Report abuse or neglect of an adult

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If you have a concern about an adult with care and support needs who is experiencing or is at risk of abuse or neglect, report it to us.

If an adult is in immediate danger call 999 first.

Types of abuse

Abuse and neglect can take many different forms including:

physical abuse
psychological abuse
neglect (sometimes including self-neglect)
sexual abuse or exploitation
financial or material abuse
disability hate crime
discriminatory abuse (for example, based on age or sexual orientation)
domestic abuse
organisational abuse (when a group of people are abused by an organisation, such as a care home)
human trafficking and modern slavery
female genital mutilation
restraint (unlawful or inappropriate use of restraint or physical interventions)

Who you contact depends on the care and support needs of the adult at risk.

All calls to our teams are confidential. You do not have to give your name if you do not want to.

Adults aged 65 and over and adults with a physical disability
and/or sensory impairment:

Adults with mental illness:

Adults with a learning disability:

We'll arrange to talk to the adult at risk as soon as possible to find out what they'd like to happen.

A relative, carer or friend can act on their behalf if needed.

We may arrange an independent advocate to represent the adult if they're not able to speak for themselves.

We'll set up an enquiry to find out what has happened and what needs to be done to help and protect the adult.

If a crime has been committed, we’ll contact the police so they can press charges if they want to.

After the enquiry we'll agree steps to protect and support them.

The plan will depend on what they want to happen, for example it could be to:

make different arrangements for their care and support
help the adult to end or manage their relationship with the person who harmed them

Sometimes whoever is causing harm or neglect has care and support needs themselves. They may also need support from us.