Safeguarding practices in charities

Following the revelation by The Times this weekend of reports of misconduct by Oxfam workers in Haiti, the points raised in the Charity Commission’s policy paper on ‘strategies for dealing with Safeguarding issues in charities’ seem all the more pertinent.

However, as Penny Mourdant, Secretary of State for International Development, summarised “it doesn’t matter if you have a whistleblowing hotline or good safeguarding practices in place, if the moral leadership at the top of the organisation isn’t there”.

Oxfam are facing criticism not only over the abuse itself but how the abuse was covered up. And now, following reports of earlier abuse in Chad, they are under criticism for their recruitment practices and allowing the alleged abusers to be on the ground in Haiti the first place.

With regards to the alleged cover-up, the Charity Commission have released a statement citing: “It is important that charities engage with the regulator frankly and openly. We must fully understand the allegations that have been made to ensure that we have confidence in the charity’s approach to safeguarding now and in the future.”

Oxfam have responded by releasing a statement stating that they will:

“strengthen our vetting, and induction of staff as well as a commitment to drive positive behaviour among all staff and improve compliance with our policies.

“make safeguarding a mandatory part of the interview process for senior leadership positions.

“ensure staff learn more about our values and code of conduct and mandatory safeguarding training within the first few weeks of employment.

“set up an external whistleblowing helpline as part of an effort to encourage more staff to come forward early with any concerns they may have.

“overcome the legal difficulties which have so far prevented us from sharing intelligence among NGOs and other organisations about people who have been found guilty of sexual misconduct.”

FREE training course

---

Get in touch to find out more

Country: --None-- United Kingdom Abkhazia Afghanistan Åland Islands Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, Democratic Republic of the Cook Islands Costa Rica Côte d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Curaçao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern and Antarctic Lands Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Holy See Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Nagorno-Karabakh Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Cyprus Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine, State of Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Réunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino São Tomé and Príncipe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Sint Maarten Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia Somaliland South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Ossetia South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Transnistria Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu U.S. Virgin Islands Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United States of America Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Wallis and Futuna Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Vietnam
Post/Zip Code:
Job Role: --None-- Academic Registrar Account/Agency/Advertising Account Co-Coordinator Account Controller Account Co-ordinator Account Executive Administration / Office Admin Manager Artwork Provider Assessm. Coordinator Assistant Head Assistant Headteacher /Principal Assistant Principal Bursar Business Director Business Manager Catering Mgr/Superv. CEO / Managing Director Chairman Chair of Governors Chancellor Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Chief Sci. Lab. Tech Child protection Clerk to the Governor Dean Deputy Director Deputy Director of Education Deputy Head Deputy Head of Department Deputy Headteacher/Principal Deputy-Vice Head / Principal / Director Dep Vice Chancellor Development Director Director Director Development Director HR Director of Childrens Services Director of Education Director of Finance Education Director Education Manager Executive Head Executive Headteacher/Principal Finance Finance / Procurement Fund Raising Officer Gold / Silver Contact Head / Director of Dept-Faculty Head / Director of Subject Head / Principal / Chancellor Head of Art Head of assessment Head of Biology Head of Boys PE Head of Bus. Studies Head of Business Head of Careers Head of Chemistry Head of Citizenship Head of Classics Head of Department Head of Drama Head of Economics Head of English Head of Faculty Head of Geography Head of Girls PE Head of History Head of HR Head of Humanities Head of IT Head of Journalism Head of Law Head of Maths Head of Media Studs Head of Media Study Head of Mod.Language Head of Music Head of Nursery Head of Nursery/PreS Head of PE Head of Personnel Head of Philosophy Head of Physics Head of Politics Head of PSE Head of Psychology Head of PTA Head of Recept.Class Head of Rel. Studies Head of School Head of Science Head of Sixth Form Head of Sociology Head of Special Need Head of SPS Head of Subject Head of Technology Head of Vocat. Edu. Head of Year Head of Year 1 Head of Year 10 Head of Year 11 Head of Year 2 Head of Year 3 Head of Year 4 Head of Year 5 Head of Year 6 Head of Year 7 Head of Year 8 Head of Year 9 Headteacher Headteacher/ Principal Health/Safety Offic. HR / Recruitment / Retention HR Director HR Manager HR Officer ICT Coordinator INSET Co-ordinator International Office Keystage 1 Co-ordin. Keystage 2 Co-ordin. Keystage 3 Co-ordin. Keystage 4 Co-ordin. Lecturer Librarian Managing Director Market.& Dev. Dir. Marketing Marketing / Communications Marketing Manager Media Assistant Media Buyer Media Planner NQT Co-ordinator Office Manager Operations Operations Manager PA / Assistant to Head / Principal / Director Parent Pastoral / Welfare PA to Headteacher PA to Headteacher /Principal Personnel Director Personnel Manager Personnel Officer Planning/Strategy President Press Comm. Manager Principal Pro Vice Chancellor Provost Public Relations (PR) Recrtmnt Secretary Recruitment Manager Recruitment Officer Rector Resource Manager Safeguarding School Governor School Manager School Nurse School Secretary School Trip Organis. SENDco Senior Advisor Site Manager Strategic Business / Planning Student Student Services Supply Booker Support Role Teacher Timetabler Trainee Teacher Unknown Vice / ProVice / Deputy Chancellor Vice Chancellor Vice President Vice Principal Other
Requirement: --None-- I am a customer and I have a problem I am looking to buy a product for myself I am looking to buy a product for my organisation
Organisation Type: --None-- British Universities Charity Children & Young People Services College Company Educational Body English Colleges English Primary Schools English Secondary Schools English SEN Schools & Colleges International Schools & Colleges International Universities LA Head Office Library Mainstream School Northern Irish Schools & Colleges Other LA Other Organisations Private Individual Pupil Referral Unit(PRU) Scottish Schools & Colleges Secure Unit Special Needs Supply Agency University Welsh Schools & Colleges N/A
 

Return to news

Related  content: