If someone is in immediate danger
- At sea, tell the Master or officer of the watch straight away.
- In the UK, call 999. In most other countries, call 112.
- If someone is thinking about ending their life, see our help now page for 24-hour support.
Our commitment
NeurodiversAtSea is committed to the safety and wellbeing of everyone who comes into contact with our work, including adults at risk and anyone under 18. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect and to be protected from harm, abuse, exploitation and neglect, whatever their background, identity or neurotype.
Our trustees are responsible for safeguarding, in line with the Charity Commission's guidance. Everyone who works or volunteers for us, including trustees and peer-support moderators, must follow our safeguarding policy.
What we do
- have a safeguarding lead, who is a trustee, and a deputy
- carry out suitable checks and training for the people who work and volunteer with us, according to their role
- set clear rules of behaviour, including for our peer-support community, and act when they are broken
- handle personal information confidentially and securely, and share it only when it is needed to keep someone safe or the law requires it
- respond quickly and fairly to every concern, and report to the police, local authority or other authorities when needed
- report serious incidents to the Charity Commission
- review our safeguarding policy at least once a year
Raising a concern
If you are worried about the safety of someone involved with NeurodiversAtSea, or about how one of our trustees, volunteers or moderators has behaved, email hello@neurodiversatsea.org with "Safeguarding" in the subject line. Your concern will go to our safeguarding lead. If it is about the safeguarding lead, say so in the subject line and it will go to another trustee.
We will treat your concern seriously and confidentially, and tell you what will happen next. We may need to share information with the authorities to keep someone safe, and we will tell you if we do, unless that would put someone at risk.
You can also report a concern about a charity to the Charity Commission.
Raising concerns about life at sea
If your concern is about conditions or treatment on board a ship, you can also contact the ship's flag state, a port state control authority, your union, or SeafarerHelp, which is free and available 24 hours a day.
We are not an emergency service
We can't respond to messages straight away. If you need urgent support, please see our help now page for organisations that are available 24 hours a day.