Like Siwan, I have no hard evidence of harm being done resulting from a photograph. However, as the parent of an adopted child, who has had a photograph of them published and used for publicity across social media, despite marking the ‘no photographs’ box I can assure you, it is a safeguarding issue.
My child, who not only had the trauma of being removed from abusive and neglectful parents not once but twice, but for their safety also had to have their name changed for their safety and all the additional confusion and further trauma that entailed.
It is most definitely not worth the risk and where possible the best measures should be put in place.
If you’re still struggling, imagine, being removed from your workplace, told you’ll never see your family again, you can’t go home, you can never speak to family or friends again, you can’t collect any of your belongings and you’re thrust to live with strangers who you’ve never met before... and you just have to get in with it.
Children are not removed for minor reasons, they’re huge, traumatic and life changing reasons. Imagine being put at risk of being found by birth family members or friends because someone decided that ‘Frankly they don’t feel it is a safeguarding issue’.
If you’re still struggling to understand this, go listen to some of the horrific stories of kids in care and tell me that they don’t need as much protection as we can afford..?
With all due respect Richard, although I do not have hard evidence, as a parent of adopted children whose biological parents may be trying to track them down as I type, I am not going to risk the possibility of my children being on social media intentionally
or by accident and risk their safety (and the rest of my family’s) because biological family have been able to work out from scenery where they have been. Hard evidence or not, the risk is not worth taking in my view. I believe that many agencies involved
in safeguarding would agree.
Sent from my iPad
Hi All
I’m really not sure that there’s anything you can do about this at all. With the ubiquity of the smartphone and social media I think if you go out in public (or to any private space where the public are admitted, like a museum) you simply have
to accept that you and yours will be photographed, at least in the background, and that those photographs will end up being published on social media.
This topic gets aired quite frequently on this list, and people often say that it is a ‘safeguarding issue’. Frankly, I don’t think that it is, but I’m open to having my mind changed if someone can actually point to real instances where substantial
harm has actually been done to a vulnerable person as a result of photographs taken in public places (including the likes of museums and exhibitions) in which these people appear anonymously as bystanders, in the background as it were.
Please, if you’re going to answer this don’t resort to hypotheticals, or ‘slippery slope’ arguments. Provide hard evidence that people have actually been harmed as a direct and verifiable result of appearing in the background of photographs posted
on social media.
For the avoidance of doubt I am not talking about instances where the individuals are the main subject of the photograph, or where the photograph has been posted with the subject’s position. I am also not talking about instances where the subject
has been fully or partially identified in a caption to the photograph.
regards
Richard Ellam
L M Interactive
Science Shows and Hands-On Stuff
As
someone who wouldn’t want photos of my family on social media, I’d suggest a friendly ‘housekeeping announcement’ to remind people not to post on social media without the permission of those in the photos (especially parents of children in the photos). It
is a safeguarding issue, so people should be pretty accepting if it explained as such.
Sent from my iPad
On 29 Mar 2019, at 19:58, Clifton Suspension Bridge Visitor Centre <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Hello GEMmers –
I have had an odd query, which I’ve never really considered…
When people book onto our public tours, we routinely ask if they give us permission to take photos as part of the booking procedure. We have a lot of families who join us for these events, so it’s not unusual for someone to say no.
However, as we do encourage people to take photos during the tour, are we going to get into trouble if somebody takes a picture with other members of the tour group in shot and puts it on social media saying where and when it was taken?
Does anyone give a friendly bit of photo guidance at the beginning of a tour, or is having the option to tick a box just putting us in a position of liability we could avoid by just not doing that bit of admin?
Thoughts are appreciated!
Laura Hilton
Visitor Services Manager
Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust
Bridge Road, Leigh Woods, Bristol BS8 3PA
0117 974 4664
Registered Charity No. 205658
<image001.jpg>
Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust: This e-mail is confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual to
whom it is addressed. Any views or opinions are solely those of the author and do not represent those of Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust. If you are not the intended recipient, be advised that you have received this e-mail in error and that any use, dissemination,
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