Safeguarding Policy
1. Introduction
The guiding principle of our safeguarding policy is that we believe that it is always unacceptable for children, young people or adults to experience any kind of abuse. We have a particular responsibility to ensure that the most vulnerable, children and vulnerable adults, are protected. Seek Peace will also not tolerate abuse and exploitation of its staff, volunteers and partners by those we employ (in whatever capacity). Seek Peace has a zero-tolerance approach to sexual abuse and exploitation. We believe in keeping people safe.
We believe that protecting children and vulnerable adults is the responsibility of everyone engaged in Seek Peace’s work. The welfare of these individuals is paramount. All people have the right to protection from abuse regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality, belief, gender, marital status or sex. This policy explains who is protected, who is governed by the policy, how we implement it including recruitment, training, reporting and governance.
Principles: The principles in this policy have been drawn from key international and regional instruments such as: International Standards for Keeping Children Safe and the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child. Seek Peace is committed to engaging with the international NGO community, contributing to and aligning with best practice in this area. We are also committed to engaging specialist support from Thirtyone:eight with regards to cultural differences and safeguarding children and vulnerable adults in international Christian work and will seek out necessary guidance from them as and when appropriate. For the removal of doubt these principles apply to all persons associated with Seek Peace work. Our principles are:
All children and vulnerable adults have equal rights to protection from harm.
Everybody has a responsibility to support the protection of children and vulnerable adults.
Organisations have a duty of care to children and vulnerable adults with whom they work, are in contact with, or who are affected by their work and operations.
Organisations have a responsibility to help partners meet the minimum requirements on protection.
All actions in relation to child protection are taken in the best interests of the child.
All actions in relation to vulnerable adults are taken in the best interests of the vulnerable adults.
2. Definitions
Children: All children under 18 years of age as defined by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child irrespective of the laws and customs in country.
Vulnerable Adults: those who are in need of protection from abuse and sexual exploitation (because of living with economic dependence, a conflict environment, cultural constraints or disability, including women, young adults, and people with disabilities both physical and mental.)
2.2 Scope: Who is governed by this policy?
Seek Peace Representatives: This policy applies to all Seek Peace representatives including staff (whatever their employment status), volunteers, contractors, and trustees. It also applies to all programme visitors. Seek Peace works with partners in country. This policy will be cascaded to all partners who will be expected to meet the standards set out in this policy. See below for more in relation to working with, and alongside, partners.
2.3 Abuse and exploitation: abuse and exploitation of children and vulnerable adults can take many forms and includes:
Physical abuse is the actual or likely physical injury or the failure to prevent it
Emotional abuse is the actual or likely adverse effect of threatened abuse
Sexual abuse and exploitation including rape, all forms of sexual activity, exchange of benefits (including food and money) for sexual favours
Physical or emotional intimidation
Neglect, where basic needs such as good, warmth and medical care are not met.
Sexual harassment is unwanted conduct of a sexual nature. The effect of sexual harassment is to violate the dignity of another person and to create an intimidating environment for them
Seek Peace works in a number of countries and across a broad range of circumstances. Translating child protection and protection of vulnerable adults across these different contexts and cultures can be difficult. But Seek Peace’s commitment to protect children and young people and vulnerable adults remains whatever the variation in cultural and legal frameworks and we expect our partners to adopt the same commitment.
A commitment to child protection/protection of vulnerable adults is fundamental to Seek Peace’s partnership approach to work. These issues may be more likely in emergency situations, particularly where children are displaced and separated from their families, or where the family is under extreme stress, children and young people then become particularly vulnerable.
Representatives of Seek Peace are expected to be extra vigilant at these times so as to ensure those children and vulnerable adults are protected from harm. We acknowledge our responsibility and duty to act appropriately and to make sure that we promote good practice and work by all those partners who deliver the services directly. We expect our partner organisations to uphold the same commitment to prevent abuse and exploitation. Seek Peace, through its representatives, will work with and help new and existing partners to address any issues of child protection/protection of vulnerable adults in their organisation and in the communities in which they work. We want to ensure that everyone is working to high standards and that we are all working together to best protect those who are at risk of abuse and exploitation.
