Women of Grace Safeguarding Policy
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to protect people, particularly children, adults who are survivors or at-risk of FGM and beneficiaries of assistance, from any harm that may be caused due to their coming into contact with Women of Grace. This includes harm arising from:
The conduct of all staff or personnel associated with Women of Grace
The design and implementation of Women of Grace programmes and activities
The policy lays out the commitments made by Women of Grace and informs staff and associated personnel of their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding.
This policy does not cover:
Safeguarding concerns in the wider community not perpetrated by Women of Grace or associated personnel.
What is safeguarding?
In the UK, safeguarding means protecting people's health, wellbeing, and human rights, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse, and neglect.
In our sector, we understand it to mean protecting people, including children and at-risk adults, from harm that arises from coming into contact with our staff or programmes. Further definitions relating to safeguarding are provided in the glossary below.
Scope
All staff contracted by Women of Grace
Associated personnel whilst engaged with work or visits related to Women of Grace, including but not limited to the following: consultants; volunteers; contractors; programme visitors including journalists, celebrities and politicians.
Policy Statement
Women of Grace believes that everyone we come into contact with, regardless of age, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation or ethnic origin has the right to be protected from all forms of harm, abuse, neglect and exploitation.
Women of Grace will not tolerate abuse and exploitation by staff or associated personnel. This policy addresses the following areas of safeguarding in particular: child safeguarding, adult safeguarding, and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse.
Women of Grace commits to addressing safeguarding throughout its work, through the three pillars of prevention, reporting and response.
Prevention
Women of Grace Responsibilities
Women of Grace will:
Ensure all staff have access to, are familiar with, and know their responsibilities within this policy
Design and undertake all its programmes and activities in a way that protects people from any risk of harm that may arise from their coming into contact with Women of Grace. This includes the way in which information about individuals in our programmes is gathered and communicated
Implement stringent safeguarding procedures when recruiting, managing and deploying staff and associated personnel
Ensure staff receive training on safeguarding at a level commensurate with their role in the organisation
Follow up on reports of safeguarding concerns promptly and according to due process
Require DBS checks for staff, trustees and associated personnel and volunteers who work with children or vulnerable adults and ensure that these are carried out at least every five years
Keep a record of DBS checks, the certificate and the date it was issued and checked. All data will be kept and recorded in line with Women of Grace’s data protection policy
Consult with the Safeguarding Focal Officer if any DBS certificate flags any concerns
Staff responsibilities
Women of Grace staff, volunteers and associated personnel should:
Treat all persons that they come into contact with in the course of their work with respect and dignity;
Be aware of any personal information and sensitive data that they come into contact with and understand their responsibility to deal with this data in accordance with Women of Grace Privacy Policy
Be alert to risks such as abuse, exploitation and trafficking and look out for signs of these risks;
Respect everyone’s right to personal privacy
Understand that in their role they may come into contact with adults or children in a position of vulnerability and that this needs to be met with respect, caution and an appropriate level of patience;
Be conscious of language and behaviour that could be triggering for others, particularly adults and children who are not yet diagnosed, and adapt such behavior accordingly;
Try to ensure that one’s actions cannot be misunderstood or cause offence and are accepted within the relationship of trust;
Always consider the appropriateness of the situation if there is potential to be alone with a child or vulnerable adult
If it is necessary to supervise a child in private then try to ensure another member of staff of associated personnel who is close by is aware that this is happening; and try to ensure that if any physical or medical needs are attended to that this is done in the presence of another adult
Women of Grace staff, volunteers and associated personnel should not:
Be intimidating to any person through tone of voice, language or body language;
Touch any adult or child physically unless it is necessary from the needs of the adult or child and, in any case, without following proper precautions and safeguarding guidance in doing so;
Make or allow jokes about any sensitive subject matters or engage in behaviour that could be interpreted as not taking matters seriously;
Engage in any sexual relationships with beneficiaries of assistance, since they are based on inherently unequal power dynamics; and invade the privacy of any adult or child attending workshops or clinics
Additionally, Women of Grace staff, volunteers and associated personnel are obliged to:
Contribute to creating and maintaining an environment that prevents safeguarding violations and promotes the implementation of the Safeguarding Policy
Be vigilant about safeguarding and report any concerns or suspicions regarding safeguarding violations by a Women of Grace staff member or associated personnel to the Safeguarding Focal point or their line manager
Enabling reports
Women of Grace will ensure that safe, appropriate, accessible means of reporting safeguarding concerns are made available to staff and the communities we work with. Women of Grace will also accept complaints from external sources such as members of the public, partners, and official bodies. Upon receiving reports of safeguarding concerns Women of Grace will consult with at least two trustees to determine the appropriate response.
