Accountability Alert Sierra Leone Child Protection Policy
To be read , understood and signed up to by each employee, Volunteer, contractor, or board member of AASL
Preamble;
Accountability Alert Sierra Leone (AA SL) is a non-partisan, independent and registered NGO with a mission to strengthen accountability within the development/NGO community in Sierra Leone. This mission was conceived in 2007, but became operational in November of 2009.
The initiative was founded by a group of professionals working in Sierra Leone and abroad, with extensive experience of community development programs through work in NGOs, the UN Agencies, the Government and Donor Institutions. This is a Team that has first-hand experience of the internal workings of rural communities , NGOs and their impact on beneficiaries. We have a detailed knowledge of problems affecting the development, and a sense of responsibility which drives it to work with others to find solutions.
The child protection policy of Accountability Alert Sierra Leone (AASL) is a guide to all staff, volunteers contractors, board members and visitors to understand what AASL considers to be appropriate and inappropriate behavior when interacting/dealing with children during their NGO work. It also gives guidelines to help staff minimize risky situations encountered as a result of their work. All AASL staff, volunteers, visitors and where appropriate consultants/ contractors are expected to read and adhere to the guidance in this Child Protection Policy.
AASL AS A SAFE ORGANIZATION FOR CHILDREN
In a bid to uphold protection policies for children, AASL aims to create an organisation that is safe for children but is also aware of the need to keep child protection concerns proportionate and to guard against over-Obsessive attitudes. Child abuse thrives in closed and secretive atmospheres. AASL’s best protection is to create an open and aware culture where people are not afraid to speak about their concerns. The commitment to protecting children must be communicated throughout the organisation.
The procedures and guidelines for implementing the policy are outlined in the following:
Program Planning- as an organization that respect the rights of children, AASL will
• Incorporate into its project design activities that focus on Child protection in the framework of its Child Protection Policy.
Child Participation/Engagement
• AASL deems it as a central component of child protection that all children are involved in their own protection. Information on child protection contact people and important police and social services contacts are displayed openly in field offices.
• Intentionally designs programs in projects to move from child welfare approach to Child Rights approach and engage children (age appropriate) in program planning, implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation and also to raise their voices against decisions that affect their lives.
Watchdog statement/ Whistle Blowing Statement
• AASL is keen and firm that each employee, volunteer or visitor is obliged to report any suspected or confirmed case of child abuse. This obligation is known as the whistle blowing statement and failure to report will result in disciplinary action. Signing of the statement of commitment is each staff, volunteer, visitors and where appropriate consultants/contractor commitment to do this.
Penalty
• Personnel including staff, volunteers, interns and consultants will establish an atmosphere conducive for the development of children through their word, deed and demeanor. This includes listening to children and showing respect to them.
Penalty such as corporal punishment is not meant for children and therefore AASL has a clear policy statement about there being no use of corporal punishment. It can be expected that on occasion that children’s behaviour may be difficult to manage. AASL provides guidelines on how to discipline children without using corporal punishment.
Follow Up
• All AASL staff, volunteers, visitors and where appropriate consultants/contractors should understand that AASL is to undertaking a full child protection investigation should any staff member, volunteer, visitor and where appropriate consultant/contractors be suspected of child abuse.
The following are guidelines to staff, volunteers, visitors and where appropriate consultants/contractors on how to reduce risky situation, and what AASL considers to be acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.
How Risky Situations should be minimized
AASL deems it important that all staff, volunteers, visitors and where appropriate contractors/consultants understand what they can do to reduce their exposure to risky situations. The following are guidelines on how to do this:
• AASL tries to ascertain staff, volunteers, visitors and consultants/contractors’ aptitude, interest and sensitivity in working with children and their previous work with children.
• AASL staff, volunteers, visitors and consultants/contractors try to avoid placing themselves in a compromising or vulnerable position.
• Try to be accompanied by a second adult whenever possible.
• AASL staff and others should meet with a child in a central, public location whenever possible.
• AASL staff should immediately document the circumstances of any situation which occurs which may be subject to misinterpretation by a third party.
• Avoid doing something that could be misinterpreted by a third party.
AASL staff, volunteers, visitors and consultants/contractors should never
1. Condone or participate in behavior that is illegal or unsafe.
AASL staff, volunteers, visitors and consultants/contractors should try not to
1. Be alone with a single child, including in the following situations: in a car, overnight, in your home, or the home of a child.
2. Show favoritism or spend excessive amounts of time with one child.
AASL staff, volunteers, visitors and consultants/contractors should
1. Wait for appropriate physical contact such as holding hands and hugging, to be initiated by the child.
2. Ask permission from children before taking photographs of child/children except under exceptional circumstances, based on the child/children’s best interest, where this might not be possible or desirable.
