Safeguarding Policy

1. Purpose and scope

L Community Group CIC runs in-person and online events for lesbian and bisexual women in London and across the UK. This policy sets out how we keep the people who attend safe, what we do when something goes wrong, and who is responsible.

It applies to everyone involved in our activities: attendees, volunteers, hosts, contractors, and anyone acting on behalf of the CIC.

All our events are for adults aged 18 and over. Section 7 covers the occasional family event where children attend with a parent or carer.

2. Our commitment

We believe every woman attending our events has the right to feel safe, to be treated with respect, and to be listened to if something goes wrong.

Many of the women who come to us arrive on their own, and a lot of them tell us they were nervous before their first event. Making the space feel safe is not separate from what we do, it is the point of it.

3. Who is responsible

Safeguarding lead: Jenny Watson, founder and director. Responsible for handling concerns, making decisions on the night, keeping records, and reviewing this policy annually.

Event hosts: at every in-person event there is at least one host alongside the safeguarding lead. Hosts introduce people, keep an eye on the room, and raise anything of concern immediately.

Everyone attending: anyone who sees or experiences something that worries them is asked to tell the safeguarding lead or a host at the time, or to email [email protected] afterwards.

4. Maintaining a female-only space

L Community operates as a private members' club for women under Schedule 16 of the Equality Act 2010. Maintaining that boundary is a core part of how we keep attendees safe.

Verification

Membership requires verification that the applicant is female. This is carried out through:

• A verification form on the website confirming sex
• Automated facial analysis in the app (Amazon Rekognition)
• Where automated verification is inconclusive, a short verification video reviewed manually
• Where an applicant would prefer not to submit a video, a live video call with the safeguarding lead

Verification data is handled in line with our privacy notice. Verification videos and voice recordings are stored only for as long as verification takes and deleted within 30 days.

At events

Tickets are booked in advance and there are no tickets on the door, so we know who is coming. If a man attempts to attend, he is asked to leave by the safeguarding lead accompanied by a host. Attendees are then told directly that the boundary has been upheld.

We do this in pairs, never alone, and we do not escalate. If someone refuses to leave, we involve venue staff, and the police if necessary.

5. What we consider a safeguarding concern

• Any behaviour that makes an attendee feel unsafe, harassed, or intimidated
• Unwanted physical contact or sexual harassment
• Aggressive, threatening or abusive behaviour
• A man attempting to access a female-only event
• Any disclosure of abuse, domestic abuse, or coercive control
• Concerns that an attendee is at risk of harm, including self-harm
• Concerns about a child at a family event
• Any concern about the conduct of a host, volunteer or anyone representing L Community

6. What happens when a concern is raised

1. Listen. The person raising the concern is taken seriously and not questioned about whether they should feel the way they do. They are asked what they would like to happen.
2. Act on the night. If someone is at immediate risk, we act straight away. This may mean asking someone to leave, moving the person raising the concern to a different part of the venue, involving venue staff, or calling 999.
3. Record. The safeguarding lead writes down what happened, when, who was involved, and what was done, as soon as possible after the event. Records are kept securely and separately from general membership data.
4. Follow up. The person who raised the concern is contacted afterwards to let them know what was done.
5. Decide on further action. Depending on what happened, this may include removing someone's membership, barring them from future events, reporting to the police, or referring to the local authority adult safeguarding team.

We will always support someone who wants to report to the police, and we will never discourage it. We will not report on someone's behalf without their consent unless there is a risk to them or to others that makes it necessary.

7. Family events and children

Most of our events are adults only. Occasionally we run outdoor family events, such as picnics, where attendees may bring their children.

At these events:

• Children remain the responsibility of the parent or carer who brought them at all times
• We do not provide childcare, supervision, or activities for children
• Hosts do not take children away from their parent or carer for any reason
• Photographs are not taken of children without the express permission of their parent or carer, and are not published without it
• Any concern about a child's welfare is raised with the safeguarding lead, who will contact the local authority children's services or the police if there is any risk of harm

This is made clear in the event listing for any family event.

8. Online safety

The L Community app includes a community timeline, member profiles, direct messaging, and a business directory.

• All members are verified before they can access the app
• Members can report posts and other members in the app
• Reports are reviewed by the safeguarding lead
• Members who behave abusively have their access removed
• Online events on Zoom require advance registration, and new attendees briefly turn their camera on at the start for verification

9. Data and confidentiality

Safeguarding records contain sensitive personal data and are kept securely, accessible only to the safeguarding lead.

We share information about a safeguarding concern only where there is a lawful reason to do so: with the consent of the person involved, or where there is a risk of serious harm to them or to someone else.

Verification data, including biometric data, is special category data under UK GDPR. It is processed on the basis of explicit consent and in accordance with our published privacy notice.

10. Training and review

The safeguarding lead undertakes safeguarding adults training and refreshes it every three years.

Hosts are briefed on this policy before working at an event, and are told who the safeguarding lead is and how to raise a concern.

This policy is reviewed annually by the safeguarding lead, and sooner if an incident, a change in the law, or a change in how we operate makes it necessary.

11. Contact

If you have a concern, or a question about this policy, contact the safeguarding lead directly.