child safeguarding policy unicef pdf

Summary. Safeguarding is defined as any measure performed to enhance the well-being of children and safeguard them from danger. Those who receive early support in tracing their relatives are more likely to be reunified. Growing up in an institution puts children at risk of physical, emotional and social harm. Child Protection Strategy Summary (French), 8. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified risks for children and reduced services to manage those risks. Safeguard staff: by avoiding ambiguous workplace situations and behaviours, which may be misinterpreted and potentially lead to false allegations against UA staff and associates. UA adopts solid recruitment procedures for the selection of all staff and associates, whether full time or part time, temporary or long-term. Accountability: UA has systems in place to document, monitor and report on the implementation of the CS Policy, as well as mechanisms to ensure that management and staff are committed to, and are undertaking their child safeguarding roles and responsibilities to the best of their capacity. UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. Lets put protection within reach of every child. This is enshrined in the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC), which constitutes the foundation of UNICEF and UNICEF Australias vision and mission. Child safeguarding is the paramount consideration in all our work and operations. UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage. The partner or contractor should also have documented procedures ensuring that cases are dealt with in a safe, confidential and fair manner. The CS Committee convenes on a bi-monthly basis (or more frequently, if required) and serves as the operational arm of the Executive CS Team. It must be noted that the CS Code of Conduct also serves to avoid ambiguous situations and behaviours in the workplace, which may be misinterpreted or misunderstood, and potentially lead to false allegations against UA staff and associates. UA partners and contractors are required to provide UA with evidence of their own partners and contractors child safeguarding systems, as well as document evidence of any support provided (for example, capacity building or support plans). No matter the circumstance, every child has the right to be protected from violence, exploitation and abuse. Violent conflicts, natural disasters and other crises force thousands of girls and boys from their parents and caregivers each year. 8.2. In the event that a staff or associate of UA, partners or contractors becomes aware of, witnesses or suspects such a case, he/she should report it immediately to relevant authorities. They could be victims or witnesses to a crime. English Romn About Child safeguarding consists of a framework of measures and conditions through which we limit the risks the children may be exposed to during their collaboration with organizations and during the activities involving the adult personnel of organizations. Safeguard children: by minimizing the risk of intentional or unintentional harm, abuse and exploitation of children within UA and UA-supported programmes, and adequately responding in the event that harm and abuse occur. Numerous factors contribute to the prevalence of the practice. specific module on. Violence against children can be physical, emotional or sexual. Describe how child safeguarding can be embedded in humanitarian coordination, and in particular the coordination of the education cluster/EiE working group. The child focused agencies operating in Sudan have reached an agreed definition of child protection: Activities that reduce exposure of children to abuse, neglect and exploitation and that assist them to achieve their basic rights to care, protection and justice Throughout all we do, we listen to young people to ensure their needs drive our programming and advocacy. UAs CS Focal Points, in turn, provide support and guidance to the UA staff member in question and remain available to provide direct technical assistance to partner and contractors to develop and implement the child safeguarding requirements. children and what is and is not acceptable behaviour how to recruit safely. Economic hardship exacts a toll on millions of families worldwide and in some places, it comes at the price of a childs physical safety. Learning objectives Describe what child safeguarding is and why it is important. Lesson 5: Reflection and commitment to action. For this reason, UA adopts the following child safeguarding measures: (a) Briefing: Prior (ideally 2 months) to the visit, all visitors will receive a briefing from UAs CS Focal Points on UAs CS Policy and CS Code of Conduct, including taking and using images and social media ; the context of the field visit; expected behaviours in relation to children encountered during the visit; and locally relevant incident reporting procedures (i.e. (d) Clearance for the Visit: After collecting and verifying all documentations and checks, the CS Focal Points will inform the UA staff member responsible for arranging the visit, if the visitor in question is cleared for the visit. The GEC is led by two Co-Coordinators supported by deployable Rapid Response Team members and technical experts, including an Accountability to Children specialist focusing on Child Safeguarding and Child Participation. And in some places, they fail to uphold children's most basic rights. This resource was developed as part of the Save the Children Alliance campaign to ensure dramatic changes to children's education in countries af-fected by conflict. Child Safeguarding Policy Page 4 of 8 Version: 1.1 SECTION 3 3.1 DEFINITIONS Term Definition Child Is defined as anyone under the age of 18 years1, unless otherwise specified in applicable law. Government- and community- It calls upon every sector of society not just governments to work together and invest together to prevent violence against children. Child Protection Strategy Summary (Arabic). Harmful cultural practices pose another grave risk in various parts of the world. Save the Children works in 120 countries. Our Global Safeguarding Policy reflects our commitment to respect, promote, uphold, and protect the rights of the child as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and in line with GFC values. But worldwide, an estimated 2.7 million children live in residential care and the actual figure is likely much higher. Children Education in Emergency online capacity development programme on Kaya e) On