Saffron Safeguarding African Children and Adults Partnership’, (SaffronSACAP) is a registered Company Private Limited by Guarantee, with a Board of Directors and Secretaries appointed to run the organization, ensuring we are delivering against our aims and objectives. Our directors are faith and culturally competent experienced professionals in various fields such as Health and Social Care, Safeguarding, Social Work, Child Psychology, Life Coaching, Policy Development, Criminal Justice, Legislation, Immigration etc.  We work with African and Caribbean children, vulnerable adults, young people and families; empowering them to make the right decisions, meeting the needs of every child, young person, ensuring better outcomes for all children and families, to keep them safe and to help them to engage with all services available to them. 

SaffronSACAP offers a unique service ‘bridging the gap’, by providing education and support to empower Black African families to make the right decisions, signposting them to both statutory and non-statutory organisations in the best interest of their children. 

All children and vulnerable adults can be affected by many different forms of abuse and a wide range of ‘risk factors’, some specific to African and Caribbean communities posing a very real risk for them; including low parental income, mental health, disability, homelessness, substance abuse, physical chastisement, immigration status,  refugee and Asylum-seekers, child trafficking, modern day slavery, FGM, sexual exploitation, inequality, identity, cultural, faith issues and many more.

According to Professor Claudia Bernard from Goldsmiths University, as the diversity of Black African children grows and develops, the issues arising for them in child protection practice take more complex forms. 

Hence as professionals, we have a duty to address factors that help heighten the understanding of emerging issues and forms of abuse, within our communities.  The dynamics and impact of maltreatment, coping strategies, help-seeking behaviour, access to services; the barriers and enablers to engaging with African children, vulnerable adults and their families in addition to the growing challenges concerning thresholds of interventions for safeguarding and child protection.

For us at Saffron, the effective safeguarding and protection of African, Caribbean Children and vulnerable Adults in Kent, London and the United Kingdom, is a high priority.  The effectiveness of government policies in our communities is highly dependent on prevention, early intervention, professional’s cultural and faith competence, better understanding the culture, parenting, and behavioural patterns.  As integral members of this community, we have found the ability to penetrate within has been easier for us than some.  Knowledge and understanding of the various faiths and cultures within our communities is a predominant factor in knowing how to interact and who to reach out to.

Sadly, there continues to be a progressive increase of ‘Black African children’ over-represented on ‘Children In Need’ and ‘Looked After Children’ teams.  This has highlighted the need for greater awareness, advocacy, training, and early intervention at higher and lower threshold stages.