Keeping children safe

Every child and vulnerable adult has the right to be safe, respected and listened to. Most of the people we work with in Huanchaco and Cerrito de la Virgen are children, many living in difficult circumstances, and their wellbeing comes before everything else we do.

We do not tolerate abuse or exploitation of any kind. Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility at OCN: staff, trustees, volunteers, interns and partners alike.

These commitments apply to everyone who works or volunteers with Otra Cosa Network, in Peru or the UK, and to anyone visiting our projects, including partners, donors and journalists.

Before anyone works with children on our programmes:

• they apply through our application process and we check they're suited to the role;
• they must be 18 or over on arrival;
• they provide a current background check from their home country;
• they receive a thorough introduction to OCN and certified training in first aid and child safeguarding;
• they agree to follow our code of conduct and safeguarding policy.

Volunteers are supervised by our coordinators and management team throughout their placement.

Everyone working with us is expected to:

• treat every child and adult with respect, fairly and without favouritism;
• work in the open, where other adults can see and hear, and avoid being alone with a child;
• keep physical contact appropriate and led by the child's needs;
• not contact children privately, including on social media or messaging apps;
• not give personal gifts or money to individual children or families;
• never work under the influence of alcohol or drugs;
• respect local culture and follow the guidance of our Peruvian team;
• report any concern straight away, however small it seems.

Images help us share our work, but a child's safety and dignity always come first:

• we only photograph or film children with their parent or carer's consent;
• we never name children alongside identifiable photos, or say where they live or go to school;
• we remove location data from photos before we publish them;
• volunteers must not post identifiable photos of children on personal social media;
• we show people with dignity, never in a way that exploits their circumstances;
• we remove any image promptly if a family asks us to.

Journalists and partners using our photos must follow our photo guidelines.

Our programmes at the Recreational and Educational Centre in Cerrito de la Virgen, in local schools, on the beach and in the pool are planned and supervised activities. Our coordinators put our safeguarding policy into practice day to day, talk regularly with parents, and flag any concern to the Safeguarding Lead on our management team.

Activities with extra risks, such as swimming, need parental consent for each participant and are led by trained instructors.

If a child or adult is in immediate danger, contact the emergency services first: in Peru, call the police on 105; in the UK, call 999.

If you are worried about a child or vulnerable adult connected with our work, or about the behaviour of anyone working or volunteering with us, please tell us as soon as possible:

• email info@otracosa.org with “Safeguarding concern” in the subject line;
• call our UK office on +44 1926 730029;
• call our Peru office on +51 991 814 666;
• if you're a volunteer in Huanchaco, speak to your coordinator or any member of the management team.

What happens next

We take every concern seriously. It will be passed to our Safeguarding Lead, recorded, and acted on confidentially, and shared only with the people who need to know. Where appropriate we will refer it to the relevant authorities in Peru or the UK and, as a UK charity, report serious incidents to the Charity Commission.

You don't need to be certain something is wrong. If you're worried, please tell us.

This page summarises our approach. Our full safeguarding policy is available on request from info@otracosa.org, and we review it regularly with our trustees.