Safeguarding at FAWE Uganda

1. About FAWE Uganda and This Policy

The Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) Uganda Chapter is one of 34 National Chapters of FAWE, a pan-African Non-Governmental Organisation founded in 1992 by five women ministers of education to promote girls’ and women’s education in Africa. FAWE Uganda was established in 1997 to accelerate female participation in education and close the gender gap within the education system at all levels in Uganda. We work for the benefit of vulnerable women and girls, boys, persons with disabilities, and other socially marginalised groups in communities.

Policy statement. FAWE Uganda recognises the rights of children, especially the vulnerable (refugees, orphans, those infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, out-of-school child parents, child heads of households, the economically disadvantaged, and children with special needs), as well as vulnerable adults including young women and men supported in education programmes, women in the informal sector, the economically disadvantaged, and survivors of Gender-Based Violence. Staff working at different levels can also be vulnerable to abuse or harm, especially by people in positions of responsibility, power, and trust.

As enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and Uganda’s national legal frameworks, FAWE Uganda has a moral and legal obligation to protect children and other vulnerable groups that directly or indirectly come into contact with its representatives, partners, and programmes from all forms of abuse and exploitation. This policy exists to fulfil that responsibility.

2. Key Definitions

A Child

A person below 18 years. FAWE Uganda has a particular focus on adolescent girls aged 10–24, given the heightened risk of abuse at this stage of life.

Child Abuse

Maltreatment of children in the form of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse or neglect. It can be a single incident or a series of repeated events, and can be contact, non-contact, or online. Abuse often involves misuse of a position of responsibility, power, and/or trust.

Emotional Abuse

Attack on a child’s emotional development and self-worth through criticism, verbal insults, blackmail, neglect, ignoring or rejection, belittling, threatening, ridicule, discrimination, comparison, or withdrawal of love, support, and guidance.

Neglect

Persistent failure to provide a child’s basic physical and psychological needs, resulting in impairment of the child’s wellbeing, growth, and development.

Physical Abuse

Maltreatment that causes physical pain and may lead to injury, such as bruises, burns, or broken limbs.

Sexual Abuse

The involvement of a child or vulnerable adult, through enticement or force, in a sexual act. This can be contact in nature (e.g. defilement, fondling, kissing, sodomy) or non-contact (e.g. verbal comments, text messages, exposure to pornography).

Exploitation

The involvement of children in abusive activities that socially or economically benefit the abuser, such as child labour, prostitution, pornography, marriage, or trafficking.

Vulnerable Adults

Persons above 18 years, including young women and men supported in education programmes, women in the informal sector, the economically disadvantaged, survivors of Gender-Based Violence, staff, and communities where FAWE Uganda interventions are implemented.

Safeguarding

Proactive, preventative, and responsive actions taken to protect children, adolescent girls, and vulnerable adults from abuse or harm perpetrated by adults, peers, and those with power over them.

Prevention

The act of employing measures that ensure abuse in its various forms does not happen to children and adolescent girls associated with FAWE Uganda’s work.

3. Purpose and Scope

4. Legal and Ethical Foundations

FAWE Uganda’s obligation to protect children is grounded in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), and Uganda’s national legal framework, including the National Constitution, the Children’s Act, the Penal Code Act, and other child protection legislation addressing trafficking, child sexual abuse, domestic violence, harmful traditional practices, and child labour.

We also uphold international good-practice standards, including the Core Humanitarian Standards relating to safeguarding children, adults, and staff at risk of sexual exploitation and abuse. This includes maintaining a written, comprehensive safeguarding policy; putting safeguards in place to prevent abuse; sensitising and building the capacity of all associates; and regularly reviewing standards to meet changing contexts. FAWE Uganda also maintains an internal risk profile of its programmes and operations, reviewed annually and used to guide prevention measures; this detailed risk assessment is an internal management document.

5. Our Code of Conduct

FAWE Uganda expects all representatives (the Board, members, staff, volunteers, interns, mentors, community facilitators, consultants, and service providers) to uphold the following standards while in contact with children and vulnerable adults.

This standard of conduct also extends to representatives’ private lives: staff and associates are expected never to employ children as house help, never to abuse or exploit children or adults at risk, never to post abusive or defamatory content online, and to always promote the cause of safeguarding in the communities where they live.

