CHILD and ADULT SAFEGUARDING POLICY

PURPOSE

Safeguarding children and adults living in communities we serve is foundational to all Hromadahub  activities, programmes, and Lines of Ministry (relief, development, and advocacy). Central to everything we do is our commitment to do no harm to any child anywhere nor to adults living where Hromadahub has a programming presence. Safeguarding includes preventing, reporting, and responding to harm or abuse caused by Hromadahub  employees and affiliates of children and of adults living where Hromadahub  programming practice.Hromadahub  is committed to continuous improvement of safeguarding efforts which
emphasises prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) and other forms of violence or harm. We abhor any misuse of power, status, or trusted position for any sexual or other exploitative purposes. We endeavour to tackle this root cause of abuse in our prevention and training efforts.This Policy continues to emphasise the unique vulnerabilities and special protection requirements for children, along with the importance of preventing sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), in particular, among other forms of abuse of adults living where Hromadahub  has a programming presence.

SCOPE

This Policy applies to all Hromadahub  employees, programme and project offices as well as Board members. It is important that adequate policies and procedures be developed and adhered to in order to ensure safe, efficient operating conditions, thereby safeguarding employees and facilities.This Policy is focussed on protecting all children anywhere from harm caused by Hromadahub employees and affiliates and protecting adults from harm caused by Hromadahub employees or affiliates as part of Hromadahub programme presence.Hromadahub defines a child as anyone under the age of 18.The highest standards of safeguarding must be applied across all of Hromadahub’s programmes and offices and applied to all Hromadahub staff. The policy also applies to secondees, volunteers, interns, and third parties connected with Hromadahub, including partners, implementing partners, consultants, contractors and all visitors.This policy covers all forms of child abuse. Hromadahub recognises five categories of child abuse, which are 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.

STATEMENT

Hromadahub  has a zero tolerance towards incidents of violence or abuse against children or adults, including sexual exploitation or abuse, committed either by employees or others affiliated with our work. Hromadahub  takes necessary actions to respond to any suspected or known instances of abuse. Incident responses are centred on the child or adult survivor, prioritising their interests.3.1 Personal ResponsibilityAll staff, representatives of Hromadahub and third parties connected with Hromadahub must demonstrate the highest standards of behaviour and conduct towards children both in their private and professional lives. They have a responsibility to understand and promote the Child and Adult Safeguarding Policy. They must do all that they can to prevent, report and respond immediately to any child or adult  safeguarding concerns.‘Unacceptable behaviour and conduct’ refers to committing any acts of physical, emotional or sexual abuse, neglect or exploitation of a child and putting them at risk of deliberate or unintentional harm; non-compliance with policies and procedures and failing to take appropriate action to prevent or report any violations and poor safeguarding practice.
It is the responsibility of every individual contracted or associated with Hromadahub’s work to make sure incidents that breach the Hromadahub Child and Safeguarding Policy and other related policies are reported and recorded through the appropriate mechanisms.
           
3.2 Safer recruitmentHromadahub ensures its recruitment processes are rigorous, in line with statutory requirements and best practice guidance. These processes include the use of DBS or police checks where available on all employees, and checking three references.  
Hromadahub reserves the right to terminate contract negotiations or refuse to engage an individual, if appropriate criminal record checks are not undertaken, or cannot be undertaken for roles that are identified as working with or having contact with children.  This will also apply in the event where background and reference checks reveal that the person is not suitable to work with Hromadahub or has omitted key information.
All staff, volunteers and interns are required to complete mandatory Child Safeguarding training within a designated time period from joining the organisation and attendance is recorded. Hromadahub staff, volunteers and interns are required to complete the online child safeguarding awareness session within the first week of joining the organisation and attend a child safeguarding face-to-face induction training within 90 days of starting.3.3 Reporting and InvestigationsHromadahub is committed to a robust reporting and investigation procedure which leads to timely and effective reporting and investigation involving the right internal or external professionals.
All staff, partner staff, contractors, visitors and volunteers are mandated to report any suspected child safeguarding incidents or concerns to the Hromadahub Child and Adult Safeguarding Lead or Focal Point.
All suspected or actual incidents are to be reported as a matter of urgency and always within 24hrs of a person becoming aware of the incident.
Hromadahub Members are responsible for notifying donors as per their contractual requirements.
Incidents must be reported through the on-line reporting system which allows anyone working for Hromadahub and with an Hromadahub email address to report incidents in a safe and confidential manner and must be used by Hromadahub employees.
Non-Hromadahub staff can report verbally or in writing through local reporting procedures.
Where required Hromadahub’s legal department will report serious safeguarding incidents to the UA law enforcement agencies.
Taking no appropriate action when there is a concern regarding the welfare of a child and adult  is not an  option. Hromadahub staff, trustees and all others involved in the work of Hromadahub including but not limited to secondees, volunteers, interns, and third parties connected with Hromadahub  recognise that the failure to report  is a breach of the Child Safeguarding Policy.
All serious child or adult safeguarding cases will be reported to the Hromadahub Board at their board meetings.3.4 Online SafeguardingHromadahub believes that online safety is an essential part of safeguarding. Hromadahub will enable internet content filtering and evaluate other online safety mechanisms periodically to ensure that this policy and any linked policies are consistently applied.
Hromadahub will, as far as possible:
identify approaches to educate and raise awareness of online safety throughout our programs
enable all staff to work safely and responsibly, to role model positive behaviour online and to manage professional standards and practice when using technology;
identify clear procedures to use when responding to online safety concerns;
Hromadahub will develop, where appropriate, project interventions that can influence online behaviour change, teach resilience and promote prevention, in addition to providing general guidance on online safety where possible.3.5 Relevant Laws & Endorsements

