Children can really thrive in a safe environment

‘Every child deserves to grow up in a safe environment,’ says Majorie Kaandorp, Child Safeguarding & Child Protection Advisor at the Liliane Fonds. She explains how the Liliane Fonds and its partners together provide that safe environment for children and young people with disabilities.

What can you tell us about the background of the Liliane Fonds’s safeguarding policy?

‘Many organisations have standard child protection policies in their programmes. But often, this fails to take into account the specific situation of children and young people with disabilities. Their experiences are very different. They are more likely to experience violence or discrimination than those without disabilities. In addition, they have more difficulty reporting inappropriate behaviour. Professional help and guidance is not always on hand.’

‘So, the Liliane Fonds helps its partners to develop and implement a child protection – or child safeguarding – policy that focuses in particular on children and young people with disabilities. We do this by providing training, organising sessions where we discuss challenges with each other and developing tools that can help them implement the policy.’

How exactly do you collaborate with partners on this topic?

‘Children and young people should be able to participate in our joint projects and activities safely. Our contracts with our partners always include a requirement for both organisations to have child safeguarding policies in place. This includes a code of conduct and a duty to report any incidents to the Liliane Fonds. We take measures to protect children and young people from violence, discrimination, exclusion and exploitation. In doing so, we take everyone’s limitations into account.’

‘All staff must sign a code of conduct and receive training on how to support children with disabilities. Each project identifies the risks to children and young people, and how they can be mitigated. For example, staff must never be alone with a child in a locked room and may only take images with explicit permission. In turn, children and young people receive information about what is and is not acceptable, and how to report something that is wrong or doesn’t feel right.’

In the annual report, we share figures on the reports made. What is actually behind these figures?

‘Incidents must be reported to the Liliane Fonds every year. This allows us to monitor how our partners deal with them and whether the policy needs any adjustment. Most cases reported involve family or community violence; these situations are not caused by our partners, but they are notified of them. The organisations then refer the children or their parents to agencies that can offer help.’

‘The types of inappropriate behaviour vary widely. It may involve physical violence, emotional abuse, or sexual abuse or assault. But this also includes other issues such as a venue not being accessible to children with disabilities, the absence of a sign language interpreter, theft of documents or unsafe transport.’

‘If inappropriate behaviour occurs, the partner needs to respond to it immediately. First, they offer help to the affected child and then take measures to prevent this from happening again, such as replacing an employee in extreme cases.’

We and our partners aim to provide children and young people with a ‘safe environment’. When do you consider an environment to be ‘unsafe’?

‘An environment is unsafe if children are at high risk of violence, discrimination or exclusion. In other words: if they cannot participate fully and freely in an activity. A school can also be an unsafe environment. If the school building is not easily accessible, if the children are bullied or beaten by the teacher or fellow pupils, if the children cannot attend classes because their disability has not been taken into account, then it is not a safe environment for them.’

‘Staff are required to identify when a child is experiencing violence or neglect, and to take action. What’s special about our work is that our partners are often one of the few organisations available that children with disabilities can turn to. Reports that should be made directly to relevant agencies therefore come to our partners first, which puts quite a bit of pressure on them.’

‘The regular support system, or agencies such as social services, the police and the justice system, are not always accessible or designed to help these children. For example, there is no sign language interpreter available or staff do not know how to treat children with disabilities. That’s where our partners come in. We also support projects that make the aid system accessible.’

Can you give an example of a situation or environment that has been improved thanks to this policy?

‘Because safeguarding is such a major focus for us and our partners, many more CBR field workers are now picking up on signs of child abuse. They have been trained to recognise the signs, and they’re more adept at finding agencies that can help.’

How are partners responding to this policy? Do you see any cultural differences between countries here?

‘After children and their parents attend an information session, our partners sometimes hear about an unsafe situation in a family or the community. They then refer the child or the parents to social workers, other care providers or agencies. But sometimes our partner is the one that has to resolve it. In some countries, it is not always best to report it to the police, because they are either unwilling or unable to help, or because the family fears retaliation. So, they have to find another solution, often with the help of village elders or religious leaders who have a lot of influence within a community. In the Netherlands, we call this a form of mediation; in other countries, it is referred to as a creative solution that is the least disruptive for the child and their family.’

Do parents find it easier or safer to report something to our partners?

‘Often, parents are more comfortable reporting incidents to our partners rather than to official authorities. Our partners know how to provide the best support to a child with a disability and are also used to working with the authorities. Also, parents don’t always feel comfortable talking directly to the police. The police are not your friend in every country.’

Can you share an example of an unsafe situation that has stuck with you?

‘One time where things went wrong was when children with disabilities were taken back to boarding school after a holiday at home. Their van left much too late and by the time it arrived at the school in the evening, the gate was already closed and there was no answer from the doorbell. The children were forced to spend the night in the van. One of them developed very painful bedsores and had to go to hospital for treatment the next morning. The incident was raised with the school, and it subsequently reimbursed the child’s hospital expenses and treatment, and took measures to prevent it from recurring.’

