Child Protection Policy
1. Introduction
1.1.
Overview
Child protection or
safeguarding is the responsibility that must be borne by organisations through
their staff, operations, and programmes to ensure that they do no harm to
children; including the risk of exposure to harm and abuse, and that any
concerns are reported to the appropriate authorities. Throughout their work,
Human Rights Directorate (hereinafter referred to as “HRD”) employees,
employees of partner organisations, volunteers and other representatives may
engage with children, in which case, this policy applies.
HRD recognises it has
an obligation to put in place all reasonable safeguarding measures to ensure,
as far as possible, the safety and protection of children with whom it works,
is in contact with, or who are affected by its work and operations.
1.2.
Purpose
This Child Protection Policy
(the “Policy”) shall serve as guidance to ALL on how they should
engage with children when working for, on behalf of, or in partnership with
HRD. It also helps HRD make sure that employees and other representatives are
protected. It is intended to create a common understanding of safeguarding
issues, develop good practices, and increase accountability.
1.3.
Scope
This Policy
demonstrates how HRD will meet its obligations and reassure employees,
volunteers, partners, and members of the public:
a.
On
what they can expect HRD to do to protect and safeguard children from harm
within its limits;
b.
That
they are able to safely voice any concerns through an established procedure;
c.
That
all reports of abuse or potential abuse are dealt with in a serious and
effective manner;
d.
That
there is an efficient recording and monitoring system in place;
e.
That
employees, volunteers, contractors, consultants, suppliers, and partners take
appropriate action on safeguarding.
1.3.
Policy Statement
HRD recognises that it
has a duty of care to children and to put in place reasonable measures to
ensure, as far as possible, the safety and wellbeing of children with whom it
works, contacts, or affects, including the responsibility to help HRD partners or
other external affiliates to meet the minimum requirements on protection. As a
result, HRD shall ensure that its programmes, operations, staff, and partners
do not put children at risk of harm and shall strive to respond appropriately
when concerns and incidents arise. HRD is committed to preventing any harm to
children and fostering a culture of child protection based on the “best
interests of the child” principle, as described in the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which shall guide all decisions
related to children the HRD works and interacts with in all settings, even in
cases of lacunas within this Policy.
HRD respects
confidentiality and has a responsibility to protect sensitive personal data.
Information should only be shared and handles on a need-to-know basis.
Only individuals who have legitimate reasons to access the information are
allowed to receive it.
HRD commits to
monitoring the implementation of this Policy, which may be reviewed from time
to time as the Director deems necessary.
HRD recognises that no
single organisation can safeguard children by working in isolation, and thus,
it commits to work with other organisations, agencies, and groups as necessary
and appropriate in a coordinated manner.
This Policy shall
operate within the framework of international and national laws and policies
regarding child protection, and nothing within this policy shall be interpreted
to be incompatible with such laws and policies. Should a provision of this
Policy be found to be incompatible, this shall not affect other provisions.
2. Responsibilities
2.1.
Definitions and Applicability
All terms within this Policy
shall be defined similarly to, where applicable, the definitions contained in
the UNCRC, the Commissioner for Children Act (Chapter 462 of the laws of
Malta), and the Minor Protection (Alternative Care) Act (Chapter 602 of the
laws of Malta) unless otherwise defined in this Policy or the context otherwise
requires.
For the purposes of
this Policy:
· “personnel”
shall be defined as anyone who works for or on behalf of HRD, and shall include
directly employed staff, consultants, volunteers, interns, either in a paid or
unpaid capacity, contractors and sub-contractors, partner organisations and all
visitors to HRD work programmes, events, and offices, unless otherwise stated
or implied or the context otherwise requires.
· “Relevant
activity” shall be defined as any work directly or indirectly involving
contact with children or possessing the ability to influence or affect
children.
·
“protection”
shall be defined as protection of children from harm.
· “partner”
shall include partner organisations, both governmental and non-governmental,
contractors and sub-contractors, and suppliers engaged with HRD, and visitors
to HRD work programmes, events, and offices.
