Vetting: Viv Regan speech

This is a speech given by Viv Regan, youth worker and volunteer, WORLDwrite, at the Manifesto Club event, 'Checkmate: Has vetting gone too far?'.

I’ve always believed that good relationships between people in our society are based on trust, on us taking joint responsibility for looking out for each other, including each other’s children. At the heart of this, or at least a very good example, is volunteering, since it remains one of the most important ways we come together, show solidarity and act upon the problems we face.

However, now these informal, ordinary activities are being redefined as a ‘cause for concern’ because adults could be interacting with possibly vulnerable people and children before getting checked out by the police. But volunteering is about people getting together in local areas to do something great, often on the spur of the moment. Let me give you an example. A volunteer came to WORLDwrite saying she and a friend were going to do a car boot sale with a number of the kids in her estate for WORLDwrite. But instead of being really chuffed and celebrating that, we had to think about it and ask if her or her friend had been CRB checked.

And therein lies the problem. Viewing other people as potentially dangerous, as a threat we need protection from, is ludicrous and dangerous. The motive to volunteer is a positive one, volunteering is a noble act but is now viewed with suspicion, especially if this help is directed towards kids.

At WORLDwrite this has changed the way we behave with each other and what we do, as we have to ensure that volunteers are vetted or watched over. For example WORLDwrite used to organise very successful youth exchanges around the world, but now we have to vet everyone who is not deemed as vulnerable because if you are not vulnerable you must be, by definition, potentially dangerous. This on top of the arduous paperwork, cost and processes involved has meant we have more or less stopped these great experiences for under-16s.

Only last week I couldn’t leave an older volunteer who is more than capable, alone in another room with a young volunteer to help her get used to the office, because this is what is now termed in youth work as a ‘danger point’, therefore it would have been irresponsible of me. This meant that I had to go and mediate between them and hover over them, much to the bemusement of both!

In fact, WORLDwrite has more or less decided to stop working with under-16s altogether, since it is just too much of a minefield. We would have to put in place and pay for too many CRB checks, since at our centre people often just muck in; we don’t have an official mentoring scheme, but this happens spontaneously where volunteers see another volunteer needing help and offers it.

Once we decide that the only responsible course of action is to look to the authorities to tell us who to trust, instead of trusting in our own capacity and power to make these judgements, we become estranged from each other, we feel we can no longer help each other – we feel awkward with each other. This uncertainty that is developing about the way we relate to each other is exemplified in the relationship between young and old - there seems to be a tangible sense of fear now. I experience this when I am out in my neck of the woods and see young people, I have begun to question and worry whether I should talk to them, offer any help, get to know them, as I don’t want people to think wrongly of me! And if I feel this as a youth worker (and a female) then what must it be like for others?

At WORLDwrite there are some colourful characters who volunteer there, some whose behaviour could be seen as inappropriate at times, and I find myself more and more watching over volunteers wondering whether I should intervene at the first awkward moment or stop certain volunteers coming in even though they have posed no threat. My behaviour is becoming more and more risk averse, not willing to trust in people’s tolerance and capacity to build relationships with all sorts.

And this is even more absurd because society isn’t any more dangerous than before. There is no evidence to suggest that there is more abuse happening, that children are in more danger than ever before. In fact, figures show that abuse is on the decline, even though the definition of abuse is widening. So why must I now teach youth workers to not trust co-workers to be alone with children, just in case they abuse them? Why are we being told that even if you have known someone for 20 years and they have done a good job looking after your kids, we should now doubt their motives?

I had to drive past a young volunteer in the pouring rain last week instead of immediately stopping to see if they wanted a lift, because this is again considered a danger point. My neighbour who used to be the supervisor in our local public playground opened her doors to the kids who were soaked, only to be told she had to be CRB checked before doing that, even though the parents were grateful and she is well known in our area.

I would argue that this approach to child safety is part of a wider cultural shift in which fear and distrust dominate even the most ordinary of our everyday activities. It is not a response to real risks or real changes in our society. We more and more now see others as dangerous, we assess each other with suspicion, as guilty until proven innocent, and just as damaging is the growing belief that we cannot judge for ourselves potential or real dangers; that this is somehow beyond our ability and can only be performed by the bureaucratic procedure of CRB checks. I think that the way we currently respond to the very rare and tragic cases of child abuse corrodes adult-child relationships, which are actually beneficial for both parties.

It may take time to realise the full impact of this culture of fear and distrust upon young people. I have already seen a change in my work with young people. One of the main areas of youth work is to support young people to become independent. If we teach kids to view every adult as a threat, we blur the distinction between decent and perverse behaviour, we risk young people growing up believing that human relations inherently risky, something to mistrust. This doesn’t help young people assess situations for themselves or judge when they need us and when they don’t. A major part of growing up is risk-taking, experimenting, and deciding who to trust and who not to – all of this develops independence.

One positive thing I can say is that even in discussion with people who vehemently believe in vetting and trust in bureaucracy, it is clear that they actually don’t vet their own lives. They don’t spend time worrying about their neighbours talking to their children, since that would be a ridiculous way to live your day-to-day life. So most people in their heart of hearts know that there is something absurd going on.

The problem we have got here, is how we can fight to preserve that common sense and positive reality of people wanting to help each other. I am interested to know how you think we could do this, because it strikes me that the very act of turning something so normal into a political act takes it too much out of the ordinary.