Global Child Safeguarding Guidelines for Children and Adults

At SOS Children's Villages, both children and adults are trained to identify and report situations where child protection is compromised or where there is a risk of harm to children. This includes reporting suspicions of corruption. The organization has established a robust registration and reporting system to ensure swift action can be taken to protect children when needed.

The Child Protection Policy at SOS Children’s Villages is built around four core areas: Awareness, Prevention, Reporting, and Responding. Special attention is given to awareness and prevention efforts to enhance child safety and improve the quality of care provided.

Every safeguarding concern is treated with utmost seriousness and addressed immediately. This involves:

• Building the capacity of staff, children, young people, and families to recognize signs of abuse and take steps to prevent it.

• Promoting the use of positive discipline techniques.

• Working to eradicate harmful cultural practices.

All reported incidents or concerns related to child safeguarding are thoroughly assessed, and appropriate actions are determined and implemented based on the assessment findings.

The Child Protection Policy clearly defines various forms of child abuse and outlines safe procedures for reporting concerns. It also emphasizes the responsibility of every SOS Children's Villages employee and associate to report any suspicion, concern, or allegation of child abuse.

In Zambia, SOS Children's Villages fosters an enabling environment for comprehensive safeguarding, covering children, youth, asset protection, and people, ensuring holistic care and protection.

The regulation on preventing and protecting against sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse is grounded in our Code of Conduct, Child Protection Policy, Gender Equality Policy, and other components of our integrity framework. It emphasizes our commitment to prevention, ensuring a safe environment for everyone involved in the federation’s work. The regulation also details our response mechanism for addressing suspected cases of sexual misconduct involving individuals of any age, gender, sexuality, sexual orientation, disability, religion, or ethnic origin.

Every reported child safeguarding concern or incident is taken seriously and undergoes a thorough assessment. Based on the findings, appropriate steps are determined, which may include conducting a child safeguarding investigation. The guiding principle in handling any reported concern is that the safety and well-being of the child are always the top priority.

The user guide Listening and Responding to Individual Experiences of Past Child Abuse offers guidance on how to address and appropriately respond to allegations of past abuse, considering their specific nature and associated challenges.

SOS Children's Villages member associations are responsible for responding to child safeguarding incidents in alignment with our Child Protection Policy and national laws. Detailed information on these procedures can be found in the Child Safeguarding, Reporting, and Responding Procedures in Member Associations policy support document. Additionally, the roles and responsibilities of the General Secretariat (GSC) in the reporting and responding process are outlined in the Working Together to Protect Children policy support document.