All Seek Peace partners will be required to explain what measures they have in place to protect children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation. International staff in the course of their work should support partners in their efforts to increase their awareness, knowledge and skills in relation to child protection/protection of adult at risk’s issues through the provision of appropriate capacity building and resources. All written agreements between Seek Peace and its partners will reflect a shared commitment to the protection of children and vulnerable adults. Additionally, Seek Peace will conduct a safeguarding risk assessment for each partner and programme to help them mitigate any such risk.
We will expect all partners to read and comply with the Seek Peace Code of Conduct (outlined below in point 4). We will expect all partners to read and comply with the Seek Peace Safeguarding policy or to have their own safeguarding policy that is equally or more robust.
We will ensure that all partners we work with:
submit their policies to us before starting any project
agree that safeguarding is part of the programme design and risk management and assessment
provide details on how they process safeguarding complaints
ensure there is a means of reporting both locally and to the Seek Peace Safeguarding Officer for those who have concerns. This applies to both those people in the community with whom the programme engages and those who deliver the programme
agree to report all concerns and suspicions to Seek Peace’s Safeguarding Officer
agree to cooperate with investigations
The adequacy of these steps will be assessed against Seek Peace’s safeguarding policy and practices by the Seek Peace Safeguarding Officer. Where projects involve close contact with children and/or vulnerable adults and the partner does not have a written policy, the relevant programme team will work with the partner to ensure adequate steps are taken prior to any grant approval or project support work for projects and programmes overseas. This will likely involve working with the partner to locally implement the Seek Peace Safeguarding Policy. The details of these requirements are further outlined in the Partner Agreement, including a clear statement that funding may be withheld and a relationship may be terminated in certain circumstances. We will work with partners to ensure that the communities with whom they work also have appropriate people to whom they can report in confidence. This should be included in the programme risk assessment.
3. Working with partners in country
1. Code of Conduct
All Seek Peace representatives, and partners, must follow this Code of Conduct Seek Peace representatives shall:
Treat everyone with respect, recognising their right to personal privacy;
Plan and organise events in a manner which reduces risk;
Foster a culture of mutual accountability so that potentially abusive behaviour can be challenged; And shall not:
Engage in physical/sexual relationships with beneficiaries of assistance regardless of the age of consent since they are based in inherently unequal power dynamics (the mistaken age of a child or vulnerable person is not a defence)
Behave physically in a way which is inappropriate or sexually provocative
Develop inappropriate relationships or use behaviour with children or vulnerable adults, which could in any way be deemed exploitative or abusive.
Place themselves in a position where they could be accused of sexually abusing a child, young person or vulnerable adult.
Spend excessive time alone with children or vulnerable adults, away from others, in a secluded area or behind closed doors. (Instead, plan activities so that more than one person is present or, at least, other people are within sight and hearing. Wherever possible ensure that another adult is present to supervise the activity.)
Take children alone in a car unless it is absolutely necessary and with parental or guardian consent.
Act in ways that may be abusive or may place a child or vulnerable adult at risk of abuse.
Use language, make suggestions or offer advice which is inappropriate, offensive or abusive.
Offer benefits such as food, favours, clothes, jobs, money in exchange for sexual favours.
Show favouritism to any individual for sexual favours in return.
Act in ways intended to shame, humiliate, belittle or degrade individuals including children or vulnerable adults, or otherwise perpetrate any form of emotional abuse.
Engage in any commercially exploitative activities with children including child labour or trafficking.
Hit or otherwise physically assault or physically abuse anyone
2. Definitions
Children: All children under 18 years of age as defined by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child irrespective of the laws and customs in country.
Vulnerable Adults: those who are in need of protection from abuse and sexual exploitation (because of living with economic dependence, a conflict environment, cultural constraints or disability, including women, young adults, and people with disabilities both physical and mental.)
