Public Awareness

A key part of Safeguarding Ireland’s work is enhanced public understanding of attitudes, behaviours, circumstances and systems that create vulnerability and require a safeguarding response. In 2017, our initial public awareness work ran over two campaigns the first in June and second in October using print, social and broadcast media. The aim of those campaigns was to stimulate the public, and anyone in a caring role, to think about actions which they may do such as quietly taking some money from an elderly person to cover care expenses, over medicating a person to calm them, locking an older person into a room while out – to highlight that such acts are abuses of people’s liberties and rights.

A further campaign was run in October 2018 to encourage the public to Think Ahead to help reduce their risk of abuse by appointing an Enduring Power of Attorney, putting in place an Advance Healthcare Directive and finding out about financial abuse.

PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN: MAY 20-31, 2019.

Safeguarding Ireland’s current Public Awareness campaign is focused on deepening the public understanding of safeguarding and to ‘Call it out’ which vulnerable adults are abused.

Read the campaign NEWS RELEASE here

Read the RED C research here.

Red C Research, April 2019  

1. One in every 10 Irish Adults claim to have witnessed the abuse of an adult they considered vulnerable in the past 12 months.
2. Younger age cohorts were more likely to agree that they had witnessed abuse of a vulnerable adult, as were those in higher social grades.
3. Of the 10% who claimed to witness abuse, half of them said they discussed it with the person being abused, while 2 in 5 discussed it with another trusted individual. Only 1 in 6 sought to find more info, while a similar proportion sought advise from a professional. 1 in 8 claimed they took no action at all.
4. A dedicated 24 hour helpline and knowing there were clearer and stronger laws are the two things that would most encourage action in the future.

Red C Research, April 2019

There will be a significant campaign of radio ads across national and local radio during the weeks of May 20 & 27. 

You can follow Safeguarding Ireland public awareness campaign activity on Twitter @safeguardingire and on Facebook @safeguardingire

Below you can view or download for print the campaign posters, or listen to the radio ad. Safeguarding Ireland is encouraging the public to be familiar with the Think Ahead Guide and Form, produced by the Forum on the End-of-Life in Ireland.