At Bloody Scotland, we are committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all participants, volunteers, staff, and attendees at our Book Festival. This Safeguarding Policy outlines our responsibilities and procedures to ensure a safe and enjoyable environment for everyone involved.

We are committed to:

• Creating a safe and inclusive environment free from harm, abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
• Preventing the risk of harm through training, and supervision of staff and volunteers.

• Responding swiftly and appropriately to all concerns and allegations that come to the notice of the Bloody Scotland team.
• Handling any safeguarding concerns with sensitivity, shared only on a need-to-know basis with the Designated Safeguarding Lead Person and any relevant authorities.

Sharon Birch* acts as the Designated Safeguarding Lead Person for Bloody Scotland and all concerns brought to her attention will be dealt with by her in the first instance and shared with board members as appropriate. Any important decision making will be discussed with the appropriate board members.

All complaints, allegations or suspicions are taken very seriously. Any suspicion, allegation or incident of abuse should be reported to the designated person as soon as possible. If a person’s life is in immediate danger, the police will be contacted.

In the event of an incident or allegation being made, it is important that the person subjected to the concern is not questioned in depth and only to establish facts. A full record of the incident will be made as soon as possible, and this will include the nature of the incident/allegation and any other relevant information. The record will be stored securely within the Bloody Scotland Board documents.

Bloody Scotland has a code of conduct (below) that all staff and volunteers involved in the festival are expected to adhere to. They will receive training on safeguarding procedures and how to recognise potential signs of abuse or neglect, and will be expected to report any concerns regarding safeguarding to Sharon.

Any third parties, such as authors, agents, publishers, booksellers, venue staff, catering staff or contractors working at the festival, are also required to comply with our safeguarding policies and procedures.

Code of conduct

Bloody Scotland strives to be a welcoming, inclusive and safe environment where people of all backgrounds are respected. This encompasses (and is not restricted to) members of any sexual orientation, gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, socio-economic class, religious belief, and mental and physical abilities, as well as children, young people and vulnerable adults. We work alongside people from a wide range of life experiences and want everyone to feel valued and appreciated. Everyone has a role to play in creating an inclusive culture and we set out the following expectations with respect to events and activities organised by Bloody Scotland.

We value inclusivity, appreciate difference, welcome learning from others, and consider people equal without prejudice or favour. We will work to the best of our ability to ensure everybody is treated according to these beliefs and we will not tolerate any behaviour that does not answer to these values, including bullying or harassment in any form. Our aim is always to promote events where everyone is treated with dignity and respect and should be able to attend safely, free of harassment, intimidation and anti-social or abusive behaviour.

Harassment includes, but is not limited to – stalking, verbal or physical intimidation, offensive verbal comments, physical assault, harassing or non-consensual photography or recording, inappropriate/unwanted physical contact or unwelcome attention.

In the event of behaviour by any person at the festival whether staff or attendees that we consider harassing or abusive, or goes against this policy, we reserve the right to take any action we deem necessary and appropriate, including eviction from the event and future events, and reporting the matter to the relevant authorities.

*Sharon Birch is a safeguarding professional with over 40yrs experience in the field. She is an ex- police detective who worked in the area of criminal investigation, major crime and child protection. She has many qualifications in working with victims and offenders, children and families. She holds a first-class honours degree (Open University), Professional Certificates in Joint Investigation – Child Protection, Criminal Investigation, Justice Crime and Ethics, Ethics and Decision, Working with Children and Families, and Counselling, she is also trained in working with sex offenders, first response in child death, FII, bereavement, and more. Sharon has worked for the NSPCC and various charities and is now a consultant safeguarding specialist working across the UK. She speaks at conferences and trains other professionals in front line roles with regard to safeguarding. She also writes crime.