Safeguarding & Child Protection Statement

1. Our Commitment

Shyamsharanam Skills and Livelihood Foundation (SSLF) is committed to promoting a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for children and other persons who may be vulnerable to abuse, exploitation, violence, neglect, harassment or discrimination.

Where SSLF's programmes, activities or partnerships involve children, SSLF seeks to place their safety, dignity, wellbeing and best interests at the centre of its approach.

SSLF does not tolerate abuse, exploitation, violence, harassment or deliberate neglect of children in connection with its activities.

2. Scope of This Statement

This Statement applies to SSLF's activities and interactions involving children, including where applicable:

• education and learning activities;
• child development programmes;
• skill and digital literacy initiatives involving young persons;
• community programmes;
• rural and social-development activities;
• awareness programmes;
• events and outreach activities;
• volunteer activities;
• programme partnerships; and
• other activities where children may come into contact with SSLF or persons acting on its behalf.

This Statement may also guide safeguarding expectations concerning vulnerable adults and other programme participants where relevant.

3. Who Is a Child?

For the purposes of this Statement, SSLF uses the term “child” in accordance with applicable Indian law.

Under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, a child is a person who has not completed eighteen years of age.

4. Zero Tolerance for Abuse and Exploitation

SSLF does not tolerate conduct involving:

• physical abuse;
• sexual abuse;
• sexual exploitation;
• sexual harassment;
• emotional or psychological abuse;
• bullying;
• threats or intimidation;
• neglect;
• exploitation;
• discrimination;
• humiliation;
• grooming or inappropriate behaviour;
• child trafficking or exploitation; or
• any other unlawful or harmful conduct towards a child.

Any conduct prohibited by applicable law will be treated seriously.

5. Child Safeguarding Principles

SSLF seeks to apply the following principles in activities involving children:

5.1 Best Interests of the Child

The safety, dignity, wellbeing and best interests of the child should be given appropriate priority.

5.2 Respect and Dignity

Every child should be treated with dignity, respect and without discrimination.

5.3 Prevention

SSLF seeks to identify and reduce foreseeable safeguarding risks before and during programme activities.

5.4 Safe Participation

Children should be provided with an environment that seeks to minimise avoidable risks of harm.

5.5 Confidentiality

Information relating to safeguarding concerns should be handled carefully and shared only with persons or authorities who need the information for legitimate safeguarding, legal or protective purposes.

5.6 Reporting

Concerns about possible abuse, exploitation or other serious safeguarding issues should be reported promptly through appropriate channels.

These principles reflect the broader safeguarding approach that prevention, early identification, reporting and appropriate response are important components of organisational safeguarding.

6. Expected Conduct of Staff, Volunteers and Representatives

Employees, volunteers, consultants, trainers, programme personnel and other persons acting on behalf of SSLF are expected to maintain appropriate professional boundaries when interacting with children.

They should:

• treat children respectfully;
• use appropriate and professional language;
• maintain appropriate boundaries;
• follow programme-specific safety instructions;
• avoid conduct that could reasonably place a child at risk;
• protect children's personal information;
• report safeguarding concerns; and
• follow applicable law and SSLF instructions.

7. Prohibited Conduct

Persons associated with SSLF must not:

• engage in sexual activity or sexualised conduct with a child;
• engage in physical or verbal abuse;
• threaten, intimidate or humiliate a child;
• use corporal punishment;
• exploit a child's vulnerability;
• request or exchange inappropriate photographs or videos;
• create inappropriate private relationships with children;
• use personal access to children for personal benefit;
• share a child's personal information without appropriate authority;
• use children for unauthorised promotional or commercial purposes;
• engage in grooming or other inappropriate behaviour; or
• engage in any conduct prohibited by applicable law.

8. One-to-One Interactions

Where reasonably practicable, programme activities involving children should be structured to reduce unnecessary situations in which an adult is isolated with a child.

Where one-to-one interaction is genuinely required for a legitimate programme purpose, it should be conducted in an appropriate, observable or otherwise suitably controlled environment and in accordance with applicable programme procedures.

