PARTNERSHIP POLICY: HEART TO HEART ORPHAN CHILDREN CENTER
Child and Adult Safeguarding
APPROVED BY: Heart to Heart Orphans Children Center Board RESPONSIBILITY: Ministry Strategy
POLICY OWNER: Heart to Heart Orphans Children Center Org POLICY DELEGATE: Organization Director
DATE ISSUED: 13 JANUARY 2024 LAST DATE REVISED: 13 MAY 2024
LAST REVIEW DATE: 18 MAY 2024 NEXT REVIEW DATE: AUGUST 2024
DOCUMENT NUMBER: H2H/01/01 VERSION NUMBER: 1.0.0
PUBLICATION STATUS: [Public]
Heart to Heart Orphans Children Center’s safeguarding principles are grounded in our commitment to build community capacity and strengthen local and national systems that protect orphans and
vulnerable families. All people working for, or affiliated with, Heart to Heart Organization have a responsibility for safeguarding.
Heart to Heart Organization is committed to the following:
2.1 As a Christian based organization, Heart to Heart Organization emphasizes the unique vulnerabilities and special protection requirements for orphans. We also emphasize the importance of preventing sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), in particular, among other forms of abuse of adults.
2.2 Safeguarding orphans and families which we serve is foundational to all Heart to Heart Organization activities, programs, and lines of ministry (relief, development, and advocacy). Central to everything we do is our commitment to first do no harm to orphans nor to families living where Heart to Heart Orphans children center has a programming presence. We uphold the best interests of orphans as a primary consideration in all actions and decisions.
2.3 Heart to Heart Orphans Children center has zero tolerance toward incidents of violence or abuse against orphans or vulnerable families, including sexual exploitation or abuse, committed either by
employees or others affiliated with our work. Heart to Heart Orphans takes necessary actions to respond to any suspected or known instances of abuse. Incident responses are centered on the orphans or adult survivor, prioritizing their interests.
2.4 Heart to Heart Orphans children center establishes and maintains safeguarding policies and systems to protect all orphans as well as families living where Heart to Heart Organization has a programming
presence from abuse, exploitation or harm by Heart to Heart Organization employees or affiliates. Safeguarding requirements are reviewed regularly at national, regional and global levels, and are subject to internal audits. Each Heart to Heart Organization entity maintains a process to document safeguarding incident reports and responses, and provides required data into the global system.
2.5 Heart to Heart Organization promotes continuous improvement of safeguarding efforts which emphasize 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 endeavor to tackle this root cause of abuse in our prevention and training efforts.
2.6 Heart to Heart Organization ensures that safeguarding requirements are integrated throughout the recruitment and employment cycle, by ensuring strong checks are in place at the start of employment and by regular training and performance management— reinforced by robust codes of conduct and standards.
2.7 Heart to Heart Organization recognizes the unique risks associated with Sponsorship and Disaster Management programming which requires additional measures to prevent abuse by Heart to Heart Organization employees and affiliates, and takes action to put context specific protections in place.
2.8 Heart to Heart Organization ensures that when engaging external parties (e.g., partners and sponsors) who will have access to orphans and adult program participants, rigorous processes are in place to apply appropriate safeguarding standards to them.
2.9 Heart to Heart Organization implements and supports rigorous reporting and complaints mechanisms to ensure accountability and address any misconduct that occurs under the banner of Heart to Heart Organization. Concerns are taken seriously and acted upon, through confidential reporting mechanisms (including a whistleblowing process) which protect reporters’ safety. Retaliation against good faith reporters is not tolerated. Heart to Heart Organization actively promotes and advertises its reporting.
1 Convention on the Rights of the Child, General Comment 14: http://www2.ohchr.org/English/bodies/crc/docs/GC/CRC_C_GC_14_ENG.pdf mechanisms to staff, affiliates, community members, and people affected by emergencies.
2.10 Boards of Directors will be engaged in the safeguarding process of the office they govern, monitoring progress against key gaps in the safeguarding system and providing appropriate oversight of risks and mitigating measures.
2.11 Heart to Heart Organization management is authorized to develop Partnership Management policies and guidelines as required to give effect to this Partnership Policy.
3. DEFINITIONS
Child: Any person below the age of 18. This Policy covers interactions by Heart to Heart Organization employees and affiliates with all children anywhere (not only program participants).
Child protection: All measures taken to prevent and respond to abuse, neglect, exploitation and all other forms of violence against children. Child Protection is a Heart to Heart Organization, together with child participation.
“Community with whom Heart to Heart works” or “living in a Heart to Heart Programming Area”: Heart to Heart Organization uses a broad working definition of these terms to ensure that any individuals who may be subject to power imbalance with Heart to Heart staff, affiliates, or programming are protected through this policy.
Partner: A partner organization, for safeguarding purposes, is a non-Governmental Organization, CommunityBased Organization, for-profit enterprise, or other entity that has a written agreement with Heart to Heart Org to implement a program or activity on Heart to Heart Organization’s behalf or in collaboration with Heart to Heart Organization. The partner may or may not receive
funding from Heart to Heart Org.
Safeguarding: Preventing, reporting, and responding to harm or abuse by Heart to Heart Org employees and affiliates, of any orphans anywhere and of any family living where Heart to Heart Org has a programming presence. Externally to Heart to Heart Organization, there is often no distinction made between orphan and adult safeguarding.
Orphan safeguarding: Preventing, reporting, and responding to harm, abuse or exploitation of any orphan (< age 18) by a Heart to Heart Organization employee or affiliate.
Child safeguarding: Preventing, reporting, and responding to harm, abuse or exploitation of any child living where Heart to Heart Org has a programming presence (< age 18) by a Heart to Heart Org employee or affiliate. 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 toward any orphan or to any family living where Heart to Heart Org 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 Heart to Heart nor legally obliged to work for Heart to Heart Org, but who on free will and without expectation of payment or other remuneration, contributes their time, skill, knowledge, efforts and expertise to Heart to Heart Org’s work. ‘Volunteer’ includes a ‘Business volunteer’ in a Heart to Heart Org office or affiliate; a ‘supporter volunteer’ without physical contact with sponsored children or their records; ‘community volunteer’ who volunteers on behalf of their community to fulfil the community’s responsibilities in an ongoing Heart to Heart project; and volunteers or ‘incentive workers’ from groups or communities targeted for humanitarian assistance.
Heart to Heart employees and affiliates: Refers to the full range of people accountable to Heart to Heart’s Safeguarding policies and protocols, including all employees, interns, volunteers, and Board/Advisory Council members, as well as external parties, including visitors, community volunteers, contractors, partners, and others affiliated with partners or contractors.
Optional Provision: (to be used as needed)
4. BACKGROUND
The Partnership Management Policy on Orphans and Families Safeguarding previously has been issued under the authority of the Partnership Policies on Child Well Being and Code of Conduct. This Partnership Policy on Orphans and Families Safeguarding provides additional authority for that Partnership Management Policy and other Heart to Heart Orphans children center management actions to implement the requirements herein.