CHILD PROTECTION POLICY FOR VOLUNTEERS
Objective:
The aim of the policy is to create a fair system through which the welfare of children is protected.
Child Protection involves keeping children safe from the risk of harm caused by abuse (including emotional, physical or sexual abuse). It aims to reduce children’s vulnerability by assuring necessary care and protection. The Child Protection Policy is aligned with the rights of all children, ensuring they have the right to protection regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality, or beliefs.
Child Protection Code of Conduct :
No volunteer shall ever:-
- Hit or otherwise physically abuse a child.
- Develop relationships with children, which could be interpreted or deemed as inappropriate.
- Use language or make suggestions that are inappropriate, offensive or abusive.
- Act in any way that intends to embarrass shame, humiliate, or degrade a child
- Act in ways that may be verbally or physically abusive.
- Discriminate against a child on the basis of race, economic status, culture, age, gender, disability, religion, sexuality, political persuasion or any other status.
- Behave or suggest physically or otherwise in a manner, which is inappropriate sexually provocative or may be considered to be sexual abuse.
- Touch, kiss, hug, fondle, or rub a child in any way that may be considered inappropriate, culturally insensitive or may be construed as sexual abuse.
- Demonstrate any lessons by physically touching a child that may be considered inappropriate, culturally insensitive or construed as sexual abuse.
- Provide unsolicited assistance to a child, of a personal nature, that a child could do on its own including but not limited to dressing, bathing, and grooming.
- Take photographs or videos of children in their classrooms without permission of the School Leadership.
- Ignore or enable actions when inappropriate conduct has occurred.
Definations
1. ‘Child’ or ‘children’ includes all children and young people under the age of 18 years enrolled in Schools and any of the programs.
2. ‘Child abuse’ or ‘abuse’ shall mean and include intended, unintended and perceived, whether habitual or not, abuse or maltreatment of a child and shall constitute and include all forms of physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, or negligent treatment, or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the child's health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power. It includes any act, deed, or word which debases, degrades, or demeans the intrinsic worth and dignity of a child as a human being.
3. ‘Physical abuse’ shall mean and include the intentional/ unintentional inflicting of physical injury upon a child. This may include burning, hitting, punching, shaking, kicking, beating, using potentially harmful substances, or otherwise harming a child intentionally or as a result of over-discipline or physical punishment.
4. ‘Emotional abuse’ shall mean and include verbal abuse, mental abuse, and psychological maltreatment. It includes acts or the failure to act by any employee/ volunteer that has caused or could cause serious behavioral, cognitive, emotional, or mental trauma. It may involve conveying to children that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person. It may involve serious bullying causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, though it may occur alone.
5. ‘Sexual abuse’ shall mean and include inappropriate sexual behavior with a child. Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child to take part in sexual activities, including prostitution, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve all forms of physical contact, including penetrative or non-penetrative acts. They may include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, pornographic material or watching sexual activities, or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.
6. ‘Rights’ shall mean and include the rights of the child to freedom of expression, thought and association, the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the right to a standard of living adequate for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development, right of the child to education, the rights of the child to rest and leisure, the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education, or to be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral, or social development.
7. ‘Risks’ shall mean and include any potential or probable harm to the child or any danger/ risk of a child suffering child abuse or the violation of his/ her rights.
Examples:
Any misconduct that may pose a threat to the emotional or physical health and safety of the children in class or has a lasting effect on the individual is considered a severe misconduct. The following lists certain examples for reference; however it is not an exhaustive list.
- Subjecting students to painful body postures like kneeling, frog jumping, etc. Taunting the child – rude remarks which are personal in nature
- Humiliating the child about his/her ability
- Physically grabbing students and shaking them up
- Slapping / spanking/ pinching the child
- Stuffing the mouth of the child with any object (handkerchief, soap)
- Hitting child on the knuckles
- Any inappropriate touch which might be sexual in nature
- Having inappropriate conversations which might be sexual in nature
- Refusing the use of transport (view safety of the child)
- Asking a Child to stand for the entire day, facing a corner and standing
- Throwing objects at the child – chalk, eraser, books, paper etc
- Flinging objects across the classroom in anger
- Placing masking tape on the mouth of a child
- Any other act of sexual/emotional/physical abuse (mentioned in the above definition)
All volunteers working with children must agree to comply with the above policy and guidelines.
