Sharing resources on PSEAH
Due to the increased interest in issues around Protection against Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (PSEA), on 27 March 2018, the CHS Alliance and Bond hosted a webinar to share resources with HR professionals and senior managers. The webinar was intended to assist organisations to get started with reviewing their safeguarding procedures and practice. To widen the reach of these resources, we created a clickable info-sheet with the most relevant tools – please feel free to share it on social media and via your networks.
After sharing and running through the key resources for PSEA (which are also listed below), the invited experts talked about some of the approaches that organisations can take when reviewing their practices around safeguarding and PSEA.
Corinne Davey from GCPS Consulting recommended benchmarking against standards as a first step. The benchmarking could be done against the IASC’s Minimum Operating Standards for PSEA, the Child Safeguarding Standards and the Core Humanitarian Standard. A second step could then be to undertake a risk assessment exercise.
When looking at recruitment procedures, Lucy Heaven Taylor suggested consulting the IASC’s report on Challenges and options in improving recruitment processes in the context of Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) by our own staff. She also said that a clear system needs to be in place for dealing with reports of sexual misconduct, so as to ensure that they are properly dealt with. For example, consider whether the reports are referred to the correct people within the organisation; if an investigation is required, do you have enough in-house capacity to deal with it or do you need outside help? Are you prepared or skilled enough to make the correct management decisions based on all the information you are able to obtain? It’s important to look at organisational capacity alongside the step-by-step procedures, this should then help to build trust.
Richard Powell from SafeForChildren spoke about using this time as an opportunity to adopt a holistic approach to ensuring that our organisations are safe. He added that we tend to focus on certain aspects of safeguarding instead of addressing all of the risks and responsibilities across an organisation. Safeguarding should not be solely an activity that sits within HR, a whole organisational approach should be adopted. This may require a change in mindset as we change and build a different organisational culture.
Resources
Getting started with PSEA
- Guidelines for Investigations – this comprehensive document goes through the stages of an investigation from setting up a complaints mechanism to closing the investigation.
- PSEA Implementation Quick Reference Handbook – provides a complete quick reference guide to implementing measures for protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) in an organisation or project. It is based around IASC’s Minimum Operating Standards for PSEA and the Core Humanitarian Standard.
- Safer Recruitment and Ethical Recruitment Guidelines – these guidelines present suggestions to consider within recruitment processes.
- Training workshops on SEA investigations
- A pool of recommended consultants who are specialists in SEA and experienced in investigations and facilitating training.
Further resources
- Bond’s safeguarding page – a collection of resources and training materials including the ones mentioned above.
- Bond’s safeguearing policy template – a suite of core policies that can be adapted or used as they are to strengthen your safeguarding framework.
- NCVO knowledge bank – a number of safeguarding resources produced by and focusing on the UK charity sector.
On-line training
InterAction has three online learning tools on SEA, available for all:
- SEA “101” – a basic, entry-level introduction to SEA easily accessible for field-based staff;
- Management of SEA Investigations – a 13-minute introduction to managers’ roles in establishing codes of conduct, complaints mechanisms and managing investigations; and
- SEA 201: Mainstreaming SEA Prevention and Response – a 35-minute module offering guidance on fundamental elements necessary to mainstream the prevention and response to SEA in agencies.
These courses can also be found on Kaya and Disaster Ready
Q & A resources
Highly recommended for analysis
Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Peacekeeping Operations – Improving Victims’ Access to Reparation, Support and Assistance (REDRESS report)
Developing policies
Refer to the PSEA Handbook webpage – section on developing policies and procedures
and the Keeping Children Safe website resources section
Examples of practice
British Council – care of under 18s
Events