Bradford Council launched a week of activities to focus on the extensive work undertaken by the Council and many other partner organisations to safeguard children, young people and adults.
The Safeguarding week runs from Monday 19th to Friday 23rd October and is co-ordinated by Bradford Safeguarding Children and Adults boards. Safeguarding Week is an innovative approach to raising awareness about safeguarding and supporting integrated working.
The launch event took place on 19th October at Bradford College. It included live performances and presentations and was attended by Steve Hartley, Vice Chair of the Domestic and Sexual Violence Strategic Board, West Yorkshire's Police and Crime Commissioner, Mark Burns-Williamson, Councillors, senior leaders, managers and practitioners from across the district.
Activities at the launch event included original theatre performances from students of Bradford College, called 'Breaking the Silence'.
Bradford People First also launched new online resources covering reporting hate crime and abuse.
Mark Burns-Williamson, West Yorkshire's Police and Crime Commissioner, closed the launch event and said: "Safeguarding Week is a really important initiative for the Bradford District and across West Yorkshire. It brings together professionals from different areas and supports an integrated approach to safeguarding which is absolutely the right approach.
"It was a fantastic event and I was really pleased to be asked to sum up and close it. It was good to meet many of the people there and see some of the initiatives, awareness raising and engagement that are helping to keep adults and children safe in Bradford and the wider district.
"Partnership working is key in keeping people safe and feeling safer, especially in times of severe government cuts where we all face tough challenges in protecting the vulnerable in our communities."