Young People

Keeping you safe – A young person’s guide to child protection in Scotland

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What you need to know

This guide is for you if you are a young person in Scotland. It explains what might happen if people are worried about you.

It also explains how people work together with you and people you live with to keep you safe.

The guide will also give you some useful information and help you understand your rights.

All children and young people under 18 have the right to be safe and protected. That’s everyone from unborn babies right up until the night before someone’s 18th birthday.

Some of these things are hard to think about and may upset you. If you are worried or upset, talk to an adult you trust about how you are feeling.

This guide will tell you about what should happen when people are worried about you and need to work with you and the people you live with to make sure you are safe.

A downloadable version of this guide is available.

1.What does safe mean?

Safe means being protected from or not exposed to risk of danger, actual danger or being harmed.

2.Keeping you safe

The main job of all the adults in your life is to keep you safe, healthy and happy.

If someone is worried that you may not be safe, they need to find out why and work with other adults to keep you safe.

3.How do adults work together to keep young people safe?

Adults need to share information about what they are worried about and what they think you might need to keep you safe.

When adults agree that you are not safe they put together a plan of action which says who will do what to keep you safe. This plan should involve you and the people you live with.

Action can include getting some support for you and the people you live with from social work or the police.

The plan needs to work quickly to make sure everyone gets the right help at the right time. Everyone will meet together to check how the actions are working. If things still need to be better, they will talk about any new actions that need to happen to keep you safe.

4.Who should keep me safe?

There are lots of people who should keep children and young people safe. The people you live with, the people in your daily life and community like teachers, and many more people who have a responsibility as part of their job to keep children safe. This includes police officers, social workers, nurses and doctors.

Adults who help to keep you safe use the words Child Protection.

Everyone should protect children and young people from harm.

5.What does being unsafe look like?

Sometimes children and young people may get hurt or not be well looked after by the adults who should be keeping you safe. This could mean there are serious concerns for your safety and wellbeing.

When this happens, this means you are being harmed. This is called abuse and neglect. It will mean that you might not feel safe, you might feel hurt, upset, alone, scared or frightened.

Adults who have a job to keep you safe must speak to each other to think together about how to help you and the people you live with to keep you safe. This can also include your brothers and sisters. They need to be safe too.