9. Communication with Children

Communication with children should be:

• age-appropriate;
• respectful;
• relevant to the programme;
• professional; and
• consistent with safeguarding requirements.

Staff and volunteers should avoid unnecessary private communication with children through personal social-media accounts, personal messaging applications or other private channels.

Where digital communication is necessary for a legitimate programme purpose, appropriate organisational processes should be followed.

10. Photography, Video and Digital Content

SSLF may document programme activities through photographs, videos or other media for legitimate organisational purposes.

Where children are identifiable, SSLF will seek to use appropriate consent, permission and safeguarding practices as required by the circumstances and applicable law.

Photographs or videos of children must not be:

• sexualised;
• humiliating;
• exploitative;
• misleading; or
• used for an inappropriate purpose.

Staff, volunteers and programme representatives must not independently publish identifiable photographs, videos or personal information of children on personal social-media accounts without appropriate authorisation.

11. Children's Personal Information

SSLF may, where necessary for legitimate programme purposes, collect or process information relating to children.

Depending on the programme, this may include information such as:

• name;
• age;
• educational information;
• contact or guardian information;
• attendance;
• assessment information;
• programme participation;
• photographs;
• disability-related information; or
• other information reasonably required for the programme.

Such information should be collected only for legitimate purposes and handled in accordance with SSLF's Website & External Privacy Policy, applicable law and relevant programme requirements.

12. Parent or Guardian Involvement

Where appropriate to the age, nature and circumstances of the programme, SSLF may involve a parent, guardian or other legally authorised person in relation to a child's participation, information or consent requirements.

Specific requirements may vary depending upon:

• the nature of the programme;
• the age of the child;
• applicable law;
• programme location;
• government or partner requirements; and
• the circumstances of the activity.

13. Child Participation and Dignity

Children participating in SSLF programmes should, where appropriate, be treated as participants whose views, dignity and wellbeing matter.

Children should not be subjected to:

• unnecessary humiliation;
• discrimination;
• public shaming;
• unreasonable pressure; or
• exploitative use of their personal stories.

14. Safeguarding in Volunteer Activities

Volunteers who interact with children must follow SSLF's safeguarding requirements and the applicable Volunteer Policy / Volunteer Terms & Conditions.

Depending upon the nature of the assignment, SSLF may require additional:

• identification;
• verification;
• training;
• supervision;
• conduct requirements; or
• other safeguards.

15. Safeguarding in Partnerships

Where SSLF works with schools, colleges, community organisations, CSR partners, government bodies, employers, training institutions or other organisations in activities involving children, SSLF may consider appropriate safeguarding requirements as part of the relevant programme or partnership arrangements.

Where a separate written agreement contains safeguarding requirements, the applicable agreement shall also apply.

16. Reporting a Safeguarding Concern

Anyone who has a genuine concern about the safety or wellbeing of a child in connection with an SSLF activity is encouraged to report the concern promptly.

Reports may be made to:

Shyamsharanam Skills and Livelihood Foundation (SSLF)
Email: info@shyamsharanam.org

A report may relate to:

• suspected abuse;
• suspected exploitation;
• sexual misconduct;
• physical harm;
• emotional abuse;
• neglect;
• bullying;
• inappropriate conduct by a staff member or volunteer;
• inappropriate conduct by another participant; or
• any other serious child-safeguarding concern.

17. Emergency or Immediate Risk

The SSLF reporting channel should not be treated as a substitute for emergency services where immediate intervention is required.

India's child-protection framework includes statutory mechanisms and authorities dealing with children in need of care and protection.

18. Legal Reporting Requirements

Where applicable, safeguarding concerns involving offences against children will be handled in accordance with applicable Indian law.

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) provides a legal framework for protection of children from sexual offences, and the Ministry of Women & Child Development lists the POCSO Act and Rules among India's child-protection legislation.

Where a matter triggers a statutory reporting obligation, SSLF will comply with the applicable legal requirements.

Nothing in this Statement is intended to prevent or discourage lawful reporting to the appropriate authorities.

19. Confidentiality of Reports

SSLF will seek to handle safeguarding concerns sensitively and appropriately.

