Children and youth protection policy

PURPOSE

This Policy has been developed to ensure the rights of children and youth under the domain of the Charitable Organization “OLENA ZELENSKA FOUNDATION” (hereinafter referred to as the Foundation), their protection from negligent and violent treatment, and observance of their rights wherever our activities are implemented.

The Foundation makes all efforts to ensure that children and youth who participate in our projects and with whom we contact are safe, their rights are protected, and they are treated with dignity and respect within all our benevolent activities.

We believe that safety is crucial to children’s and youths’ successful development, the formation of their dreams, and their ability to realize them. The Foundation’s projects are implemented in a safe and caring environment where children and youth can form trustbased relationships and obtain support to become strong and resilient.

We are convinced that every child and young person with whom we contact, regardless of the circumstances, including age, gender identity, economic and social status, abilities, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, are entitled to protection from all forms of harm, violence, neglect, and exploitation.

This Children and Youth Protection Policy sets out the minimum standards that all individuals and legal entities working for, on behalf of, and with the Foundation must maintain to ensure that the safety and well-being of children and young people who come into contact with the Foundation are prioritized in all our actions.

The Foundation’s commitment to protecting children and youth is to take all reasonable steps to ensure that its employees and representatives, projects, and activities do not harm them or expose them to any risk of harm, including harm caused by other children and young people who participate in the Foundation’s projects and/or receive support or assistance from the Foundation. The Foundation also commits to responding appropriately when harm does occur. For this purpose, harm refers to violence, neglect or exploitation of children and youth (see “Definitions”). Violence, neglect and exploitation of children and youth can be intentional acts or omissions (e.g., failure to protect children, inadequate care), can be committed or caused by an adult or a child (e.g., a peer), and result in actual harm to a child or young person or pose a real risk of harm.

APPLICATION AND SCOPE

This Policy applies to all those who work for, on behalf of, and, in any capacity, at the Foundation, regardless of whether such a person receives a salary (or service fees), works on a volunteer basis, provides services to the Foundation, or is the Foundation’s vendor or partner. They include, but are not limited to, (full-time and part-time) employees, service providers, Board members, advisors, contractors, suppliers, partners, donors, and visitors to the Foundation’s office or locations. All those who work for, on behalf of, and at the Foundation must always comply with this Policy.

All individuals and legal entities working for, on behalf of, or at the Foundation must protect children and youth from any harm. This Policy covers all forms and manifestations of harm that may be caused to children and youth.

This Policy shall apply to children and young people under 21 who come into contact with the Foundation.

Coming into contact with the Foundation includes, but is not limited to:

• participation in the Foundation’s projects

• receiving any other type of charitable assistance (targeted or non-targeted), support or services (e.g., psychological services, emergency assistance, education or training, counseling, etc.)

• participation in any event or activity involving anyone who works or provides services for, on behalf of, or at the Foundation

• participation in research or consultations

• interacting, in any other way and for any period, with any person working for, on behalf of, or at the Foundation, providing services, regardless of whether that person performs their official (contractual) duties or is outside of work (during services provision or after their completion)

• receiving any service offered by a partner, contractor or any other party providing such services for or on behalf of the Foundation during the provision of the services or after their completion.

If employees or other persons working and/or providing services for or on behalf of the Foundation reasonably believe that the safety and well-being of a child who comes into contact with the Foundation is at risk, such suspicions must be reported immediately (within 24 hours) to the appropriate authorized body, including, but not limited to, the Office of Children’s Services and the National Police.

The Foundation strives to protect children through its activities, which involve three main areas: prevention, reporting, and response to violence.

PREVENTION

A risk assessment should be conducted before developing and implementing a new project. The existing assessments of risks for current operations should be reviewed and updated annually. Such assessments should take account of the specifics of projects and planned activities.

All those who work for, on behalf of, or at the Foundation must thoroughly read this Children and Youth Protection Policy before signing an employment or civil law agreement and starting to perform labor (contract) duties or provide services.

If any employee or contractor violates this Policy, the Foundation will respond appropriately, including, but not limited to, its right to take disciplinary measures against an employee, hold contractors accountable under contract, or terminate the agreement immediately.

SUSPICIONS AND INCIDENTS REPORTING

The Foundation should establish safe, accessible and reliable procedures and avenues for reporting, including independent channels. Special children and youthfriendly communication channels should be introduced. It is essential to take measures to continuously disseminate information on the channels and avenues of reporting suspicions and cases (including information on the possibility of anonymous reporting).

All reports should be taken seriously, regardless of how long has passed since the incident, even if it seems unlikely or fantastic.

If the whistleblower acts in good faith, they cannot be subjected to measures of influence and retaliation, even if it is later established that the report was unfounded.

