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Safeguarding adults policy

2020

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Your donations help us empower communities to treat psychological trauma in children

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Gift aid allows us to claim 25p for every £1 you donate if you are a UK taxpayer.

By ticking this box I agree that Action for Child Trauma International can claim Gift Aid on 25% of the value of my donation, and any donations I make in the future or have made in the past to Action for Child Trauma International. I am a UK taxpayer and understand that if I pay less Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all my donations in that tax year, it is my responsibility to pay any difference. By agreeing to Gift Aid, I confirm that any donation(s) given are my own and not part of a sponsorship or fundraising event.

Introduction

The purpose of this policy is to protect people, particularly vulnerable adults and beneficiaries of Action for Child Trauma International (ACTI) assistance, from any harm that may be caused due to their coming into contact with ACTI. This includes harm arising from:

  • The conduct of volunteers and people working as partners alongside ACTI
  • The design and implementation of ACTI projects and activities

The policy sets out the commitments made by ACTI and informs volunteers (any individual working on behalf of ACTI, including trustees) and partners of their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding. It is an extension of ACTI’s Safeguarding Policy regarding children and young people and follows the same procedures for reporting and taking action.

Safeguarding applies consistently and without exception across our projects, fundraising, partners and volunteers. We aim to proactively identify, prevent and guard against risks of harm, exploitation and abuse and have accountable and transparent systems for response, reporting and learning when concerns about harm arise.

We exchange our safeguarding policies with partner organizations and will not proceed without reaching a mutual understanding of our approaches and expectations.

Expectations of conduct

ACTI volunteers and associates working with us must not:

  • Sexually abuse or exploit vulnerable adults
  • Subject a vulnerable adult to physical, emotional or psychological abuse, or neglect
  • Exchange money, employment, goods or services for sexual activity. This includes any exchange of assistance that is due to beneficiaries of ACTI assistance
  • Engage in any sexual relationships with beneficiaries of ACTI assistance, since they are based on inherently unequal power dynamics

The ACTI Code of Conduct sets out the behavior we expect in any ACTI activity. Volunteers must understand and agree to this and sign a Volunteer/Trustee agreement which confirms this understanding.

Projects and activities

ACT’s training programmes and fundraising activity focus on trauma experienced by children, and involve describing or discussing illustrative cases. We design these activities to avoid or minimise emotional distress and prevent psychological harm.

Our safeguarding concerns relate to:

  • Our direct beneficiaries – professionals whom we train to treat and support traumatized children in countries affected by conflict, war and displacement. They may themselves have experienced trauma and displacement.
  • Vulnerable adults who we may meet on a visit - as part of a training trip for example to a refugee/IDP camp, or to our special projects in Uganda
  • Vulnerable adults who may attend a fundraising event

As a mental health charity, we recognize the potentially stressful nature of the work and the responsibility to safeguard the psychological and emotional wellbeing of both our volunteers who deliver training overseas and our beneficiaries.

For volunteers:

  • Identifying and mitigating risks to safety
  • Pre-trip briefing that fosters a team approach
  • Providing practical and emotional support through trustee leadership on the ground
  • Decompression time and post-trip debriefing
  • Encouraging shared and individual learning and reflective practice

For beneficiaries:

  • Being aware of their potential vulnerability - as refugees and survivors of trauma
  • Being aware of the impact on them of their work with traumatized children with often little professional support
  • Encouraging mutual respect and support during training, and giving direct support to individuals when needed
  • Encouraging an on-going relationship with ACT and each other via our on-line forum and local supervision groups

Reporting concerns

The Safeguarding Officer is responsible for receiving concerns and taking appropriate action - see the Safeguarding children policy

If appropriate we will offer support to a survivor of harm by making a referral to an appropriate practitioner or service.

  • Date: 03/08/2020
  • Drafted by: Brenda Graham, Trustee
  • Reviewed by:
    • Stella Charman, Chair of Trustees
    • Paul Brown, General Operations Manager (intern)
    • Eve Hatcher, Geneeral Operations Manager (intern)
  • Approved by: Board of Trustees 08/09/2020

For Professionals

  • Monitoring, evaluation and learning
  • Policies
  • Annual reviews
  • Assessment of CATT in Uganda
  • Gaza clinic audit report

Get help

  • Contact us ✉️
  • Advice on supporting children after a traumatic event

ACT International

ACT International is the working name for Luna Children's Charity (Reg. Charity No. 1172010). The organisation was formed in December 2008 and became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) in April 2017

ACT International trains in a number of countries where children’s rights are violated or have laws which compromise our values. We always do our best to uphold and teach internationally accepted standards of human rights, but may in some circumstances be obliged to adapt our programmes so that neither our trainers, trainees nor the children they serve are put at risk.