Information relating to a safeguarding concern may be shared where reasonably necessary for:

• protecting a child;
• investigating or addressing the concern;
• obtaining professional assistance;
• meeting legal obligations; or
• reporting to a competent authority.

Absolute confidentiality cannot be guaranteed where disclosure is required or necessary to protect a child or comply with applicable law.

20. No Retaliation

SSLF does not support retaliation against a person who raises a genuine safeguarding concern in good faith.

A person reporting a concern should not be threatened, intimidated or disadvantaged merely for raising a genuine concern.

This does not prevent SSLF from taking appropriate action where a report is knowingly false, malicious or deliberately misleading.

21. Fair and Responsible Handling

Safeguarding concerns will be considered responsibly and, where appropriate, reviewed through suitable organisational or legal processes.

SSLF will seek to avoid unnecessary disclosure of sensitive information and will take reasonable steps to protect the dignity and privacy of affected persons.

22. Safeguarding Training and Awareness

Where relevant to their roles, SSLF may provide or facilitate safeguarding awareness, orientation or training for staff, volunteers, programme personnel or other persons working with children.

The nature and frequency of such training may depend upon:

• programme requirements;
• risk level;
• role responsibilities;
• applicable law;
• partner requirements; and
• available resources.

23. Background Verification

For roles involving significant or regular interaction with children, SSLF may consider appropriate identity verification, reference checks, background verification or other screening measures, where appropriate and legally permissible.

The level of verification may depend upon the nature of the role and programme.

24. Accessibility and Inclusion

SSLF seeks to ensure that children, including children with disabilities or other access needs, are treated with dignity and are not subjected to discrimination.

Where relevant and reasonably practicable, programme arrangements may consider accessibility, communication and participation requirements.

25. Safeguarding and Online Activities

Where SSLF conducts online learning, digital training, virtual meetings or other online activities involving children, appropriate safeguards should be considered.

These may include:

• appropriate communication channels;
• controlled access;
• privacy protection;
• appropriate adult supervision;
• restrictions on recording or sharing content; and
• other programme-specific safeguards.

26. Child Safeguarding Is Everyone's Responsibility

Safeguarding is not limited to employees or management.

SSLF expects staff, volunteers, trainers, consultants, partners and other persons involved in relevant activities to contribute to maintaining a safe environment.

Anyone who observes or becomes aware of a serious safeguarding concern should take appropriate action and report it through the relevant channel.

27. Relationship with Other SSLF Policies

This Statement should be read together with applicable SSLF policies, including:

• Website & External Privacy Policy;
• Website Terms & Conditions / Terms of Use;
• Website Disclaimer;
• Volunteer Policy / Volunteer Terms & Conditions;
• Accessibility Statement; and
• other programme-specific safeguarding or operational requirements.

Where a specific programme has stricter safeguarding requirements, those requirements may also apply.

28. Limitation of This Public Statement

This Statement describes SSLF's public commitment and general safeguarding approach.

It is not intended to replace detailed internal safeguarding procedures, statutory requirements, programme-specific protocols, emergency procedures or directions issued by competent authorities.

Where applicable law imposes a higher or specific requirement, the applicable legal requirement shall prevail.

29. Policy Review and Updates

SSLF may review and update this Statement from time to time to reflect:

• changes in applicable law;
• changes in programme activities;
• safeguarding learning and good practices;
• changes in organisational procedures;
• partner requirements; or
• other relevant developments.

The “Last Updated” date at the beginning of this document indicates the latest revision.

30. Contact Information

For safeguarding concerns, questions or requests relating to child protection:

Shyamsharanam Skills and Livelihood Foundation (SSLF)

31. Governing Law

This Safeguarding & Child Protection Statement shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws applicable in India.

Subject to applicable law, disputes relating to this Statement shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the competent courts at Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India.

32. Severability

If any provision of this Statement is determined to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue to remain effective to the extent permitted by applicable law.

33. No Waiver

Failure by SSLF to enforce any provision of this Statement at any particular time shall not constitute a waiver of its right to enforce that provision subsequently.