Child Protection Institute

Child Protection Policy

Against Child Abuse | Child Protection Policy

INTRODUCTION

The Against Child Abuse’s mission is to promote a caring and non-violent environment for the optimal growth and development of our children. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child stipulates that all children have the right to protection from all forms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and sexual abuse. Protecting children is everyone’s shared responsibility. Schools and organisations engaged in child related work need to develop their internal policies, code of conduct and procedures to ensure that the provision of services takes children’s safety and interests as the first priority. Our Child Protection Institute has assisted schools and organisations to set up child protection policy and provided staff

training to comply with the implementation of the policy to ensure that children and people who come into contact with them are protected.

CODE OF CONDUCT

The Against Child Abuse will take the following action in the event of suspected maltreatment of children:

respect the dignity, safety and interests of children
investigate any suspicious incidents and accusations as quickly as possible
collaborate with all involved parties, provide transparent and factual reports, and initiate support mechanisms

To respect the rights of the child, staff members and volunteers in contact with children are obliged to:

understand children within the local context in which they live
work with children in a spirit of co-operation based on mutual trust and respect
enhance children’s capabilities and develop their potential
recognize children as individuals in their own right and needs, and value their views

Staff members and volunteers who come into contact with children:

should always

should never

avoid situations which isolate children
recognize potential pitfalls which might lead to child abuse
promote a culture of openness where issues and concerns can be raised and discussed
ensure visibility, wherever possible, with children
ensure consent is obtained from guardians when making images of children (photos, video etc.), that they are respectful, sexually suggestive poses are avoided
if a room with children is visited at any time, the door should always be left open

use any form of physical punishment
enter any form of sexual relations
engage in any form of inappropriate physical contact, language and behavior
organize activities which are abusive
develop abusive or exploitative relations
stay overnight in the same room with any child
invite a child/children to their place of residence alone
shame, belittle, degrade children or engage in emotional abuse
discriminate through preferential treatment to a child
take images of children (photo, video etc.) which are detrimental or explicit and undermine the child's dignity

PROCEDURES

Overriding Principles

In all cases the safety and welfare of the child will always be the priority
The procedures are built on the principle of minimising the need for the child to have to repeat to multiple parties the information unnecessarily

Receiving Evidence of Possible Abuse

Possible abuse may be disclosed in various ways
If children indicate that they are being abused, staff members should:

Respond	Record	Report
Stay calm so as not to frighten the child Reassure that the child is not to blame and it is right to tell Listen to the child, showing that you are taking them seriously Ask open questions to collect facts and accurate information Don’t promise to keep secret as this is to help stop the abuse Safety of the child is paramount	Record the facts strictly and accurately Make risk assessment	Don’t allow personal emotions to interfere with your judgement on any action to take Report the incident to the supervisor immediately For cases of suspected child abuse, investigation should be conducted immediately to take protective measures as soon as possible to ensure the safety of children If the abuser is suspected to be staff member, it should be ensured that the incident has been properly investigated before deciding on the relevant disciplinary action

CONFIDENTIALITY

Ensure that confidentiality is maintained for all concerned

Information will be handled and disseminated on a need to know basis only in order to:

protect a child
facilitate enquiries
manage disciplinary/complaint aspects
protect the rights of the alleged perpetrator

The communication network includes the following persons:

The child and the parents
The person being complained against
The person making the allegation
Social services units/police
Agency management

All information will be properly stored with limited access to designated persons, on a need to know basis and in line with data protection laws.

EMPLOYMENT

Prospective employees seeking child related work are required to undergo a Sexual Conviction Record Check
All employees are required to undertake relevant child protection training provided by the Agency to ensure their practices in line with code of conduct

Organization-specific Child Protection Policy: we aim to assist organizations to develop policies according to their needs and circumstances

(Updated in April 2020)

Click to read our >>Child Protection Policy<<