Safeguarding Research: Forced Marriage, CSE & Abuse

At Ann Craft Trust, we have always been very aware of the injustices that many adults face. To tackle this we use our safeguarding expertise to try and change things for the better.

Safeguarding Research Topics

Research is at the core of the Ann Craft Trust. Based at the University of Nottingham, we contribute to research across the UK and EU with a focus on some of the following areas.

Blowing the Whistle on Abuse of Adults with Learning Disabilities

Whistleblowing is the act of speaking out about wrongdoing in the workplace. Adults with learning disabilities are particularly vulnerable to...

Safeguarding Adults In Sport

Safeguarding Adults in Sport and Activity is a project funded by Sport England, Sport Wales and UK Sport to help...

Protecting Children From Modern Slavery and Exploitation

The team from the University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth City Council and the Ann Craft Trust will analyse current laws, policies...

ROSE – Reach Out Stop Exploitation

The Reach Out Stop Exploitation (ROSE) project aims to prevent sexual exploitation. It builds on the previous British Institute of...

Us Too Project: Women With Learning Disabilities Standing up to Domestic Abuse

‘Us Too’ is a user-led project on domestic abuse, learning disability and autism. The project will: Offer free training for...

Getting Our Voices Heard – Safeguarding You, Safeguarding Me

Identifying the best approaches for people with a learning disability to influence adult safeguarding and associated policy and legislation.

We Matter Too – Disabled Young People and Domestic Abuse

The experiences of young people of services and responses when they face domestic abuse and have sensory, learning or physical...

Safeguarding Disabled Children in England

How Local Safeguarding Children Boards are delivering against Ofsted requirements to protect disabled children. This report, from July 2016, presents...

Young People With Learning Disabilities Who Show Sexually Inappropriate Behaviour

There has been relatively little written about what the expected or ‘normal’ range of adolescent sexual activity might entail. However,...

ACTing to Support Parents

Good enough parenting by people with learning disabilities is related to the amount of support available to the parents and...

Making the difference: Supporting Parents With a Learning Disability

Parents with learning disabilities form a significant part of today’s society. The proportion of parents with learning disabilities has grown...

Forced Marriage of People with Learning Disabilities

Forced marriage is defined by the UK Government Forced Marriage Unit as a marriage without the consent of one or...

Child Sexual Exploitation

We have been working on research and training projects to better understand and provide information about Child Sexual Exploitation since...

Domestic Abuse

We have recently been funded by the Lloyds Foundation to research into reducing the risk of domestic abuse for disabled...

Financial Abuse of People with Learning Disabilities

Through our research projects we have identified potential risks and offer training on recognising and reducing the risk of financial...

Disability Hate Crime

In partnership with two other learning disability charities we have given evidence on disability hate crime to the Joint Committee...

Ann Craft Trust Publications

We have worked on a number of research projects across issues affecting disabled children, young people and adults at risk.

Safeguarding Adults Quarterly Bulletin

Our quarterly Safeguarding Bulletin has been released in January, April, July and October every year since 1992.

Quarterly safeguarding bulletin

The quarterly Ann Craft Trust Safeguarding bulletin is available as a digital download though our website or by free email subscription. The e-bulletin contains news and research about current safeguarding issues alongside the latest Ann Craft Trust news on training events and seminars, with early bird offers for subscribers.

Issue 129: October 2024

In this edition of our quarterly Safeguarding Bulletin:

Go Green for Safeguarding Adults Week!
Evidencing Links Between Cognitive Impairment & Exploitation in England
Professional Boundaries and Safeguarding Adults
How Working in Partnership Can Help Fight County Lines

Access the latest Ann Craft Trust Safeguarding Bulletin.

Download this issue

Impact of our Research

Our research projects have offered us the opportunity to have a real impact in improving practice throughout the UK and to ensure that all our training is informed and up-to-date.

Development of national guidance

Projects such as the Forced Marriage of People with Learning Disabilities involved the development on national best practice guidance for professionals in relation to dealing with cases of forced marriage.

New and Pioneering Training

The Inclusive Support for Parents with a Learning Disability project culminated in the development and pilot of new targeted training for professionals working in antenatal care to support parents with a learning disability more effectively.

Practice Improvements

Our research into practices in the care of disabled young people and adults have led to improvements to prevent, recognise and report abuse across the UK. Our Whistleblowing project, for example, explored the ethical and practical dilemmas of whistleblowing and how we can encourage and protect those who expose abuse of people with learning disabilities.