Safety and Security Policy

APPENDIX A: Safeguarding Policy – Reducing harm posed by adults and youth to other young people in our programs 

Our safeguarding policy has the following preventative measures in place to ensure the safety of all staff members associated with Peace First and the larger community of young people we support and serve.

• Adopting child protection and safeguarding best practice through our policies and procedures globally.
• Providing effective management for staff and volunteers through supervision, support, training and quality assurance measures.
• Recruiting staff and volunteers safely, ensuring all necessary background and reference checks are conducted.
• Appointing a Designated Safeguarding Officer and Deputy Safeguarding Officer
• Recording and storing information professionally and securely.
• Creating and maintaining a safe online environment and ensuring we have a policy and procedure to help us deal effectively with any unsafe or suspicious activity that does arise
• Ensuring that we have effective communication means in place to facilitate timely reporting of and responses to concerns and incidents, including any allegations against staff and volunteers, in all cases without any fear of retaliation. 

To ensure volunteers associated with Peace First are dealt with in accordance with our equal opportunities policy (a copy of which is available on request). Our policy states that: 

• Volunteers have the right to be treated equally and not to experience discrimination on the basis of social class, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, religion, colour, race or ethnic or national origin.
• Volunteers have the right to request reasonable accommodations for a disability, and Peace First will make every effort to accommodate these
• To provide volunteers a safe working environment and the ability to report concerns without retaliation.
• To try to resolve fairly any problems, complaints and difficulties volunteers may have while they work with us.
• In the event of an unresolved problem, to offer an opportunity for volunteers to be supported by a friend during a scheduled call with the Safeguarding Officer & Regional Manager to discuss the issues.

For volunteers, this means; 

1. Any concerns about harassment and discrimination can be reported to the Regional Managers for their region or, if they do not feel comfortable reporting to the Regional Managers for any reason, they can submit their concerns to our Safeguarding team using our reporting form.
2. We do not encourage or expect volunteers to put themselves in danger as part of their volunteer role on behalf of Peace First. If a volunteer feels that their role or any task they are assigned could place them or others at risk or in danger, they should raise this immediately with the Regional Manager for their region or, alternatively, with Peace First’s Safeguarding team using our reporting form. Incase a volunteer wishes to report safety and well being of a young person associated with Peace First please use this form HERE.
3. We do not encourage or expect volunteers to give bribes to facilitate any aspect of their work.

Please note that the following are outside of the scope of what Peace First can offer to Volunteers:

• Technology, such as computers, phones, etc. Volunteers are to use their own equipment.
• Funding. Peace First does not provide any form of direct funding for any purpose outside of the mini grant program. We do not fund individual needs such as education programs.
• Documentation. We are unable to provide letters of support or proof of employment for purposes such as visa or asylum applications.
• Physical security. Social activism that volunteers undertake outside of their volunteer role, i.e. participation in local civil society organizations, attending protests, etc. is at their own discretion. We respect their expertise in the local context and ability to risk assess each situation and know what’s right for them. In the event that they are subject to harassment, detained by the authorities or injured, Peace First has no local standing or power to affect their situation.