· “harm”
shall be defined as and deemed to include, but not limited to, discrimination, violence,
abuse, exploitation, harassment, exploitation, and neglect directed towards
children.
2.2.
Obligations
HRD shall:
·
Adopt
and harness a zero-tolerance approach to harm against children;
·
Commit
to uphold the rights of the child and maintain as primary consideration in all
actions related to regulated activities the best interests of the child;
·
Ensure
that all HRD employees are aware of the risk of harm against children, relevant
local laws, and their responsibilities and obligations towards children,
including how they are expected to interact with children and what to do in
case any concerns about a child’s safety are suspected, observed, or reported;
·
Communicate
this Policy to all relevant personnel through a variety of approaches including
inclusion in induction and/or onboarding, online education sessions, and
mainstreaming into programming tools across sectors;
·
Require
that all HRD employees engaged in relevant activity certify that they have
read, understood, and shall adhere to this Policy;
·
Ensure
safeguarding and protection measures will be applied by all HRD employees
engaged in relevant activity, including vetting of new recruits, create
awareness of child protection for all employees, conducting risk analyses of
all HRD programmes and developing action plans for programmes to improve child
protection, and ensure children participate in decisions that affect them to
the fullest extent possible, and systematically adopting child-friendly
approaches that are easily understood by and accessible to children;
·
Ensure
that all personnel report any concerns relating to harm against children, have
knowledge of and access to appropriate referral mechanisms, and are clear on
what steps to take where concerns arise regarding harm against children;
·
Ensure
that appropriate action is taken to support and protect children where concerns
arise regarding possible harm, including implementing effective investigation
processes, supporting survivors as appropriate, and holding people accountable;
·
Ensure
procedural fairness by striving to promptly determine whether allegation of
violation of this Policy by employees raise legitimate concerns and warrant an
investigation. Where allegations are substantiated, disciplinary procedures
shall be instituted up to and including dismissal. Due process shall be
followed that allows those accused full and adequate opportunity to defend
themselves. Throughout the process, HRD shall adopt a survivor-centred approach
to ensure the safety, confidentiality, respect, and non-discrimination of
children and wherever possible respect their wishes;
·
Expect
that partners adhere to the general principles contained in this Policy,
failure of which may lead to immediate termination of any agreement or
contract.
All HRD personnel shall:
·
Read,
understand, and adhere to the Policy, and sign a form attesting to this if they
are or will be substantially engaged in relevant activity;
·
Strive
to promote a zero-tolerance approach to harm against children in all working
environments;
·
Place
the safety and welfare of children above all other considerations;
·
Report
any concerns they may have about the behaviour of an HRD personnel engaged in
relevant activity;
·
In
a one-to-one situation with a child, where privacy and confidentiality are
important, try to make sure that another adult knows the contact is taking
place and why. If possible, ensure that another adult is in sight and that the
child knows another adult is around.
HRD personnel shall
not:
·
Harass,
hit or otherwise physically assault, abuse, exploit, or neglect, in any way,
shape or form, a child, including engaging in behaviour or using language that
is reasonably perceived to be intended to shame, humiliate, belittle, degrade,
discriminate, or otherwise perpetrate any form of psychological abuse or
otherwise causing harm to children, be it in-person or online;
·
Condone,
or participate in, behaviour which is violent, abusive, harrying, exploitative,
discriminatory, illegal, or unsafe, or otherwise causing harm to children;
·
Develop,
encourage, or fail to take action on relationships with children which could be
reasonably deemed violent, sexual, exploitative, or abusive, or otherwise
causing harm to children;
·
Act
in ways intended or reasonably likely to be violent, inappropriate, or sexually
provocative, or otherwise causing harm to children;
·
Agree
with a child to keep a secret which has implications for their safety or the
safety of other children;
·
Allow
unsupervised time between personnel of an HRD project and a child during a
programme or event;
·
Fail
to take reasonable actions to provide referrals for appropriate services to a
child who reports or who has someone else report, or has signs of, harm;
·
Use
any computers, mobile phones, video cameras, cameras, or social media involving
children in any way that harms a child, including accessing child exploitation
material through any medium at any time, regardless of whether it is during
working hours and/or on HRD issued electronic equipment;
·
Take
a photo or video of a child, posting children’s images without the necessary
permissions, depict children in ways that are not dignified or when children
are not properly clothed, and fail to adhere to the HRD protection standards
for photography, images, and social media;
·
Undertake
activities or programmes with children without the express permission of their
parents of guardians, or relevant authorities for separated or unaccompanied
children;
·
Work
alone with a child somewhere that is secluded or where they cannot be observed
by others;
·
Leave
a child alone in a room or at an event when a child or parent or guardian has
expressed reservations about potential risks from HRD personnel.
