Safeguarding young people through confidential advocacy services

The political agency of children and young people is gaining ascendancy as government agendas prioritize the need to listen to children. Recent guidance on inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people takes account of new research, experience, and legislation concerning abuse. In the past, children and young people have been failed by the services designed to help them, and many have been silenced through the lack of a safe space where they will be listened to and taken seriously. The development of advocacy services for children and young people has been actively encouraged by recent legislation, but many existing services tend to remain at the passive end of the advocacy continuum – advocating on behalf of rather than enabling them. This is inevitable as children continue to be marginalized in a powerful adult world. This paper examines the need for advocacy services to have clear policies of confidentiality if they are to be a credible option to young people, when services to safeguard them emphasize the importance of agencies working together and sharing information.