Child Protection:-
(Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the protection of children in and out of the home.)
- Child protection is the protection of children from violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect.
(Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the protection of children in and out of the home.)
- A broad term to describe philosophies, policies, standards, guidelines and procedures to protect children from both intentional and unintentional harm.
Child protection in an organizational context :-
‘Child protection’ is a term used by many organizations for the work and programmes they undertake in the community or broader social environment. This may lead to confusion when discussing the child protection responsibilities and issues involved in managing an organization. We cannot ignore the broader child protection issues faced by organizations in the communities in which they work - for example domestic violence, abuse by police, commercial sexual exploitation etc. It is every organization’s responsibility to do their best to protect the children who they are in contact with whether harm is taking place either inside or outside the organization. However, the scope of this particular toolkit is concerned ONLY with child protection within organizations - i.e. recruitment, management, behavior of staff and children, physical environment of facilities etc. It must be stressed that although this toolkit focuses on child protection within organizations, an organization - and an individual working within that organization - also has a responsibility towards children they work with who may be experiencing specific forms of maltreatment external to the organization. Broader child protection concerns outside the organization should be dealt with through the organization’s programme and project work.
Types of violence / abuse experienced by children :-
The following diagram represents different actors involved in child abuse / violence against children.
● Self harm: Deliberately cutting or harming oneself; suicidal thoughts; attempted and actual suicide.
● Peer abuse: Bullying (physical and/or psychological); physical and sexual abuse; gang violence.
● Abuse by adults: Domestic violence (physical, psychological, sexual); corporal punishment in schools and organizations; sexual abuse and exploitation.
● Societal abuse: a social, political, economic and cultural environment which actively encourages or tacitly condones violence against children, e.g. political campaigns which encourage ‘clearances’ of street children; religions and cultures which encourage physical and humiliating punishment of children as acceptable child rearing practices; harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation, ritual scarification etc.; high prevalence of violence in the media; cultural attitudes which condone violence against women in the home / which promote ideas of women and children as being the ‘property’ of men / parents rather than as human beings deserving of equal rights.
Police Planning :-
Child protection policy :-
‘A statement of intent that demonstrates a commitment to safeguard children from harm and makes clear to all what is required in relation to the protection of children. It helps to create a safe and positive environment for children and to show that the organisation is taking its duty and responsibility of care seriously.’
A child protection policy provides a framework of principles, standards and guidelines on which to base individual and organisational practice in relation to areas, such as:
● Creating a ‘child safe’ and ‘child friendly’ organisation (in relation to environmental safety as well as protection against physical, psychological and sexual abuse)
● Prevention of abuse
● Personnel recruitment and training
● Robust management systems
● Guidelines for appropriate and inappropriate behaviour / attitude
● Guidelines for communications regarding children
● Recognising, reporting and reacting to allegations of abuse
● Ramifications of misconduct for those failing to follow the policy A policy is not necessarily solely directed towards sexual abuse, but rather may also encompass all aspects of child protection including, but not limited to: disciplinary measures, health and safety measures, physical harm, working with information about children, proper recruitment and managerial procedures, and the ramifications of misconduct.
What a child protection policy is not:-
Adopting a child protection policy does not absolve organizations from further action. It is the beginning, not the end of child protection. A policy does not have to be solely directed towards sexual abuse. A policy does not have to be exclusive to organizations working directly with children on a regular basis: “Many organizations - especially those that do not work directly with children - do not believe “child protection” standards are relevant to them because of many factors. We disagree and believe that every organization (whether they work directly or indirectly with children, whether they are funding or being funded) must take responsibility for child protection.”
Child abuse :-
According to the World Health Organization, ‘Child abuse’ or ‘maltreatment’ constitutes ‘all forms of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power.’
Myths relating to child abuse :-
‘Myths’ are beliefs which are commonly held, but which are not true / accurate. There are myths relating to all kinds of child abuse, some of which are more or less common in different parts of the world, and they result in a range of views on how to treat and discipline children. Examples of myths relating to child abuse include:
● Children with disabilities should be kept separate from other children so they don’t inflict their bad luck on other children
● A child with behavioral or mental challenges is ‘possessed’ or insane
● ‘Difficult’ children in homes should be punished excessively
● Children need a good spanking to show who’s boss
● Having sex with a very young child or even a baby can cure you of AIDS
● Women and girls should only eat any food which is left after men have eaten
● Street children should be kept in government remand homes as they are all criminals
● Children don’t make the same the mistake again if they are given a good caning
● Children always know why they are being punished.
WHY ARE CHILD PROTECTION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES IMPORTANT?
‘Any NGO should have a child protection policy if its direct or indirect beneficiaries include individuals under the age of 18’.
● Organizations working with children have a moral and legal responsibility to protect children within their care.
● Organizations working with vulnerable children have been, are and will continue to be vulnerable to harboring abuse until the issues are brought into the open.
● Child protection policies and procedures help to create ‘child-safe’ organizations:
● That have an ‘aware culture’
● That do everything possible to prevent intentional and unintentional harm coming to children
● Where children feel safe
● Where children can speak out
● Where children are listened to
● Where children & staff are respected and empowered
● ‘A strong policy will guide you in dealing with difficult situations. When there is a crisis it may be harder to think clearly. If you have a reliable policy you can react in an informed way and avoid accusations of a biased response in any participant’s favor or disadvantage’ (ECPAT Australia).
● Organizations without child protection policies, guidelines and systems are more vulnerable to false or malicious accusations of abuse.
● without proper policies, guidelines and procedures in place, allegations of abuse, whether founded or unfounded, can destroy an organization’s reputation. This will have serious implications for fundraising (thus undermining an organization’s entire portfolio of work, even beyond the scope of the particular project concerned) as well as damaging the reputation of the children’s NGO sector as a whole.