RESPONSE

Anyone working for, on behalf of, or at the Foundation must immediately take action to protect a child or young person in a life-threatening situation. Such a situation should be reported as soon as possible.

The Foundation must respond to all reported cases and suspicions. This includes providing appropriate support to victims of violence, neglect or exploitation.

All those who work for, on behalf of, or at the Foundation shall cooperate with the review or investigation of cases and suspicions, whether conducted within the Foundation or with the involvement of public authorities.

The Foundation shall bring to justice, in accordance with applicable laws of Ukraine (or share information for prosecution by law enforcement agencies), any person found guilty of violence, neglect, exploitation or other inappropriate behavior. The consequences for the guilty person must be proportionate to the severity of the violation and comply with the applicable law. The position or status of the person suspected of misconduct should not affect the outcome of reviewing or investigating the incident. If the suspect’s actions have signs of an administrative or criminal offense, measures against such a person should include notifying the relevant law enforcement body.

PRINCIPLES AND VALUES OF THE FOUNDATION WHEN DEALING WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTH

Child and Youth Protection and Safety

In any situation, the main priority for everyone working for, on behalf of or at the Foundation is to protect children from any form of violence, abuse, bullying, depreciation, or other harmful influences.

Rights of a Child and a Young Person

The Children and Youth Protection Policy is based on principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It ensures that all children’s and youths’ rights are respected, including the rights to life, health, education, protection from all forms of violence, access to justice, and being part of decision-making concerning their lives.

Prevention of Risk Situations and Threats

The Children and Youth Protection Policy focuses on preventing risky situations and causes that may endanger children’s and youths’ safety. It provides for developing and implementing programs and measures to prevent various threats to children and youth.

Duty of Care

The Foundation shall take appropriate measures to ensure the safety and well-being of all children and youth who come into contact with it.

Do No Harm

Any actions aimed at protecting children or youth from harm should not harm or expose children and young people to danger or suffering (e.g. through re-victimization or retraumatization).

Voluntary Consent

The provisions of this Policy are not coercive or those requiring a survivor to disclose their experience against their will. Consent from the victim should always be obtained before taking any action or measures, including referring to law enforcement or children’s services. However, when making decisions, it is essential to consider the best interests of the child and their ability to make informed decisions.

Confidentiality and the Need for Information

Employees and other persons working for or on behalf of the Foundation shall keep confidential the sensitive information and personal data of children and young people, including information about their families and situations. Such data may be disclosed only to persons who have access to it to fulfill their duties, such as ensuring the safety of the child, if the child or their legal representative permits sharing such information, or if the relevant state authorities request such data following the procedures established by Ukraine’s current legislation.

Children, Youth, Parents, and the Public Engagement

It provides for the active participation of youth, children, their parents, and the public in creating and implementing the measures to ensure children’s and youths’ safety and well-being. This principle is based on recognizing that youth, children and their parents (caregivers) are critical participants in the decision-making process regarding their lives and well-being.

Inclusion and Equality

This principle provides that every child and young person, regardless of their place of residence, race, gender, ethnicity, social or economic status, physical or mental features, educational challenges, and social identities, is entitled to ensuring safe, emotional, and social well-being.

It involves a systematic approach to safety policy, including the development and implementation of programs and activities. It also involves creating an inclusive and safe environment where children and youth can reach their potential and be happy.

Quality Education and Services Access

Children and youth should be able to receive education in a safe and supportive environment that respects their rights and needs.

Cooperation Between All Stakeholders

It provides for active interaction, cooperation, and partnership among various participants who are responsible for children’s and youths’ safety. Includes information exchange, coordination of efforts, and joint planning and implementation of activities.

Authorities Partnership

The Government and local authorities recognize the importance of the Children and Youth Protection Policy. They undertake responsibility for creating an appropriate legal, regulatory, and institutional environment to protect children’s and youths’ rights and safety.

Continuous Policy Improvement Based on Experience and Research

It involves systematically analyzing the security measures’ efficacy and performance, particularly through evaluation and monitoring, and continuous improvement of the Policy based on the latest scientific research and innovative approaches.

The principles of contact between employees and other persons working for or on behalf of the Foundation are based on respect for the child’s dignity, personal agency, and rights, especially emphasizing the right to protection from harm.

The Foundation assists a young person and a child with their consent and their parents’ consent. Employees communicate with the child with their consent. The Foundation employees explain to parents and children what forms of assistance they can offer them and what will happen during the communication with children and young people in the Foundation’s projects, programs, and events. The explanations addressed to children and young people should be worded in terms of the child’s or young person’s age or abilities.