Compliance with this Policy
is mandatory for all HRD personnel who are or will be engaged in relevant
activity.
HRD expects
partners engaged in relevant activity to:
·
Formally
acknowledge and comply with the key principles of this Policy;
·
Immediately
notify HRD if they suspect any personnel, be it from HRD, from their side, or
some other partner’s side, of causing harm to children, or if any of their
personnel are suspected of, accused of, charged with, arrested for, or
convicted of a criminal offence relating to violence, abuse, exploitation,
harassment, or neglect of children;
·
Accept
that any contract or agreement between HRD and them may be immediately
terminated when a breach/es of the key principles is substantiated, and/or a
failure to take appropriate action when a breach of key principles is
discovered, including reporting the allegations the same day the report is made
to the contractor or partner;
·
Accept
that HRD may raise with the partner issues of compliance and may request audits
or other measures to assess compliance;
·
Ensure
best efforts to promote and enhance child safeguarding measures and protective
actions.
2.3.
Principals and Management Responsibility
HRD employees at
principal and managerial grades shall be responsible for overseeing the
implementation of this Policy and ensuring that all personnel are aware of the Policy
and are supported to implement and work in accordance with it, as well as
create a culture that encourages and ensures safeguarding. They must ensure
that they are responsive, acting immediately if they become aware of any
safeguarding concerns, and supportive towards employees or volunteers who
complain about breaches of this Policy.
2.4.
Designated Protection Officer
The Director shall act
as a Protection Officer, or he shall designate any other HRD employee to act as
a Protection Officer, which Protection Officer shall handle reports or concerns
about the protection of children, appropriately and in accordance with the
procedures that underpin this Policy. Another employee shall be designated to
act as a delegate to the principal Protection Officer and to act in their stead
in cases of absence or inability to perform functions.
The Protection Officer,
or their delegate, as the case may be, shall be responsible for:
·
Monitoring
and recording safeguarding concerns;
·
Ensuring
referrals to the relevant competent authorities take place without delay;
·
Disseminating
and updating safeguarding training materials for all employees;
·
Ensuring
this Policy is adequately and periodically reviewed;
·
Ensuring
this Policy is implemented throughout the organisation and safeguarding
training is carried out by HRD employees;
·
Ensure
monitoring and recording procedures are implemented.
3. Procedures
Overview
3.1.
Induction and Support
HRD shall provide advice
and support to all employees on:
·
What
they should do in the event of a disclosure;
·
What
to do if they have concerns about the welfare of a child;
·
How
to recognise signs of abuse;
·
What
to do if they have concerns about a member of HRD personnel;
·
Where
to go for advice and support within the organisation.
HRD shall ensure that
clear processes for reporting and dealing with safeguarding concerns and
incidents are widely communicated, regularly reviewed, and consistently
applied. Where allegations are made about an employee, careful consideration
must take place about the appropriateness of the person continuing to work with
HRD.
3.2.
Data Protection
HRD shall ensure that
personal information is kept confidential unless the person who hold parental
responsibility or guardianship of the child provides his agreement for
disclosure of said information, except where it is necessary to pass this to a
specialised child welfare or law enforcement authority in relation to a
protection incident, and that data protection systems are in place.
3.3.
