Specific safeguarding risks in communications and marketing

Case studies are a great way of telling a charity’s story and bringing its work to life. But gathering and using them also comes with risks, which you need to manage.

When you’re dealing with the charity’s beneficiaries, users or their families, you should apply similar standards and caution as your frontline staff would.

• Consider where and when the case study collection will take place. Always follow your organisation’s procedures on risk assessment and code of conduct on lone working. Ensure that it is safe for a case study subject to travel to meet you. Make sure that people know who you are meeting and where.
• Each case study is an individual. Ask your internal contact, or whoever referred the case study to you, about what the person involved is like to work with.
• Treat their contact details with care, and only pass these on to others with their explicit consent. Think about how these details will be stored safely.
• If an individual involved in a case study tells you something confidential, it must not be used in the study. If you have concerns about the wellbeing of the individual, share these with the person who referred them or with your designated safeguarding lead as appropriate.
• Make sure you have appropriate consent from the individual to distribute the case study. Think about how you will keep a record of their consent.
• You should also consider discussing the impact of being featured in media or publicised via social media on the individual’s life. There’s always a risk of trolling or negative feedback, or that they may be unwillingly identified online.

Through your marketing and communications work, you might have contact with the public in several other ways. These might include:

• conversations on social media
• discussion groups or comment boxes on your website
• conferences or events.

Just as with case studies, you should apply the same care and caution as your frontline staff would.

Questions to consider:

• What would you do if you saw or heard something that concerned you about a user’s wellbeing? How would you record this?
• Do you know where to direct people or what to tell them if they ask you for advice?
• What would you do if someone was critical of your safeguarding procedures?
• Do staff who have access to your social media accounts have an idea of how to respond to particular messages?
• Are there any plans to capture images or pictures at live events? If so, you should ensure consent is given for their recording and use.

When you’re using video or still images to show your charity’s work, you’ll want to consider how you do so.

• Is there anything in that representation that’s not best practice in safeguarding?
• Does your website or other materials include lots of gloomy, cliched pictures of people with their head in their hands? If used in the context of safeguarding, these will emphasise danger and risk. This can make people less likely to engage with safeguarding.
• Stock photos can be useful and convenient – but remember that they can also appear cheesy or impersonal.

If you’re creating or using video or still images of young people, vulnerable people or a charity’s beneficiaries, you’ll need to ask yourself several questions.

• Do I have express permission to do this?
• Do I need to use certain angles, blur faces or distort voices to protect an individual’s identity?
• What will happen to any raw (original) footage in which changes have not been made?
• Could there be a negative impact on the person/people in the picture, by highlighting publicly that they’re using the service?
• How will the photo or video be stored? You need to be certain that a colleague who finds them in the future will know what they may be used for.
• Might it be easier, cheaper and just as effective to use stock photos?

You have a responsibility to use language in a way that doesn’t put anyone in danger or create risks. It should encourage individuals to seek help when they need it.

In addition, you should avoid being excessively negative around the topic of safeguarding. Scare tactics can backfire, making individuals less likely to engage with safeguarding.

• Do you know of any best practice guidelines for language to use in the area you work in?
• How can you use language in a way that’s supportive and non-judgemental?
• Journalists, bloggers and external stakeholders may not understand why using (or not using) certain terms is important. Try to anticipate these issues and explain them clearly.
• Do you have any content on your website that might prove distressing to some audiences, or be inappropriate for children? Consider adding trigger warnings or age-gated areas on your website.

When you’re talking about one or more beneficiaries, think about:

• how they want to be referred to
• terms they might consider derogatory or disempowering
• if they want to remain anonymous or have certain personal details (eg surname or age) left out.

• Looking to create a case study consent form? Then this case study consent form template from CharityComms may be useful.
• If you want an example of specific guidelines for talking about a particular subject look at Samaritans' media guidelines.
• Want to know more about terminology used in safeguarding? Use our talking about safeguarding pages.