Policy and Procedures for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults

Caritas Ukraine takes responsibility and confirms two main obligations:

• to protect children and vulnerable adults from any potential harm that may be caused in the process of charitable activities of member organizations of the Caritas Ukraine network;
• to protect children and vulnerable adults from violations of their rights and freedoms, in particular from all forms of violence, by third parties (outside the Caritas environment).

The Policy and Procedures for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults includes all the most important principles, standards and algorithms that operate in the organizations of the Caritas network:

• general provisions on purpose, terms, scope and principles;
• standards for the protection of children and vulnerable adults in the Caritas Ukraine network:

• obligations for safety and protection;
  • duties of personnel and affiliated persons;
  • prohibition of sexual acts;
  • prohibition of abuse, violence and exploitation;
  • rules for organizing the work and volunteering of children and vulnerable adults;
  • features of protecting children and vulnerable adults during wartime;
  • rules for the use of information and communication technologies;
  • rules for photo and video shooting and materials;
  • requirements for video surveillance;

• description of measures taken by Caritas to prevent violations against children and vulnerable adults in the network’s work, which also includes:

• safe recruitment and human resources management procedures;
  • terms of cooperation with affiliated persons;
  • requirements for organizing projects, programs and events involving children;
  • measures to raise awareness about the protection of children and vulnerable adults;

• algorithms for recognizing and responding to cases of violations against children and vulnerable adults:

• signs of violence and conditions for detecting violations;
  • rules for receiving and responding to reports of violence against children and vulnerable adults;
  • reporting violations of the Safeguarding system and handling sensitive appeals;

• requirements for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the policy;
• rules regarding responsibility for adhering to the Policy and Procedures for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults, as well as for their violation;
• requirements for information protection and confidentiality.

For effective implementation of the Policy and Procedures for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults, Caritas Ukraine has developed additional tools for conducting safety briefings:

→ Children’s version of the policy and procedures for the protection of children and vulnerable adults (book “Safe about dangerous”) link to resource ;

→ Synopsis for conducting safety briefings; 

→ Training on the Policy and Procedures for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults (with pre- and post-testing) link to resource;

→ Training for parents link to resource, whose children receive services or assistance in our network (with pre- and post-testing).