CHILD PROTECTION POLICY FOR REGARTLESS (RGL), FORMERLY SYSY HOUSE OF FAME (SHF)
1. INTRODUCTION.
This document outlines REGARTLESS’s commitment to protecting children’s rights in the framework of its functioning. The policy is at the core of all our operations and applies to all persons who represent REGARTLESS (RGL) in any capacity.
A child is any individual under 18, and all children have an equal right to protection irrespective of any personal characteristic, including their age, gender, ability, culture, racial origin, religious belief, and sexual identity.
2. POLICY AIMS
The Child Safeguarding Policy of REGARTLESS is designed to protect children who come into contact with the association and its partners from physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, neglect, as well as commercial and sexual exploitation. This policy enables us to prevent, identify, report, and respond to child safeguarding concerns and ensure accountability and transparency. This policy helps establish a safe environment for children who come into contact with REGARTLESS and creates a safe work environment for our representatives. Our policy framework ensures that all incidents and suspicions of child abuse are reported and responded to. It also ensures that child safeguarding is paramount in all work areas, including organizational policies.
3. STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT
REGARTLESS is committed to the protection of all children from “all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual violence,” as outlined in Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). All REGARTLESS staff, volunteers, and partners have a duty of care and responsibility to keep all children who come into direct or indirect contact safe. All actions taken to protect children will be in the child’s best interests as defined by Article 3 of the UNCRC.
4. WHO DOES THE CHILD PROTECTION POLICY APPLY TO?
This policy applies to all persons working for us or on our behalf in any capacity, including employees at all levels, directors, officers, workers, volunteers, interns, agents, contractors, external consultants, third-party representatives, suppliers, and business partners. It applies during or outside of working hours every day of the year.
5. DEFINING CHILD ABUSE.
Child abuse consists of anything that individuals, institutions, or processes do or fail to do that directly or indirectly harms children or damages their prospects of a safe and healthy development into adulthood.
This policy covers all forms of child abuse. REGARTLESS recognizes five categories of child abuse: sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Other sub-categories may be adopted from time to time. The policy also covers any poor safeguarding practice which results in or creates a risk of child abuse or harm.
6. OUR APPROACH TO PREVENTION
REGARTLESS is committed to preventing child abuse and exploitation, including through the following means:
6.1 Awareness: Ensuring that all staff, representatives, and third parties connected to REGARTLESS are aware of the high standards of behavior and conduct expected of them to protect children from any form of abuse and exploitation in their private and working lives.
6.2 Prevention: Ensuring, through awareness and good practice, that staff and those who work with REGARTLESS minimize the risks of any form of child abuse and exploitation, including but by no means limited to conducting relevant vetting and background checks of staff as part of their recruitment process.
6.3 Reporting: Ensuring that all staff and those who work with REGARTLESS are clear on what steps to take where suspicions or concerns arise regarding allegations of child abuse or exploitation.
6.4 Responding: Ensuring that immediate action is taken to identify and address reports of child abuse and exploitation and to ensure the safety and well-being of the children involved.
7. INVESTIGATION, OUTCOMES AND DISCIPLINARY ACTION
All incidents will be investigated fairly and remain confidential in line with the Keeping Children Safe guidelines on the Management of Child Safeguarding Allegations. This is essential to ensure that not only the child involved is protected but also that staff are protected from false accusations. REGARTLESS must ensure access to emotional and psychological support for alleged victims, witnesses, and other staff, as well as the alleged perpetrators. REGARTLESS’s representatives involved in any investigation will receive appropriate training.
Non-compliance with the Child Safeguarding Policy and Code of Conduct is subject to disciplinary action. Forms of disciplinary action can include dismissal from employment and charges resulting from a criminal investigation conducted by Police (if the allegation is a criminal offense).
8. ACCOUNTABILITY
All children and communities who come into contact with REGARTLESS must be made aware of and understand REGARTLESS’s commitment to child safeguarding. Information on this policy must be available to them in appropriate (e.g. language), child-friendly formats.
9. CORE PRINCIPLES
These principles apply when dealing with concerns and reports of abuse and during any potential investigations.
9.1 Child Rights Approach: All children ‘without discrimination of any kind’ (Article 2 of the UNCRC) have the right to be protected from ‘all forms of physical or mental violence, injury, and abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual violence’ as outlined in Article 19 of the UNCRC4.
9.2 Best Interest of the Child: As stated in Article 3 of the UNCRC5, all actions taken to protect children will be in the best interest of the child.
9.3 Standards-Based Approach: REGARTLESS has adopted a standards-based approach to Child Safeguarding. Where there is a discrepancy between national laws and practices and international standards (e.g., harmful traditional practices and spiritual abuse), this policy, together with a decision taken by the relevant staff, will take precedence. All representatives agree to adhere to these standards when they join the organization – and they will accordingly be held accountable to these standards.
9.4 Confidentiality: You must maintain confidentiality during all stages of the disclosure and reporting process. Both the identity – including the name(s) – of the child/ren associated with an allegation of abuse, as well as the details of the allegation, will be kept confidential to the highest degree possible. This is to protect the child/ren from further or future harm. In addition, the identity of the accused person will be kept confidential during any reporting process in response to an investigation of suspicions of abuse. A breach of confidentiality could have serious consequences for anyone involved – either for the child or adult – including reputational damage, threats, or attacks. All reports/records will be kept in a secure, locked place with limited access. Information disclosure can only be made to relevant parties on a need-to-know basis.
9.5 Transparency: Throughout reporting on and responding to an allegation of abuse, all information should be recorded carefully and comprehensively by those responsible for the investigation. This is to ensure accurate documentation of the incident. Rumors should be recorded as such and not as factual evidence. Information that both corroborates and contradicts the allegation should be recorded. All information gathered, decisions taken, and their reasons should be clearly outlined in the final investigation report (see Annex 2 for information on roles and responsibilities outlining who does what in this process).
9.6 Sensitivity: Incidents of child abuse are potentially traumatizing for both the victim/survivor and all those associated with the alleged incident, whether related to the survivor/victim or the alleged perpetrator. Therefore, gathering information during the incident investigation should be undertaken with the utmost sensitivity and respect for all those associated with the case.
9.7 Child Participation: Children should be empowered to understand their rights to safety, what unacceptable behavior is represented by War Child representatives, and what to do when concerned. Children should be spoken to in a child-friendly manner and, where possible, in their language.
Where possible, the child should only be interviewed once as part of an investigation to avoid any additional distress. The investigator should be trained in how to speak to children who are victims/survivors of abuse.
