In matters of safeguarding, the old adage ‘prevention is the best cure’ applies in full. Rules of procedure and codes of conduct penned in organisational policies play a significant role in putting the organisation in a defendable position before and during a crisis. However, operating guidelines cannot work in isolation, they are only as effective as the people responsible for implementing them. The essence of safeguarding is to protect the well-being of individuals. Where protective mechanisms are weak, sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH) risks are likely to occur in varying scales. At this point, the focus on safeguarding shifts from prevention to incident management.