● Donors are increasingly requiring organizations to have in place child protection policies as part of their funding criteria.
THE ROLE OF RISK MANAGEMENT IN CHILD PROTECTION
Analyzing the risks to children within your organisation through the approaches recommended here can show more clearly why you need child protection policies and procedures in place.
Definition of ‘risk management’ :-
‘Risk means the potential for something to go wrong. Risk management means identifying the potential for an accident or incident to occur and taking steps to reduce the possibility of it occurring.
For example: -
● Failure to properly screen job applicants may lead to a child abuser working for your organization ● Failure to provide safety equipment (clothing, eye protection etc.) for activities such as metalwork may result in a child being injured through your vocational training programme
● Failure to keep a child’s records securely locked up may result in them being lost and/or getting into the wrong hands (e.g. other children who may then tease the child or an adult who uses sensitive information to emotionally blackmail a child).
Correctly identifying risks and taking steps to minimize them in an organization is essential to the development of effective child protection policies and procedures.
How do you do a risk assessment?
STEP 1 - Identify risks
Identify risks to children within your organisation. Make sure you involve all personnel in the organisation in this process, including children. This is because different people will have different perceptions of what constitutes ‘risk’: e.g. a social worker might think that not having a first aid kit is the most important risk in the project; the project manager may be more concerned about the lack of vetting of volunteers; a child might be much more concerned that they have to cross a busy road in order to get to the project.
STEP 2 - Group risks
Group risks to children that you have identified in Step 1 according to where they might occur in the organisation. The following are only suggested areas of risk. You may wish to come up with alternative categories.
● Staff and volunteers (e.g. lack of proper screening in recruitment and supervision, management systems, training on how to handle children)
● Place / physical environment (e.g. fire exits, recreational areas, cooking facilities, sleeping arrangements)
● Activities and programmes (e.g. education, health, community outreach, vocational training, outings, exchange visits)
● Information (e.g. storage of children’s personal information, recording of allegations of abuse, dissemination of information on where to get help)
● Organisational culture (e.g. consultation, communication systems, hierarchy, attitudes to organisational learning). This process will help you to analyse the risks more systematically and will also help to identify who is responsible for each area of work where risks to children have to be managed.
STEP 3 - Rank the risks
Rank the risks in terms of low, medium or high risk using the guiding questions:
● What / how bad would the consequences be? (This takes precedence over the second question as a deciding factor)
● What is the likelihood of these consequences occurring?
STEP 4 - Decide on next steps
Decide on next steps :- i) Do nothing (no action needed - low risk & benefits outweigh risks) ii) Monitor more closely for a set period in order to make a more informed decision (low risk) iii) Change activities / policies / plans / procedures to reduce risk (medium to high risk) iv) Stop doing the activity or procedure (this may include transferring an activity to another organisation that is better equipped to undertake it, or stopping altogether) (medium to high risk)
Analyzing the risks to children within your organisation through the approaches recommended here can show more clearly why you need child protection policies and procedures in place.
Definition of ‘risk management’ :-
‘Risk means the potential for something to go wrong. Risk management means identifying the potential for an accident or incident to occur and taking steps to reduce the possibility of it occurring.
For example: -
● Failure to properly screen job applicants may lead to a child abuser working for your organization ● Failure to provide safety equipment (clothing, eye protection etc.) for activities such as metalwork may result in a child being injured through your vocational training programme
● Failure to keep a child’s records securely locked up may result in them being lost and/or getting into the wrong hands (e.g. other children who may then tease the child or an adult who uses sensitive information to emotionally blackmail a child).
Correctly identifying risks and taking steps to minimize them in an organization is essential to the development of effective child protection policies and procedures.
How do you do a risk assessment?
STEP 1 - Identify risks
Identify risks to children within your organisation. Make sure you involve all personnel in the organisation in this process, including children. This is because different people will have different perceptions of what constitutes ‘risk’: e.g. a social worker might think that not having a first aid kit is the most important risk in the project; the project manager may be more concerned about the lack of vetting of volunteers; a child might be much more concerned that they have to cross a busy road in order to get to the project.
STEP 2 - Group risks
Group risks to children that you have identified in Step 1 according to where they might occur in the organisation. The following are only suggested areas of risk. You may wish to come up with alternative categories.
● Staff and volunteers (e.g. lack of proper screening in recruitment and supervision, management systems, training on how to handle children)
● Place / physical environment (e.g. fire exits, recreational areas, cooking facilities, sleeping arrangements)
● Activities and programmes (e.g. education, health, community outreach, vocational training, outings, exchange visits)
● Information (e.g. storage of children’s personal information, recording of allegations of abuse, dissemination of information on where to get help)
● Organisational culture (e.g. consultation, communication systems, hierarchy, attitudes to organisational learning). This process will help you to analyse the risks more systematically and will also help to identify who is responsible for each area of work where risks to children have to be managed.
STEP 3 - Rank the risks
Rank the risks in terms of low, medium or high risk using the guiding questions:
● What / how bad would the consequences be? (This takes precedence over the second question as a deciding factor)
● What is the likelihood of these consequences occurring?
STEP 4 - Decide on next steps
Decide on next steps :- i) Do nothing (no action needed - low risk & benefits outweigh risks) ii) Monitor more closely for a set period in order to make a more informed decision (low risk) iii) Change activities / policies / plans / procedures to reduce risk (medium to high risk) iv) Stop doing the activity or procedure (this may include transferring an activity to another organisation that is better equipped to undertake it, or stopping altogether) (medium to high risk)