Risk identification: recognising the signs of risk

SAFEGUARDING RESPONSE

Risk is often identified through patterns,

not single factors or events.

Read these examples of risk factors and indicators.

This isn’t a full list. The examples serve as prompts to help you identify whether the person is experiencing violence, abuse or neglect, or coercion or exploitation, or is at risk of these.

Examples include:
Unexplained injuries.
- The injured person’s explanation of how the injuries occurred – does this seem likely or valid, or might they be covering up what really happened out of fear?
- Frequent injuries, or inconsistent or unlikely explanations.
- Signs of neglect (e.g. malnutrition, poor hygiene).
Examples include:
- Signs of fear, anxiety, withdrawal.
- Low self-esteem.
- Low expectations, or signs of simply accepting the harm or the risk of harm.
- Sudden changes in behaviour.
- Reluctance to speak in front of others.
Examples include:
- Depending on others for support for daily tasks and/or personal care.
- Signs of coercive control or psychological abuse (for example, controlling relationships). Note these kinds of signs:
  - The support person or accompanying person doing all the talking – especially if they’re not actively including and involving the person they’re speaking for.
  - The support person interjecting if you try to talk with the person directly.
  - Body language between the people with whom you’re meeting, suggesting a power imbalance or manipulation, or substitute decision-making.
- Isolation from whānau or support networks.
- Financial dependence or restriction.
- Escalation during or after separation.
It’s important to consider compounding risk factors (or intersectionality), when assessing risk.
Examples include:
- Disability and other aspects of personal identity (including cultural identity and gender identity). Recognise that:
  - a person’s identity may incur biases, stigma and discrimination, increasing the risk of violence, abuse, or neglect.
  - ableist attitudes could be impacting the situation, and the extent to which the person is considered to be capable, credible, and ‘believed’
  - the person might be isolated or marginalised
  - be aware that your own unconscious biases might be impacting on your assessment, judgement and decision-making; consult with others to offset these (see barriers to services and professional boundaries).
- Lived experience indicators, related to previous trauma
  - Experiences of previous trauma might be compounding the situation, with the person feeling re-traumatised at the thought of having to ‘go through all this again’, including the initial disclosure.
  - Experiences of how agencies or professionals (‘the authorities’) dealt with that previous trauma, and whether that makes it more difficult for a person with lived experience to speak up.
  - The person might feel unsafe to disclose abuse or harm due to fear of the consequences (especially if this resulted in more abuse last time or previously), or fear of being disbelieved or having their experience minimised.
- Reliance on others for care and support, who might be causing or contributing to the violence, abuse or neglect, or coercion.
- Poverty.
- Social exclusion.
- Isolation.

Remember that risk might not be visible.

Individuals may minimise or hide harm due to fear, shame or coercion.

Some people aren’t aware that what’s happening to them is abuse or neglect.

Cultural, trauma-informed and contextual considerations
relating to tāngata whaikaha, disabled people and Adults at Risk
across the lifespan can significantly increase risk
when responding to situations of concern.

Noting the risk trajectory / the pattern of risk

‘Risk trajectory’ asks you to consider the direction and movement of risk over time (i.e. given the information you’ve gathered to date, and what the person is telling or signalling to you, does the risk seem static, immediate, escalating or emerging?).

Based on sound reasoning, your opinion will help co-workers or other agencies further assess the risk and determine how to act.

Document your views thoughtfully, and provide the reasons.

Note whether the risk is:

emerging
chronic
static
immediate
escalating.

Document why you think this.

The risk of occurrence seems to be at a lower level now, but with the likelihood of increasing.
There will be critical ‘early warning signs’ you need to capture.
This is persistent and ongoing risk, often characterised by repeated patterns of harm or coercive control over time.
The risk seems to be staying about the same, over time.
Urgent and immediate risk:
- the person seems likely to be harmed any time now.
Be mindful that risk often escalates under the following circumstances, showing up with increasing frequency or severity.

Factors that commonly contribute to escalating risk:
- The person is attempting to leave a relationship, or has recently left (i.e. separation factor).
- There is controlling or coercive behaviour.
- Violence or abuse are escalating, shown by:
- increased frequency (the harm is occurring more often)
- increased severity (the harm is getting worse / there’s increased intensity).
- There are multiple stressors occurring in the situation (e.g. stress could be arising from issues such as housing issues or moves, unemployment, financial pressure, illness, substance use, mental distress).
- There are compounding risk factors, such as discrimination, marginalisation.
Escalating abuse is a strong indicator that harm will keep occurring.
If a situation has been escalating recently or over time, a response is very urgent. The situation is unlikely to improve and the person’s risk will be increasing.

VisAble is developing a form (an editable PDF template) for your use in documenting these aspects of your initial risk identification and assessment. This resource will be available to you by 30 June 2026. Find it in VisAble’s Resource Hub then.

In the meantime, note the headings and guidance above, and start to put this into practice.
Make sure to document your ‘risk identification’ findings.
Head to the next section, to find out about your role in ‘risk assessment’ - what you need to do.
Read the section “What’s expected of you” to find out more about your professional responsibilities in effective safeguarding.
Contact VisAble if you’d like more guidance, or training, 1:1 coaching or other support in risk identification and assessment - or in understanding and your professional responsibilities and delivering these capably.