Site Brief: UAs partner or UNICEF Country Office where the visit will take place, will provide a n on-site briefing to visitors on the local context for children, local child safeguarding measures and procedures, and any other relevant child safeguarding, safety and health matter. Child Protection Strategy Technical Guidance Annex, 4. children - and with economic costs of violence against children estimated at $7 trillion per year. Above all, protecting children means protecting their physical, mental and psychosocial needs to safeguard their futures. It happens in every country, and in the places children should be most protected - their homes, schools and online. Protecting children from violence, exploitation and abuse is at the core of UNICEF's mandate. For that reason, the Centre may produce publications that do not necessarily reflect UNICEF policies or approaches on some topics . UA ensures that all staff and associates, as well as beneficiaries and targeted communities are made aware of the CS Code of Conduct and understand how to report breaches and cases of misconduct. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. Child Protection is the prevention of, and response to, exploitation, abuse, neglect, harmful practices and violence against children. UA looks out for charges, convictions or investigations related to violence against women or children, assault, domestic violence, child abuse of all forms, inappropriate social behaviour or similar. Violence (GBV) Risk Mitigation HPC Education Toolkit: Global Education Cluster Child Safeguarding notes: The (h) Requesting formal and valid documentation to confirm identity of candidate and proof of relevant qualifications and background. To fulfil that role effectively and with confidence, they are required to understand child safeguarding issues and risks, and maintain a good knowledge of UAs child safeguarding measures and procedures, internal roles and responsibilities, as well as broader attitudes and skills to keep children safe in operations and programmes. This is reiterated in all partnership and contract agreements, as is the need for all partners and contractors to comply with the child safeguarding requirements set out below. UNICEF and UNFPA work to tackle FGM through interventions in 17 countries. Progress, results achieved and lessons from 2020 under Goal Area 3; every childs right to protection from violence and exploitation. Hence, Child Protection and Safety procedures are in place and must be followed by all TIAD staff at all times. Candidates who were residing outside Australia prior to employment with UA, are required to provide a police background check (or similar) from any country where they resided for more than 6 months within 5 years prior to employment with UA. More specifically, the CS Committee is responsible for: Implementing decisions of the Executive CS Team (developing relevant implementation and monitoring plans); Advising on and developing relevant child safeguarding approaches and strategies; Ensuring and supporting the process of integrating child safeguarding practices into their respective teams (especially risk management); Regularly reviewing the CS Policy, as required. Yet in every society in which it occurs, FGM is a manifestation of entrenchedgender inequality. and Sexual Abuse (PSEA), 2003 (, The IASC Revised This training is designed to equip all UNICEF personnel with the key knowledge and skills they need to keep children safe from harm when engaged with UNICEF personnel, partners, programmes, and operations. They could be alleged, accused or recognized as having broken the law. The vast majority do so with professionalism and integrity. Introduction. Children experience insidious forms of violence, exploitation and abuse. Should you have a safeguarding concern, please contact our Designated Safeguarding Lead, Hayley Roffey, at hroffey@globalfundforchildren.org. All visitors to UA or UA-supported programs and activities conducted by partners (including outside Australia), such as donors, supporters, ambassadors, or any other person visiting UA or UA-supported programs for any purpose (hereon referred to as visitors). This module is also suitable for staff of organisations members of any cluster/sector/AoR. It happens in all countries and any setting in a child's home, community, schooloronline. (j) Evidence of compliance: at any stage, provide factual and documentary evidence to UA that the above requirements are in place and being implemented. Every child is protected from violence, exploitation, abuse, neglect and harmful practices, Progress, results achieved and lessons from 2022 in UNICEF humanitarian action, of public health emergency preparedness and response, Millions in need amid spiraling armed conflict and punishing climate crises, Nearly 3 million children need support in Haiti highest number on record, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Ishmael Beah visits Mexico to meet children affected by armed violence, More than 300,000 grave violations against children in conflict verified worldwide in past 18 years, Global polycrisis creating uphill battle to end child marriage UNICEF, Datasets and interactive visualizations of child protection indicators, Research on child protection and development from UNICEF-Innocenti, Intelligence from UNICEF's Office of Global Insight and Policy, Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICs), Protecting children in humanitarian action, UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation. Education Cluster Guide to Embedding Child Safeguarding in Education Others may be pulled away by parties involved in a violent conflict. UA has a Child Safeguarding Code of Conduct (CS Code of Conduct), which is an integral part of this Policy (in Annex 3), which: (a) Applies to (and is signed by) all staff and associates of UA (as well as partners, contractors and visitors); (b) Describes expected behaviours in relation to children, detailing what is appropriate and inappropriate conduct, prescribing professional boundaries and defining acceptable and unacceptable relationships; (c) Provides for disciplinary measures in the case of breach, which are determined based on the severity of the breach, and may include, but not limited to, suspension, dismissal, and reporting to authorities. As with the police background checks, if Working with Children Checks are not available or attainable in the local context, in discussion with UA, other locally relevant options with similar effect should be considered. This