Raising awareness of abuse in marginalised communities

Between April and May 2025, Healthwatch Greenwich, in partnership with the Greenwich Adult Safeguarding Board (SAB), delivered a pilot project to raise awareness of abuse and adult safeguarding among community groups in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. This collaborative initiative reflects shared priorities for both Healthwatch Greenwich and the SAB: to strengthen understanding of safeguarding and promote earlier recognition and reporting of abuse, especially within communities that may experience barriers to accessing support.

The pilot aimed to test a new approach to increasing safeguarding awareness, explore how best to engage diverse communities in safeguarding conversations, deepen understanding of how safeguarding messages resonate across different communities, and how SAB can work more effectively with grassroots organisations to protect adults at risk. 

The pilot consisted of short awareness-raising sessions delivered to three local community groups:

• A Muslim women’s support group,
• A Hindu/Sikh women’s yoga group, and
• A mixed group of Black Christian and global majority residents attending a community food bank.