As we reaffirm and formalize our commitment to care, we have adopted enhanced safeguarding policies and developing a holistic safeguarding organizational structure and practices that will be integral to our everyday work. GHR’s new policies include our:
- Child and Vulnerable Persons Protection Policy, informed by international best practice that sets out clear expectations for our Board, Committee members, Officers and all staff; and
- Code of Conduct, that prioritizes organizational integrity and the care and protection of the communities we serve and has a zero-tolerance approach to violations.
GHR has also supported the development of the FADICA Funder Safeguarding Pledge [download .pdf], and became a signatory to the Pledge in January 2020. Our adoption of the Pledge underscores our ongoing commitments to the protection of vulnerable persons and will help guide our ongoing efforts to strengthen and maintain a culture of proactive, holistic safeguarding across GHR. As a signatory to the pledge, GHR will be able to leverage key resources, trainings, and consultation from national abuse prevention experts to strengthen our safeguarding efforts and align ourselves with other funders.
Furthermore, GHR is partnering with Keeping Children Safe, the world’s leading global network committed to safeguarding vulnerable children from exploitation and abuse. KCS will conduct an internal audit of our policies, practices, systems; as well as assist GHR in building a roadmap for establishing a holistic safeguarding organizational structure and explore new ways to bring training and support to our partners.
True safeguarding demands that each of us as funders and service providers critically consider how we might best care for all the lives that our internal and external work impacts — from our own staff to the individuals among our partner organizations, and the lives of those we hope to benefit at the community level.
GHR encourages our peers and partners to join us in every effort to bring greater accountability, transparency, and comprehensive safeguarding to working in service of all children and vulnerable persons everywhere.