How to report a safeguarding concern
Staff members who have a complaint or concern relating to safeguarding should report it immediately to their Safeguarding Focal Point or line manager. If the staff member does not feel comfortable reporting to their Safeguarding Focal Point or line manager (for example if they feel that the report will not be taken seriously, or if that person is implicated in the concern) they may report to any other appropriate staff member. For example, this could be a senior manager or a member of the HR Team.
Breach of the safeguarding policy
Any breach of this policy will be taken seriously and may result in disciplinary action being taken. Any conduct in breach of this policy:
For Women of Grace staff: may be gross misconduct, will be addressed in accordance with Women of Grace’s disciplinary procedures and may result in summary dismissal; and
For associated personnel: may result in the termination of their relationship with Women of Grace
Please get in touch with our Safeguarding Lead if you would like to report a safeguarding concern.
Valerie Lolomari
Founder & CEO and Safeguarding Lead
Response
Women of Grace will follow up safeguarding reports and concerns according to policy and procedure, and legal and statutory obligations. Women of Grace will apply appropriate disciplinary measures to staff found in breach of policy. Women of Grace will offer support to survivors of harm caused by staff or associated personnel, regardless of whether a formal internal response is carried out (such as an internal investigation).
Confidentiality
It is essential that confidentiality is maintained at all stages of the process when dealing with safeguarding concerns. Information relating to the concern and subsequent case management should be shared on a need-to-know basis only and should be kept secure at all times.
Associated policies
Code of Conduct
Glossary of Terms
Beneficiary of Assistance
Someone who directly receives goods or services from [NGO]'s programme. Note that misuse of power can also apply to the wider community that the NGO serves, and also can include exploitation by giving the perception of being in a position of power. Child A person below the age of 18 Harm Psychological, physical and any other infringement of an individual's rights Psychological harm Emotional or psychological abuse, including (but not limited to) humiliating and degrading treatment such as bad name-calling, constant criticism, belittling, persistent shaming, solitary confinement and isolation Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA)
The term is used by the humanitarian and development community to refer to the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse of affected populations by staff or associated personnel. The term derives from the United Nations Secretary General's Bulletin on Special Measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (ST/SGB/ 2003/13)
Safeguarding
In the UK, safeguarding means protecting people's health, wellbeing, and human rights, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect. In our sector, we understand it to mean protecting people, including children and at-risk adults, from harm that arises from coming into contact with our staff or programmes.
One donor definition is as follows:
4 NHS 'What is Safeguarding? Easy Read' 2011 Safeguarding means taking all reasonable steps to prevent harm, particularly sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment from occurring; to protect people, especially vulnerable adults and children, from that harm; and to respond appropriately when harm does occur. This definition draws from our values and principles and shapes our culture. It pays specific attention to preventing and responding to harm from any potential, actual or attempted abuse of power, trust, or vulnerability, especially for sexual purposes. Safeguarding applies consistently and without exception across our programmes, partners and staff. It requires proactively identifying, preventing and guarding against all risks of harm, exploitation and abuse and having mature, accountable and transparent systems for a response, reporting and learning when risks materialise. Those systems must be survivor-centred and also protect those accused until proven guilty. Safeguarding puts beneficiaries and affected persons at the centre of all we do.
Sexual abuse
The term 'sexual abuse' means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions.
Sexual exploitation
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. This definition includes human trafficking and modern slavery.
Further reading for Women of Grace staff & associated personnel:
The Mental Capacity Act 2005:https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/9/contents
The Care Act 2014:https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/23/contents/enacted
Policy created: November 2021
Policy updated: February 2023
Next review date: February 2025