2.2 Scope: Who is governed by this policy?
Seek Peace Representatives: This policy applies to all Seek Peace representatives including staff (whatever their employment status), volunteers, contractors, and trustees. It also applies to all programme visitors. Seek Peace works with partners in country. This policy will be cascaded to all partners who will be expected to meet the standards set out in this policy. See below for more in relation to working with, and alongside, partners.
2.3 Abuse and exploitation: abuse and exploitation of children and vulnerable adults can take many forms and includes:
Physical abuse is the actual or likely physical injury or the failure to prevent it
Emotional abuse is the actual or likely adverse effect of threatened abuse
Sexual abuse and exploitation including rape, all forms of sexual activity, exchange of benefits (including food and money) for sexual favours
Physical or emotional intimidation
Neglect, where basic needs such as good, warmth and medical care are not met.
Sexual harassment is unwanted conduct of a sexual nature. The effect of sexual harassment is to violate the dignity of another person and to create an intimidating environment for them
Seek Peace works in a number of countries and across a broad range of circumstances. Translating child protection and protection of vulnerable adults across these different contexts and cultures can be difficult. But Seek Peace’s commitment to protect children and young people and vulnerable adults remains whatever the variation in cultural and legal frameworks and we expect our partners to adopt the same commitment.
A commitment to child protection/protection of vulnerable adults is fundamental to Seek Peace’s partnership approach to work. These issues may be more likely in emergency situations, particularly where children are displaced and separated from their families, or where the family is under extreme stress, children and young people then become particularly vulnerable.
Representatives of Seek Peace are expected to be extra vigilant at these times so as to ensure those children and vulnerable adults are protected from harm. We acknowledge our responsibility and duty to act appropriately and to make sure that we promote good practice and work by all those partners who deliver the services directly. We expect our partner organisations to uphold the same commitment to prevent abuse and exploitation. Seek Peace, through its representatives, will work with and help new and existing partners to address any issues of child protection/protection of vulnerable adults in their organisation and in the communities in which they work. We want to ensure that everyone is working to high standards and that we are all working together to best protect those who are at risk of abuse and exploitation.
All Seek Peace partners will be required to explain what measures they have in place to protect children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation. International staff in the course of their work should support partners in their efforts to increase their awareness, knowledge and skills in relation to child protection/protection of adult at risk’s issues through the provision of appropriate capacity building and resources. All written agreements between Seek Peace and its partners will reflect a shared commitment to the protection of children and vulnerable adults. Additionally, Seek Peace will conduct a safeguarding risk assessment for each partner and programme to help them mitigate any such risk.
We will expect all partners to read and comply with the Seek Peace Code of Conduct (outlined below in point 4). We will expect all partners to read and comply with the Seek Peace Safeguarding policy or to have their own safeguarding policy that is equally or more robust.
We will ensure that all partners we work with:
submit their policies to us before starting any project
agree that safeguarding is part of the programme design and risk management and assessment
provide details on how they process safeguarding complaints
ensure there is a means of reporting both locally and to the Seek Peace Safeguarding Officer for those who have concerns. This applies to both those people in the community with whom the programme engages and those who deliver the programme
agree to report all concerns and suspicions to Seek Peace’s Safeguarding Officer
agree to cooperate with investigations
The adequacy of these steps will be assessed against Seek Peace’s safeguarding policy and practices by the Seek Peace Safeguarding Officer. Where projects involve close contact with children and/or vulnerable adults and the partner does not have a written policy, the relevant programme team will work with the partner to ensure adequate steps are taken prior to any grant approval or project support work for projects and programmes overseas. This will likely involve working with the partner to locally implement the Seek Peace Safeguarding Policy. The details of these requirements are further outlined in the Partner Agreement, including a clear statement that funding may be withheld and a relationship may be terminated in certain circumstances. We will work with partners to ensure that the communities with whom they work also have appropriate people to whom they can report in confidence. This should be included in the programme risk assessment.