In pursuance of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Foundation employees respect children’s right to freedom of expression, freedom to search, receive, and disseminate information and ideas, regardless of borders, in oral, written, or printed form, and in artistic form or in any other way of the child’s choice.

Employees and other persons working for or on behalf of the Foundation respect the child’s or young person’s right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion and ensure that the child or young person who is capable of forming their views has the right to express their views freely on all matters concerning them, taking them seriously, according to the child’s or young person’s age and maturity.

Employees and other persons working for or on behalf of the Foundation listen to the child / young person carefully and with care. When communicating with the child, they use language adapted to their development level.

The Foundation helps children / young people regardless of gender, race, color, religion, political and other beliefs, national and social origin, belonging to national minorities, disability, property status, and the birth of children and their parent caregivers (guardians). Any form of discrimination is prohibited.

The Foundation tries to help children and young people regardless of their language when, for objective reasons independent of the Foundation, it may not be possible to assist in the national language.

Employees and others working for or on behalf of the Foundation shall treat all children and young people equally, respecting their concerns, experiences, and beliefs.

Any behavior that shows signs of psychological, physical, or sexual abuse is prohibited.

Employees and others working for or on behalf of the Foundation may not participate in or consent to any illegal activity involving or likely to involve a child or young person.

Employees and others working for or on behalf of the Foundation shall take into account that, in accordance with applicable laws, it is prohibited to offer alcohol, psychoactive substances and medicines to children.

INFORMATION AND IMAGES PROTECTION

When taking photos of or recording a child / young person or using their images for official purposes, it is required to:

 obtain the informed written consent of the child / young person and/or a parent or a guardian before taking photos of or recording the child / young person; explain how the photo or video will be used

 ensure that photos and videos represent young people / children with dignity and respect, not in a vulnerable or submissive way; children must be dressed appropriately

 make sure that the images honestly reflect context and facts

 ensure fair and non-stereotypical visibility of girls and boys from different groups so as not only to reflect their equal representation but also not to support gender stereotypes

and allow boys and girls to be represented on an equal footing and in their diverse roles

 make sure that file labels, metadata, and text descriptions do not reveal identifying information (mobile phone numbers, addresses, etc.) about the young person / child when sending or publishing images electronically.

CONFIDENTIALITY

The Foundation is committed to adhering to principles and approaches that ensure that information related to youth / children and their safety is processed and stored according to the established regulations and legislation.

Confidentiality implies a respectful and trusting attitude toward all information we receive regarding youth / children, their conditions, needs, and experiences. This means that any information we receive will be treated as confidential and used exclusively for the young person’s / child’s protection and well-being.

Personal data of young people / children, such as name, surname, patronymic, e-mail, phone number, public social media accounts, etc., shall be transferred by employees and other persons working for or on behalf of the Foundation with the consent of the child or their legal representative.

The Foundation processes information about young people / children, including their personal data, such as first name, last name, e-mail, phone number, etc., and additional information, to fulfill obligations on the projects in which the child / young person participates.

Personal data are processed based on the following principles:

 legality of the purposes and methods of personal data processing and diligence

 compliance of the personal data processing purpose with the goals defined in advance and stated when collecting personal data

 compliance of the scope and nature of the processed personal data with the personal data processing methods and purposes

 unacceptability of combining the databases that contain personal data created for incompatible purposes.

OTHER MEASURES TAKEN BY THE FOUNDATION TO IMPLEMENT THE CHILDREN AND YOUTH PROTECTION POLICY

Following its charter and mission, the Foundation carries out other activities to protect children’s rights in addition to its direct activities that aim to help youth, children, and their families. These measures are also a form of the implementation of the Children and Youth Protection Policy.

These measures include:

• promotion of high standards of care and treatment of children with respect for

their dignity

• participation in and co-organization of campaigns that promote children’s / young person’s rights and their protection from injustice

• advocacy of changes in legislation and the way legislation applies as related to the Foundation’s objectives

• organization, conduct of, and support for research related to the Foundation’s goals

This Policy complies with the following main documents:

- Constitution of Ukraine

- Convention on the Rights of the Child

- Family Code of Ukraine

- Law of Ukraine “On the Protection of Childhood”

- Law of Ukraine “On Preventing and Countering Domestic Violence”

- Law of Ukraine “On Education”

- Law of Ukraine “On the Basic Principles of Cybersecurity in Ukraine”.

Also, this Policy is provided to all children and young people who take part in the Foundation’s projects and to their legal representatives by its posting on the Foundation’s website:

DEFINITIONS

Bullying (harassment): a form of persistent threatening and aggressive physical behavior or verbal abuse directed at other people, especially those who are younger, smaller, weaker, or in relatively disadvantaged environment.