training should take about 90 minutes to complete. (h) Contractual provisions: include a provision in employment contracts, the CS Policy, a statutory declaration or other binding policy or document, which considers a breach of the CS Policy or CS Code of Conduct as an act of serious misconduct, resulting in disciplinary measures (including, dismissal, suspension or transfer to other duties). This is enshrined in the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC), which constitutes the foundation of UNICEF and UNICEF Australia's vision and mission. All donations of $2 or more are tax deductible. issues of child protection in education in Southern Sudan. Scaling up Child Protection: A Framework for the Future consists of two parts,Vol. detecting the potential for something to happen that will have an impact on children, staff and associates, or UA as an organisation); Assessing the risks (i.e. UA staff responsible for arranging/organising the field visit should inform the UA CS Focal Points ideally 2 months prior to the visit (or as soon as it is know the visit will take place) to confirm relevant procedures and develop a checklist, based on the context and nature of the visit. Visitors who reside outside Australia, are required to provide a police background check (or similar) from their country of residence. This module provides clarification on what child safeguarding (CSG) is and how it differs from child protection (CP) and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA), explores the child safeguarding responsibilities of cluster coordination teams and provides an overview of the responsibilities of individual organizations. (g) Incident Reporting Procedures: have clear and documented internal procedures for staff and associates to report witnessed, suspected or alleged cases of: (a) child abuse or exploitation, or breach of the CS Policy or Code of Conduct by another staff member or associate, partner or contractor, as well any visitor to a UA or UA supported programs. The views expressed are those of UNICEF Australia acknowledges the traditional owners of the lands on which we live and work and pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging. (b) Police Background Check: Ensure all staff and associates working on UA-supported/funded programs and activities undergo a formal policebackground check or locally relevant equivalent. In emergency settings, the risk of gender-based violence soars. f) Visitors: before any visit to a UA funded/supported program, Country Offices are asked to brief visitors on the context for children and families, the Offices child safeguarding procedures, and what is expected of them in terms of behaviour and interaction with children. Child protection systems connect children to vital social services and fair justice systems starting at birth. Thousands of children are recruited and used in armed conflicts across the world. It is embedded in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Sustainable Development Goals. This is a first crucial step in order to take action and prevent it from occurring. UAs, as well as UAs partner or UNICEF Country Office where the visit will take place). Shared responsibility: All UA, partner and contractors staff and associates must commit to and uphold the principles and practices of the CS Policy, in order for it to be meaningful and successful. Child Protection is universal: it is for all children everywhere, from low- to high-income countries. The learning opportunities include: The CS Focal Points, in collaboration with People and Culture Team, are responsible for: All UA partners and contractors (as defined in Section 4 of this Policy) have a shared duty of care and responsibility with UA to ensure children are safe in all programs and activities funded/supported by UA. But there have also been significant and positive changes in child protection in recent years. The Global Education Cluster is staffed by two Cluster Lead Agencies - UNICEF and Save the Children. You might also be interested in the following resources: For technical issues, you can contacthelp.edcluster@humanitarianresponse.info. Working closely with children and families, they identify and manage risks that children may be exposed to at home and elsewhere, especially those related to violence, abuse, exploitation, neglect, discrimination and poverty. Queen Victoria Building, NSW 1230. This paper explores the contribution Public Finance for Children (PF4C) can make to realizing child protection objectives. The CS Committee is responsible for monitoring the overall implementation of the CS Policy, developing relevant and documented monitoring systems and consequently reporting monitoring results to the Executive CS Team on an annual basis (or more frequently, if required). What is child . It also important that children and parents understand what is expected of UA staff and associates, as well as partners, contractors and visitors. Child marriage robs girls of their childhood and threatens their well-being. Safeguarding for children entails the following: safeguarding children against abuse and mistreatment, preventing harm to children's health or development, making sure that children grow up with safety and appropriate care, Child abuse: Child abuse is any deliberate behavior or action that endangers a child's health, survival, well-being and development. In areas affected by conflict, natural disasters and other emergencies, people trust aid workers to assist and protect them. In such cases, as a condition for commencing work on that project or activity, the staff member or associate will be required to obtain a Working with Children Check if the work involves working with children. Policy Statement The abuse and exploitation of children by humanitarian and development professionals is a real and concerning phenomenon. If police background checks are not available or attainable from that country, the Executive CS Team will consider alternatives, such as locally relevant options with similar effect (for example, but not limited to, a statutory declaration from local government authorities or from the candidate him/herself). UNICEF partner Country Offices are responsible for complying with the requirements above and providing documentary evidence of compliance, as well as openly requesting and accepting UAs support to strengthen child safeguarding systems and procedures in their offices and of their partners.

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child safeguarding policy unicef pdf