We believe that:

 

• Women and young girls should never experience abuse of any kind

• We have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all people who attend our community events, to keep them safe and to practise in a way that protects them.

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We recognise that:

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• the welfare of women and young girls is paramount in all the work we do and in all the decisions we take all children, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation have an equal right to protection from all types of harm or abuse

• some women and young girls are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs or other issues

• working in partnership women, young girls and their families, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting their welfare.

 

We will seek to keep women and young girls safe by:​

• valuing, listening to and respecting them

• appointing a nominated protection lead for women and young girls, a deputy and a lead trustee/board member for safeguarding

• adopting  protection and safeguarding best practice through our policies, procedures and code of conduct for staff and volunteers

• developing and implementing an effective online safety policy and related procedures

• providing effective management for staff and volunteers through supervision, support, training and quality assurance measures so that all staff and volunteers know about and follow our policies, procedures and behaviour codes confidently and competently

• recruiting and selecting staff and volunteers safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made

• recording, storing and using information professionally and securely, in line with data protection legislation and guidance [more information about this is available from the Information Commissioner’s Office: ico.org.uk/for- organisations]

• sharing information about safeguarding and good practice with women, young girls their families via leaflets, posters, group work and one-to-one discussions

• making sure that women, young girls and their families know where to go for help if they have a concern

• using our safeguarding and child protection procedures to share concerns and relevant information with agencies who need to know, and involving children, young people, parents, families and carers appropriately

• using our procedures to manage any allegations against staff and volunteers appropriately

• creating and maintaining an anti-bullying environment and ensuring that we have a policy and procedure to help us deal effectively with any bullying that does arise

• ensuring that we have effective complaints and whistleblowing measures in place

• ensuring that we provide a safe physical environment for our children, young people, staff and volunteers, by applying health and safety measures in accordance with the law and regulatory guidance

• building a safeguarding culture where staff and volunteers, women, children, young people and their families, treat each other with respect and are comfortable about sharing concerns.