Cyberbullying: sending verbal threats or insults using digital technologies such as cell phones, email, social media, or text messages.

An incident of child and youth protection violation: a situation where a child or young person suffers harm as a result of actions or inaction of employees, volunteers, Board members, service providers or any other persons working for, on behalf of or at the Foundation, or those of a child or young person who is under alternative care (family-based care) or receives psychosocial support provided by the Foundation.

An incident may also involve a situation where a child or young person is harmed as a result of actions or inaction of a family member or by another adult in the Foundation’s project, especially in the case of children and young people under alternative care (family-based care) or receiving psychosocial support services provided by the Foundation.

This definition covers the following:

 situations where child victims of violence and neglect do not receive the necessary support and remain vulnerable to further violence or recurring problematic behavior on other children’s part

 situations where violence among children or youth is not addressed through appropriate measures

 situations where employees fail to fulfill their duty of care, for example, by not responding appropriately to reports and suspicions.

Grooming (sexual advances): the process of creating (establishing) trust-based relationships with a child or young person over some time to further commit sexual violence against them, including such actions on the Internet.

Exploitation: using a person to obtain benefits for oneself or a third party in cash or kind. Exploitation is a complex type of violence that includes one or more basic forms of violence (physical, emotional or sexual abuse or neglect). Exploitation also involves the use of the traumatic experience of an individual child or young person to elicit sympathy from the target audience for further fundraising. Exploitation also includes the use of children for domestic labor.

Emotional abuse: a behavior, language and actions, such as bullying (harassment), intimidation, threats, mockery, ridicule, humiliation, insults, or creating a hostile or intimidating environment that negatively affects the self-perception and development of a child or young person. Emotional abuse can also occur on the Internet.

Children and youth protection: the Foundation’s commitment to take all possible measures to ensure that its employees, representatives, and projects do not harm children and youth and do not expose them to any risk of harm, and to respond appropriately when the harm does occur.

Violence: any act or omission, intentional or negligent that harms a child or young person.

There are four primary internationally recognized forms of violence: physical, emotional

(psychological), sexual violence, and neglect. The Foundation also recognizes bullying (harassment), financial violence and violation of the right to privacy as specific forms of violence.

Neglect: negligence with respect to providing adequate care, nutrition, clothing or shelter, or violation of a child’s or young person’s right to health, education and safety.

Neglect also includes failing to provide adequate support to children who are victims of abuse and neglect, failing to address violence between children, and failing to respond appropriately to child and youth protection concerns.

Personal data: information or a set of information about an identified or specifically identifiable individual.

Privacy right violation: protection of the privacy of a child concerns the personal data of a child or young person, as well as images, texts, films or other materials created for advertising purposes containing such data.

Privacy right violation refers to arbitrary or unlawful interference with private life. This includes, but is not limited to, disclosing information about the child or young person’s situation (story), health status, and family circumstances to others without a lawful basis; searching or examining the child or young person’s personal belongings; surveillance of the person, for example, through video surveillance systems; and monitoring and disclosing correspondence, including correspondence and online communication.

However, limited interference with a child’s private life does not constitute a privacy right violation if it is necessary for reasons of safety and protection of the child’s rights and is in the child’s best interests; the degree of interference is proportionate to any legitimate risk and, where possible, such interference should be carried out by law enforcement authorities on legitimate grounds.

Sexual abuse: an actual sexual assault by force, coercion or unequal conditions, or an attempt to commit such an assault. Sexual abuse can be committed with or without physical contact, including on the Internet.

Any sexual acts of any nature between a child and persons working (providing services) for, on behalf of or at the Foundation are considered sexual abuse.

Sexual exploitation: any abuse or attempted abuse of a position of power or trust for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, obtaining a monetary gain or social or political advantage from the sexual exploitation of another person, including such actions on the Internet.

Sexual coercion: the use of verbal or physical means (including the use of drugs or alcohol, with or without consent) to perform sexual acts without voluntary consent. Sexual coercion includes psychological or emotional pressure and grooming and can also occur on the Internet.

Sexual harassment: any non-solicited and forced acts or proposals of a sexual nature, verbal or physical conduct or gestures of a sexual nature, or any other conduct of a sexual nature that could be perceived as offensive or humiliating to another person, including those committed on the Internet.

Physical violence: infliction of physical harm, such as hitting, slapping, shaking, pushing, biting, pulling hair or ears, corporal punishment, or other actions that cause physical pain and/or harm.

Financial violence: relates to cases where children and youth are victims of theft, embezzlement or misuse of their money, including daily allowances, funds to support children leaving foster care, sponsorships, etc.