This policy will be implemented in accordance with:
All relevant UA laws protecting children from abuse, violence and harm and those outlining measures for reporting known or alleged cases of abuse and
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), The UN Secretary General’s Bulletin:  Special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (ST/SGB/2003/13) and other applicable international treaties, laws, and conventions.3.6 Data Protection Compliance with data protection law and policies must be central to all our processing of children’s and adult’s personal data. All Hromadahub staff, representatives and third parties collecting children’s and adult’s data on Hromadahub’s behalf or in relation to any of our work must adhere to Hromadahub policies, procedure and practice or ensure their own mechanisms comply with legal requirements for data protection.

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DEFINITIONS

Child protection:
All measures taken to prevent and respond to abuse, neglect, exploitation and all other forms of violence against children.

Contractor:
Hromadahub regularly contracts with non-employee individuals and organisations to perform services for Hromadahub. These non-employee individuals and organisations may also be referred to as 'independent contractors', ‘consultants,’ or ‘vendors’, and are referred to in this document as ‘Contractors’. Contractors are distinguished from organisations with which Hromadahub partners to carry out programme activity.

Partner:
A partner organisation, for safeguarding purposes, is a Non-Governmental Organisation, Community-Based Organisation, for-profit enterprise, or other entity that has a written agreement with Hromadahub to implement a programme or activity on Hromadahub’s behalf or in collaboration with Hromadahub.
Safeguarding:
Preventing, reporting, and responding to harm or abuse by Hromadahub employees and affiliates, of any children anywhere and of any adults living where Hromadahub has a programming presence. Externally to Hromadahub, there is often no distinction made between child and adult safeguarding.Child safeguarding:
Preventing, reporting, and responding to harm4, abuse or exploitation of any child (< age 18) by a Hromadahub employee or affiliate5. The Partnership Management Policy on Child and Adult Safeguarding also requires reporting/referring child abuse cases affecting any child in Hromadahub programmes, even if not committed by Hromadahub employees or affiliates.Adult safeguarding:
Preventing, reporting, and responding to harm, abuse or exploitation of an adult living where Hromadahub has a programming presence (age 18+) by a Hromadahub employee or affiliates.
Includes Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), a frequently cited subset of safeguarding.Safeguarding incident:
Harm or risk of harm resulting from safeguarding misconduct or violations of this Policy to any child or to any adult living where Hromadahub has a programming presence,

Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA):
The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions.

Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA):
A term used by the United Nations and International Non-Governmental Organisation community to refer to measures taken to protect vulnerable people from sexual exploitation and abuse by humanitarian aid workers.

Volunteer:
A person who is neither employed by Hromadahub nor legally obliged to work for Hromadahub, but who on free will and without expectation of payment or other remuneration, contributes their time, skill, knowledge, efforts and expertise to Hromadahub’s work.

Hromadahub employees and affiliates:
Refers to the full range of people accountable to Hromadahub’s Safeguarding policies and protocols, including all employees, interns, volunteers, and Board members, as well as external parties, including visitors, community volunteers, contractors, partners, and others affiliated with partners or contractors.