Safeguarding and abuse prevention in UK dance organisations

Purpose: This exploratory sequential mixed methods study investigated the views, practices, and challenges of UK dance organisations in promoting a safeguarding culture.

Literature review: Everyone who dances or is involved in dance has the right to a safe, respectful, and equitable dance environment that is free from all forms of harm (Mountjoy et al., 2016). But research into safeguarding and abuse prevention - the actions undertaken to protect people from abuse, harm and neglect and support their health, wellbeing, and human rights (Owusu-Sekyere et al., 2021) – is limited in dance.

Methods: Institutional ethical approval was obtained, and all participation was voluntary, informed, and consensual. Aligned with a pragmatist paradigm, a survey developed with input from experts representing a mixture of dance settings was completed by individuals representing 70 organisations to explore their perceptions and understanding of a broad range of safeguarding/abuse prevention issues and current practice and procedures. Semi-structured online interviews were then conducted with 10 organisational leaders to explore the challenges of developing a safeguarding culture and identify gaps in training and support. Transcripts from the recorded interviews were checked, corrected, and then analysed using thematic analysis.

Results and Discussion: 94% of organisations responding to the survey provided safeguarding training for staff, mostly on an annual/semi-annual bases and lasting < 3 hours. Of the 43 safeguarding issues included, only 26% of respondents felt that all issues fit within their remit. The most addressed issues were: (1) dance-specific concerns (e.g., injury); (2) psychological issues (e.g., low self-confidence); and (3) equality, diversity, and inclusions issues (e.g., gender discrimination). Organisational leaders felt that safeguarding wasn’t always prioritised by dance organisations due to a lack of understanding and limited funding and resources. They also acknowledged the need for open communication and collaboration across the sector along with input from specialist organisations.

Conclusion: Further interdisciplinary work is needed to ensure that safeguarding/abuse prevention policies and procedures are effectively and consistently embedded within UK dance organisations. Researchers will need to collaborate with dance organisations to better understand best practices in supporting safe and positive dance environments for all.