Behavior to Encourage
In AASL’s working domain, it is important for staff, volunteers, visitors and where appropriate consultants/contractors to understand and promote appropriate behavior. The following are behaviors that AASL would promote:
1. Be aware of the power imbalance between an adult and a child, and avoid taking any advantage this may provide.
2. Treat all children with respect and dignity.
3. Listen to children.
4. Stop any interaction with a child if a child says no, or if the child appears uncomfortable with the interaction.
5. Dress in a culturally appropriate way.
6. Allow children to dress in a culturally appropriate way.
BEHAVIOR AASL CANNOT ACCEPT
AASL as an organization that seeks to promote child rights in the sub-region prohibits distinct behavior against children within its confines of operations and such behavior are as follows:
Behavior that are physically oriented that could undermine the protection of the child.
AASL staff, volunteers, visitors and consultants/contractors should
Never:
1. Expose children to hazardous work
2. Hire under-age house help or place a child in exploitative labor
3. Permit children to enter physically dangerous environment, e.g. allow children to play unsupervised in rivers.
4. Hit or otherwise physically assault or physically abuse a child, e.g. slap, pinch or hit.
5. Use the threat of corporal punishment as a form of discipline.
Emotional Oriented Behavior
AASL staff, volunteers, visitors and consultants/contractors should
Never:
1. Act in any way that intends to frighten a child.
2. Encourage any inappropriate attention seeking behavior, such as tantrums by a child.
3. Show discrimination of race, tribe, culture, age, gender, disability, religion, sexuality, or political persuasion.
4. Perpetrate psychological and emotional abuse
5. Use language that will mentally or emotionally harm or upset a child.
6. Suggest inappropriate behavior or relations of any kind.
7. Act in any way that intends to embarrass shame, humiliate or degrade a child.
Sexual Oriented Behavior
AASL staff, volunteers, visitors and consultants/contractors should
Never:
1. Touching a child’s genitals or private parts for sexual purposes
2. Making a child touch someone else’s genitals or play sexual games
3. Putting objects or body parts (like fingers, tongue or penis) inside the vagina, in the mouth or in the anus of a child for sexual purposes
4. Photograph an undressed child
5. Comment on a adolescents developing body in a suggestive or coarse manner
6. Use sexually suggestive language towards a child
7. Engage a child/adolescent in prostitute
8. Develop physical/sexual relationships with a child under the age of 18 years
9. Behave physically in a manner that is inappropriate or sexually provocative
10. Touch a child in a sexually inappropriate way
11. Engage in or allow sexually provocative games with children to take place
12. Do things of a personal nature that a child could do for him/herself, including dressing, bathing, and grooming.
13. Expose children to pornography
14. Showing pornography to a child
15. Deliberately exposing an adult’s genitals to a child
16. Photographing a child in sexual poses
17. Encouraging a child to watch or hear sexual acts
18. Inappropriately watching a child undress or use the bathroom
Neglectful Behavior
AASL staff, volunteers, visitors and consultants/contractors should
Never:
1. Deny a child necessary food, medical care, shelter, clothing or attention.
Peer Abuse among Children
Peer abuse is common among children and has a tendency of early exposure of mates to activities that affect child protection. Peer Abuse is simple refers to the emotional, physical and/or sexual abusive behavior occurring between children. It is important to handle peer abuse sensitively, as this behavior may be caused by personal traumatic experiences. However, it is important to address the problem and protect the child that is being abused. All staff, volunteers, visitors and where appropriate consultants/contractors have a duty of care to raise a concern with the appropriate person if they witness of suspect peer abuse. As staff, volunteers, visitors and where possible consultants/contractors of AASL is incumbent upon not to:
1. Allow children to engage in sexually provocative games with each other
And also
1. Be aware of the potential for peer abuse.
2. Encourage AASL partners to develop special measures/supervision to protect younger and especially vulnerable children, e.g. children with disabilities, children without supportive families.
3. Avoid placing children in high-risk peer situations e.g. unsupervised mixing of older and younger children.
Physical safe Environment
As staff, volunteers, visitors and where possible consultants/contractors of AASL should:
1. Be aware of the environment and any potential dangers e.g. broken furniture, loose electrical wires.
2. Respond immediately to any danger whenever possible by either removing the danger or isolating the danger from people and report to an appropriate person in order to resolve the situation.
3. Ensure that all reasonable measures are taken to ensure the physical environment is a safe place for children to be.
Staff Status: Board member, Employee, volunteer, Contractor, consultant
Name: ……………………………………………………….
Status/rank…………………………………………………..
Signature———————————– Dated…………………………………………