ACT Alliance - Child Safeguarding

The Child Safeguarding Guidance Document is complementary to the policy, and provides a great deal of background, guidance, tools and templates that ACT agencies can use in developing their own, individualised Child Safeguarding policies.

The Child Safeguarding Guidance Document includes:

• Reference documents and training resources
• Scope of Policy/Contextualizing for Different Locations
• Risk Assessments
• Reporting Procedures and Complaints Mechanisms
• Training for Staff
• Child Safeguarding Code of Conduct
• Monitoring and Review
• Templates and Tools

The tools, templates and examples in this Guidance document should inform the development of ACT member agency’s Child Safeguarding policy. Again, it is important to keep in mind the program context that each organisation operates within. 

It will often be necessary for country offices to make small adjustments to the policy developed by their head quarters/head office. This will make the policy actionable and implementable.

Adjustments may be needed to account for specific risks or operational issues for conflict settings, refugee or IDP (internally displaced persons) camps, or natural disasters. 

In addition, country programs should discuss with national staff any traditional beliefs and practices which may negatively impact children in areas where they work (e.g. child labour, girls treated as inferior to boys) religious or cultural issues to consider (e.g. female genital mutilation, early or forced marriage). 

In addition, each country program will need to be aware of national child protection legislation (any laws relevant to child protection such as labour laws, age of majority, age of sexual consent).