Minimum Standards
Without prejudice to what
has been stipulated elsewhere in this Policy, where employees or volunteers are
contracted by other employers, or when working with partners, HRD shall brief
them on this protection Policy and enquire on how the organisation works to
protect children and ensure that they meet its protection standards.
3.4.
Social Media
In relation to HRD’s
use of actual names, images, including photographs and recordings in all and
any social media spaces and platforms, all personnel shall:
·
Use
names and images of children which are respectful and not expose them to
further vulnerability, and which is in no way degrading or showing images in an
inappropriate context;
·
Reproduce
images and use names of children only where there is the written consent of
their parents or guardians using a consent form (attached to this Policy and
marked “Appendix 1”);
·
Make
clear to children and their parents or guardians that agreement to provide
information or consent to images is not a requisite for involvement in HRD
activities and programmes;
·
Inform
all personnel about the HRD Policy in relation to the use of technology and
understand that they must not use this technology for the purpose of accessing,
producing, or distributing any information or violent or sexual images that are
harmful to children.
In all the above cases,
the use and publication of any form of information related to a child should be
only for professional use, consented, and adequate, and due consideration
should be given to the safety, wellbeing, and best interests of the child. HRD
recognises that there may be diverging opinions on what constitutes
“professional use” and “adequate”, thus, all employees shall consult with a
principal or manager prior to use and publication.
3.5.
Risk Assessment and Mitigation
HRD shall ensure that
it has a format for carrying out and implementing risk assessments at all
levels of the organisation and for every specific task or project that is a relevant
activity, in order to identify specific risks in a particular activity and take
adequate steps to address the risk and protect the interests of children. This
shall take place after due consideration of the following:
·
The
context, scope, and setting of the relevant activity;
·
The
relevant activity’s potential impact on or contact with children;
·
The
potential risks of that impact or contact;
·
The
risks in terms of likelihood they could occur and the seriousness of the impact
on children;
·
The
principles, policies, and procedures which may minimise or prevent altogether
that risk;
·
Communications
and consultations with superiors and/or colleagues.
4. Reporting
and Response to Concerns
Where personnel has
reason to raise concerns, suspicions, allegations, or incidents which indicate
actual or potential harm against children, or which suggests this Policy may
have in any other way been breached, they may file a report.
It is not the
responsibility of the personnel or HRD itself to decide whether the abuse has
actually taken place, however, concerns should be raised with an individual’s
superior or line manager, functional lead, or a Designated Protection Officer
who will initiate the procedure for dealing with suspected or actual incidents
of abuse.
Designated Protection
Officers are responsible for ensuring that the reporting procedure is followed
so that suspected or actual cases of abuse are responded to appropriately and
consistently and referred to the relevant to the relevant and competent
statutory authority.
To ensure that all such
situations are handled appropriately and effectively, HRD claims, and shall
adhere to, the following:
·
HRD
is not an investigative authority, therefore, it is essential that referrals
are made to the relevant law enforcement agency and other competent
authorities, as the case may be, to ensure that appropriate protection and
support is given to the child and his family, and that any evidence is
collected in accordance with the law;
·
Reports
shall be made, and decisions and actions shall be taken in a diligent and
timely manner;
·
All
sensitive and personal data must be kept confidential, including the names of
anyone who makes a report of abuse, and shall be shared on a strictly need-to-know
basis, that is, access must be necessary for the execution of one’s
official duties;
·
Where
a HRD employee is the subject of an investigation, the principal Designated
Protection Officer shall lead the case, unless it is not in the best interests
of the child to do so.
Reports can be made
through the relevant channels in the HRD, including but not limited to:
·
The
Designated Protection Officer;
·
Human
Resources Department,
·
The
employee’s own superior or line manager;
·
Any
principal or senior manager
Personnel shall share
all relevant information when making a report. Relevant information may include
what happened, who was involved, where, when, and how the employee was
informed. During the reporting process, the principle of confidentiality shall
be respected, and data protection systems are in place.
All reports and
concerns raised by both employees and individuals in the community shall be
properly considered, documented, and treated seriously, with care, discretion,
and in a reasonable timeframe.