Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy
GFTH is committed to protecting the safety, dignity, privacy and wellbeing of children and adolescents who come into contact with its programmes, staff, volunteers, partners and activities.
Children and adolescents may participate in GFTH activities directly or may be present in schools, communities, health programmes and other environments where GFTH operates. Their protection is therefore part of programme delivery, not an additional requirement added after an activity has been designed.
This policy explains the standards GFTH applies when working with children and adolescents and the responsibilities of people acting on behalf of the organisation.
Our safeguarding commitment
GFTH does not tolerate abuse, exploitation, neglect, harassment or any other behaviour that puts a child or adolescent at unnecessary risk.
Everyone working with or representing GFTH is expected to act in a way that protects children and adolescents from harm and respects their dignity and rights.
Where an activity involves children or adolescents, safeguarding considerations should be incorporated into programme planning, partner selection, staff and facilitator arrangements, consent procedures, photography and communication.
Who this policy applies to
This policy applies to people working with or on behalf of GFTH, including staff members, volunteers, facilitators, consultants, programme partners, service providers and other representatives involved in activities where children or adolescents may be present.
Partners delivering activities on behalf of GFTH are expected to understand and follow applicable safeguarding requirements and to raise serious concerns through the appropriate reporting channels.
Children and adolescents as participants
Children and adolescents should be treated as participants with dignity and agency, not simply as beneficiaries of a programme.
Activities should be conducted in a way that is appropriate to the age and circumstances of the children involved. Communication should be respectful, understandable and appropriate to the setting.
Children should not be placed in situations that expose them unnecessarily to risk, humiliation, exploitation or inappropriate contact for the purpose of delivering or promoting a programme.
Working with girls and adolescent girls
GFTH recognises that some activities involving girls and adolescent girls require additional attention to privacy, dignity and cultural appropriateness.
In activities involving girls, particularly menstrual health and reproductive health awareness sessions, facilitators working directly with girls are female.
Sessions should be conducted with appropriate school or community consent and the content should be reviewed for cultural appropriateness before delivery.
These safeguards are particularly relevant to GFTH’s work involving menstrual health, awareness and support in schools and remote communities. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}
Consent and participation
Consent is an important part of safeguarding. Before a child or adolescent participates in an activity requiring consent, GFTH and its programme partners should follow the applicable consent procedures for that activity.
Consent should be informed and appropriate to the circumstances. Parents, guardians, schools, community organisations or other responsible parties may have a role in providing the required permission depending on the nature of the activity.
Consent for participation does not automatically mean consent for photography, publication or use of personal information. These matters must be considered separately where applicable.
Photography and images of minors
GFTH applies strict rules to photographs involving children and adolescents.
No identifiable photograph of a minor will be published without written consent from an appropriate parent or legal guardian.
Where written guardian consent is not available, photographs should be taken from behind, at a sufficient distance or in a wide context so that the child cannot be identified.
GFTH will never use a child’s image simply because it creates a stronger emotional response or makes a programme appear more impactful.
Photography must preserve the dignity, privacy and safety of the people involved.
Health-related information and imagery
Health information is sensitive and must be handled with particular care.
GFTH will not publish identifying information alongside health-related imagery. Photographs should not reveal a person’s medical condition, treatment or consultation in a way that compromises privacy.
Patients must never be photographed during a medical examination or in any state of undress.
These requirements apply particularly to medical camps and other GFTH activities where health information may be present. The organisation’s photography standards also require that names or health information are not published alongside images. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}
Menstrual health activities
Activities involving menstrual health require particular attention to privacy and dignity.
GFTH will not publish photographs from menstrual health distribution activities that identify an individual recipient.
Programme communication should focus on the activity, context and purpose rather than exposing an individual’s personal circumstances.
This approach is consistent with GFTH’s commitment to providing menstrual health support while protecting the privacy and dignity of girls and women participating in the programme. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}
Appropriate behaviour
People working with children and adolescents on behalf of GFTH should maintain appropriate professional boundaries at all times.
They should not engage in behaviour that could be interpreted as abusive, exploitative, threatening, sexually inappropriate, humiliating or otherwise harmful.
Communication with children should remain professional and appropriate to the programme context. Private interactions should be avoided where they create an unnecessary safeguarding risk.
Reporting a safeguarding concern
Anyone who has a concern about the safety or wellbeing of a child or adolescent connected with a GFTH activity should raise that concern promptly.
A person does not need to establish that abuse or harm has definitely occurred before reporting a concern. A reasonable concern should be communicated so that it can be assessed appropriately.
Concerns may include suspected abuse, exploitation, inappropriate behaviour, harassment, unsafe programme arrangements, inappropriate photography or the misuse of a child’s personal information.
What to do when a concern is raised
Safeguarding concerns should be handled seriously and with appropriate confidentiality.
Information should be shared only with people who need it to respond to the concern. A person raising a concern should not attempt to conduct an investigation themselves or place a child at additional risk while trying to obtain evidence.
GFTH may take steps to protect the child or adolescent, review the circumstances, involve the appropriate organisational personnel or seek additional professional or legal advice where necessary.
Non-retaliation
GFTH expects safeguarding concerns to be raised in good faith and does not support retaliation against a person who reports a genuine concern.
A person should not be threatened, intimidated, harassed or treated unfairly simply because they have raised a legitimate safeguarding concern.
Where a person believes they have experienced retaliation after reporting a concern, this should itself be reported through the appropriate GFTH complaints or whistleblowing mechanism.
Confidentiality and privacy
Safeguarding information can be highly sensitive. GFTH will seek to protect the privacy of children, families, staff members, volunteers and other people involved in a safeguarding matter.
Information should not be shared publicly or discussed unnecessarily. Records relating to safeguarding concerns should be handled carefully and access should be limited to people with a legitimate reason to receive the information.
Working with partners
GFTH may work with schools, community organisations, healthcare providers, training institutions and other partners to deliver activities.
Where children or adolescents are involved, GFTH expects relevant partners to respect applicable safeguarding standards and to cooperate with reasonable safeguarding requirements connected with the programme.
A partner’s involvement in a GFTH programme does not remove GFTH’s responsibility to consider the safeguarding implications of the activity.
Safeguarding and public communications
GFTH will not use children or adolescents as the subject of exaggerated or sensational communication.
Public materials should describe activities accurately and should not reveal unnecessary identifying information about a child or adolescent.
Photography and communications should show participation and context while preserving dignity. GFTH’s wider photography guidance also requires photographs to be taken at eye level, to show people doing something rather than receiving support passively, and to avoid images that turn distress or poverty into spectacle. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}
Record keeping
Where consent is required for photography or other safeguarding-related activity, GFTH should maintain appropriate records.
For photographs, GFTH’s standards require a consent log matched to the relevant filenames. This helps ensure that the organisation can verify the consent status of images before publication. :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}
Relationship with other policies
This policy should be read alongside GFTH’s Privacy Policy, Photography & Consent Policy, Anti-Fraud & Whistleblowing Policy and Complaints & Feedback arrangements.
Where a concern involves another policy area, the relevant policy should also be followed.
Review of this policy
GFTH will review this policy as its programmes, staffing arrangements, partnerships and safeguarding systems develop.
Any material update will be reflected in the version published on this website.
Contact GFTH
A safeguarding concern can be raised through GFTH’s general contact channel while the organisation’s dedicated safeguarding reporting mechanism is being finalised.
Email:
info@gfthbd.org