6. Prevention: How We Reduce Risk

FAWE Uganda believes prevention is the foundation of safeguarding. Key commitments include:

• Safe recruitment: job descriptions and adverts spell out the level of contact with children and vulnerable adults; interview panels assess candidates’ attitudes towards safeguarding; and background checks (including references and, where necessary, police and Interpol checks) are conducted before hiring.
• Orientation and training: all staff, volunteers, interns, and Board members are inducted on this policy, with regular refresher sessions to keep safeguarding embedded in day-to-day practice.
• Safeguarding in partnerships: prospective partners are vetted for their capacity and commitment to safeguarding before any partnership is formed, and agreements require partners to commit to safe practices and develop their own context-specific safeguarding policies over time.

7. Guidelines for Visitors to FAWE Uganda Programmes

Before visiting or interacting with children and vulnerable adults, all representatives, partners, and visitors are expected to read, understand, and abide by this policy at all times. Simplified versions are made available to visitors on request.

• Communicate your intention to visit, and its timing, at least one week in advance to allow logistical and supervisory preparations.
• Visitors and consultants are oriented on appropriate behaviour and asked to sign a commitment to abide by this policy before interacting with children or adolescent girls.
• All visitors are briefed on the safeguarding policy and local context before meeting children, adolescent girls, or partner organisations.
• When working directly with children, FAWE Uganda staff and representatives ensure the environment is safe, that children have consented to participate, and that their welfare is cared for throughout.
• If, during a visit, you become concerned about the safety or welfare of a child or adolescent girl, or about the behaviour of any FAWE Uganda staff, partner, or stakeholder towards a minor, report it immediately to the organisation’s Safeguarding Focal Person.

8. How We Respond to Safeguarding Concerns

Should preventive measures fail and a child or vulnerable adult be exposed to harm or abuse, FAWE Uganda responds professionally through the procedures below. All matters are handled in the best interest of the child or vulnerable adult, fairly, promptly, and confidentially.

Reporting a concern

• All safeguarding concerns should be reported to the Safeguarding Focal Person within 24 hours.
• Reports can be made in person, or anonymously by email, SMS, or telephone.
• All information relating to a safeguarding concern is stored securely and only accessed on a strict need-to-know basis.
• Failure to report a known concern is treated as a breach of this policy. Anyone who reports a concern in good faith is protected, and retaliation against them will not be tolerated.

Support for affected children and vulnerable adults

The safeguarding officer assesses the immediate and long-term needs of the affected person and ensures these are met, either directly or through a partner organisation or another relevant actor. Immediate needs may include medical care, counselling, alternative care, legal aid, and basic necessities. Longer-term needs may include rehabilitation, continued education, ongoing medical care and counselling, and family reunification. Where a concern involves a criminal offence, it is escalated to the relevant authorities, such as the police.

Investigation principles

Investigations into safeguarding concerns are conducted within 10 working days and are guided by:

• Confidentiality: hearings are conducted in a confidential setting, and documentation is stored securely and accessed only on a need-to-know basis.
• Safety: the safety of the affected person, witnesses, and investigators is prioritised throughout.
• Impartiality: all parties are heard fairly, and no one may attempt to influence the outcome.
• Competence: investigations are conducted by people with the necessary independence, skills, and experience.
• Objectivity: all evidence, conclusions, and recommendations are reported without bias.
• Timeliness: investigations are conducted and reported within 10 working days of a concern being received.
• Accuracy and documentation: findings are adequately documented and accurately reflect the actual proceedings.

Decisions and outcomes

Outcomes are communicated in writing to the affected person and other relevant parties. Any disciplinary response is guided by FAWE Uganda’s Human Resource policy and Uganda’s Employment Act, and may range from a verbal or written warning to suspension, dismissal, or termination of a working relationship or partnership, depending on the nature and severity of the breach.

Partners are also expected to manage safeguarding concerns in line with their own safeguarding policies, and to inform FAWE Uganda’s Safeguarding Focal Person of any concern within 72 hours of it being disclosed. Where a partner is found not to be adhering to child safeguarding standards, FAWE Uganda may end the partnership.

9. Governance and Accountability

This public summary was adapted from the FAWE Uganda Safeguarding Policy 2022–2026, approved by the Board of Governors on 26 February 2022 (Board Chairperson: Margaret Atim Mugeni; Executive Director: Susan Opoka Tumusiime). For the complete policy, please contact a FAWE Uganda office.