Child safeguarding policy

Child safeguarding policy

Wixutta, Knowledge Center it’s a social enterprise that has the final objective of promote an environment of self-sufficiency and sustainability in the community. Our work has a special focus on children. Those children are potentially at risk, especially due to the low economic level of their families and the consequent scarce access to different basic needs: water, education, feeding, health, and playful-expressive activities that develop in each child or young person the sense of being an individual with rights.

Some inhabitants of the island are people who have been displaced by the recent war in the north of the country, and therefore experienced traumatic situations. This situation and the mentioned shortages increase the risks of all kinds of abuse such as psychological abuse, neglect, financial abuse, domestic abuse, discriminatory abuse, modern slavery, sexual abuse and sexual violence.

It is also worth mentioning that due to cultural (traditional) and religious reasons (preponderance of Muslim culture), the right of young adolescents living in the Unidade neighbourhood to choose their sexuality may be compromised.

The Safeguarding strategy of Wixutta aims to guide and control the conduct of all internal and external collaborators of the center.

The Wixutta Centre rejects any kind of violence against children, whether sexual, physical or psychological.

Wixutta Centre conceives its child protection policy as a statement of intention to preserve the welfare of the child through artistic activities aimed at developing creativity in each child.

We aim to create a safe environment in which no child or adult will experience harm or exploitation during their contact with us. In all cases, the child's interest will prevail over anything else.

Our Safeguarding Strategy helps to ensure that all our activities ensure the safety, security and well-being of children and adults who are involved and avoids negligence on our part.

We want to promote good conduct and good practice. To offer the means to recognise, be aware of and react positively to cases of violence towards children.

The Wixutta Centre recognizes that acts of violence are perpetrated on children in all societies, all cultures and are produced in numerous organisations and that logically, employees and others are likely to be confronted with problems of violence at one time or another. All employees of Wixutta shall be kept informed, through this document, of their responsibilities and duty to prevent violence against children.

Employees must also be aware of their responsibility to report in case of testimony, declaration, revelation or suspicion regarding violence committed against a child.

Thus, the general coordination should make sure that all old and new job descriptions, volunteer assignments and mandates contain a generic statement about the Wixutta Centre's engagement for child protection and the fact that it expects all employees and others to adhere to the values and principles of the child protection policy.

Wixutta Knowledge Ceter is committed to:

Valuing, respecting and listening to children and adults
Creating an LGBT Safety environment.
Minimising and managing situations where abuse could occur, through maintaining strong protection systems and procedures including :

Planning: We plan each of our activities taking into account the condition of each of the participants and provide individual support in each case. Each of the planned artistic activities will have the ultimate aim of creating self-confidence in the children and young people involved as well as providing them with a space of containment. In this way, our planning will be focused on activities that give space to the word of each one (final round in each activity, individual listening sessions, etc.).

Risk assessment:

Risks will be assessed for each planned activity at the Centre and measures will be taken to minimize them:

Know in advance what measures to take and who to contact in case of problems concerning the protection of the child.
To know the local child protection and support structures.
Identify the key characters of the system, as well as their role and responsibility in receiving and reporting problems.
Provide guidance to employees and others and set expectations when it comes to preventing, identifying, reporting and responding to issues of violence against children.
Maintain links with community leaders or informal networks that are almost always able to resolve particular cases of violence against children informally outside the scope of the Centre's programs and activities.
In the case of artistic workshops and performances, there shall never be an adult alone with a minor.
Family consultations will be carried out regarding the acceptability of such activities for young women participating in body-related activities.

Safeguarding systems

A nurse is part of the permanent team of the Centre, who regularly visits the participants and reports any physical or psychological abnormalities in the children.
The physical facilities of the Wixutta Centre (including a house with several furnished rooms) are available for any momentary housing emergency caused by domestic abuse that women over 18 years of age who participate in the centre's activities may have.
It is part of the code of conduct of the Centre to be always attentive to any type of abnormal situation among its inhabitants and to take the necessary measures within the Centre's reach: containment, accompaniment and referral to the competent authorities. All these actions will be carried out with the utmost discretion and respecting the confidentiality required.
Wixutta's own means of transport will be available on a priority basis for any need or emergency that may arise with a child participating in its activities or a member of the community that the child attends.
We require that artist and partners collaborating with the Center are made aware of this policy statement and operate within it.
We will provide adequate and appropriate resources to implement this global policy statement and will ensure it is communicated and understood.

Roles and responsabilities

The general direction is charged with taking overall responsibility for the Wixutta Centre's child protection policy.

General coordination determines policy and good practice.

It is the direct responsibility of the coordination to ensure that all individuals, whatever their status and role, who are in contact with children receive a thorough training on this policy and the procedures relating to it.

The assistants are in charge of the daily implementation of child protection procedures according to the centre's policy .

Wixutta accepts the volunteer regime as long as the volunteer respects and accepts the policy written here.

Volunteers will be informed that the Wixutta Centre may have a legal and/or imperative obligation, in the event of problems of violence against children, to dismiss the individual or group and to report such problems to the appropriate authorities.

Wixutta, Knowledge Center will review this global policy statement every three years to reflect new legal and regulatory developments and ensure good practice.

This global policy statement was approved by Moira Forjaz general director and Antonio Forjaz, administrator.