‘Another example is when parents bring their child to our partner organisation in the city for a medical procedure in hospital. The parents head back to their village to look after their other children and to work. But who is meant to take care of their sick child? Is it our partner’s responsibility or the parents’? We think both are responsible. The partner organisation should properly inform parents on how long their child is expected to stay in hospital after surgery. And parents should try to arrange childcare for their other children, or alternatively find a friend or relative willing to look after their child while staying in the city.’

It’s not always possible to preventing every single risk. What’s the most important part of how you respond as an organisation?

‘If something happens to a child or a child comes forward asking for help, the organisation has to respond to it. First of all, the child should be given the help they need from agencies in the community, such as a social worker or a counsellor. Sometimes, the organisation itself can provide help. And action must also be taken against the “perpetrator”. If that person is an employee of the organisation, then the organisation is responsible for it. In case of serious offences, it can report them to the police. In that case, the organisation considers which measures need to be taken to prevent it from happening again.’

How do you ensure that a policy is actually applied in practice?

‘Every employee needs to do their bit towards this. First, they need to provide a Certificate of Good Conduct and sign the code of conduct. They also have to attend a session on what safeguarding means in their work. For example, a programme manager should know that a risk assessment should be included in every project proposal. A communications officer should know that children or their parents must give permission for the use of their photos and stories, and that they may also refuse to give permission, and that there are guidelines on how children may or may not be in the image.’

What is your main goal with this policy? What do you ultimately want to achieve?

‘Our main objective, of course, is for all of us to carry out our programmes, projects and activities in the safest possible way. Children and young people should be able to participate without the fear that something unpleasant could happen to them. If a project environment is not safe, it is of no use to a child. In a school where a child risks being beaten and chastised every day, they won’t learn a thing. In a hospital where a child is not treated properly, they won’t get better. In a safe environment, on the other hand, children and young people actually benefit from the activities arranged for them.’

How do you make it easier to report an incident?

‘It takes courage to report inappropriate behaviour. There are several reasons why someone wouldn’t report an incident. Sometimes they don’t recognise behaviour as inappropriate because they are used to it happening every day. Sometimes parents don’t report it because they don’t want to say anything negative about the organisation they depend on. What if they stop receiving help after accusing someone from the organisation of behaving inappropriately towards their child? And even though the organisation claims to keep reports confidential and protect the reporter from repercussions, is that really the case? How will the community respond, which also feels dependent on the organisation?’

‘Our partners are aware of this. In information sessions, we focus a lot on this. Reporting channels, such as email or a suggestion box, are made as easy and accessible as possible. But this still presents a challenge.’

Making it easier to make a report can lead to receiving more reports. So, a rise in reports is actually a good thing?

‘You would think that having no or very few reports coming in would be good news. But if we aren’t getting any reports, then that starts to make us worried. Because frankly, there is always something going on. Not necessarily something serious like physical violence or sexual abuse – it could also be verbal abuse or bullying, for example. Or children having to take a dangerous route home after an evening activity. Or photos and videos taken during an activity without the parents or children having given their consent.’

‘We only know that a safeguarding policy works when reports come in. Because that means recognising inappropriate behaviour, knowing how and where to report it, and trusting that the organisation knows how to deal with it properly. Fortunately, we are seeing an increase in reports. Most reports our partners receive are about unsafe situations at home or in the community – situations that are not caused by the organisation. Yet, our partners have to deal with them precisely because they have child safeguarding policies. Because every child deserves to grow up in a safe environment.’

Do you see any differences in cultural norms or views on how children are treated?

‘Some forms of violence everyone immediately recognises as child abuse, such as sexual abuse or severe physical violence. But other forms are considered normal or a traditional expression of culture or religion in some societies – such as beating children as a form of discipline. Some countries have made it illegal to hit children, as we know that this limits their mental and physical development. But in many countries, beating children both at home and at school is commonplace, even in the culture of some of the employees of our partner organisations.’

‘Another example is the unequal treatment of boys and girls. Within some communities, female genital mutilation or child marriage are traditional. These practices are banned in many countries, but they still happen on a large scale.’

How do you deal with such differences in standards and views on what is deemed ‘safe’ or ‘acceptable’?

‘In safeguarding training, we discuss with each other what we do and do not class as violence. We talk about how we can continue to consult and work with influential people, such as village elders and religious leaders, to bring about behavioural change. But we also discuss what we consider acceptable and unacceptable behaviour within our organisations. This is enshrined in the code of conduct that all employees sign.’

Has your own or the Liliane Fonds’s view on this changed?

‘My views on what should and should not be considered child abuse have not changed. What has changed is how we deal with offenders within a community. In serious cases, in the Netherlands, we would immediately involve the police and the Child Protection Council. But an approach that works well for us may not fit in a small, remote village where people depend on each other and on our partner organisation, and where families with a child with a disability are often looked down upon. In that case, you have to look for solutions that are in the best interests of the child, the family, the organisation and the community.’

‘If an employee of the organisation is at fault, the organisation must take immediate action. But if it involves someone in the village, sometimes it is wiser to first ask the village council or religious leaders to mediate instead of involving the authorities.’

Majorie Kaandorp

Child Safeguarding & Child Protection Advisor, Liliane Fonds