, she possesses hostile and authoritative behaviour that makes her take command in intimidating Sasha. The sexual assault, as evident from the case, was planned by Selena. When Selena tells Sasha to follow her into the bushes, Selena takes her directly to the place where Lucas and the other boys are waiting for them (Jules, 2021). Sasha engages in the sexual act with Lucas because she refuses to follow Selena's commands because of the threat of hurting her brother. Under the law, engaging in sexual or other activities forcefully due to threats is regarded as illegal and exploitive (DePanfilis, 2018). Various legislations exist to prevent such acts by punishing the offenders. Social workers need to assess Selena's peer group and take action for her connection with Lucas, whose family history reveals having a criminal record with the police.
Lucas and his peer group are radical and thus engage in such an abusive act against Sasha. A growing issue in the UK is the radicalisation of young people. Individuals who become radicalised don't follow a single path, which complicates the issue. Radical views, criminal records, unmet needs, and vulnerabilities all play a role in a person's susceptibility to radicalisation. Still, the relative importance of these factors and how they interact are not clear-cut (DePanfilis, 2018). Lucas’s family member, the brother, possess criminal records. The effect of his brother's actions also traverses to make a basis for his behaviour and practice. His brother has influenced how he relates and conduct himself criminally and harshly.
Risk Assessment
The safeguarding issues pose significant risks to the lives of young people and students in general. The risks surrounding Sasha should urgently be addressed to save her from living a miserable life in the hands of Selena. According to the case, Sasha encounters risks such as contracting diseases from engaging in violent unprotected sex, psychological and mental torture from the incidents that happened to her, and neglect from her friends when Selena took the video spreads to the rest of the students (Davis, 2014). The risk of dropping out of school could also be experienced if the situation is not urgently solved and the offenders are punished as specified under the regulations and laws.
Children and Families act of 2014 have regulations in place to ensure the protection of children. The amended Children Act 1989 promotes a healthy and safe environment for children, provides children have a ...