About the term Safeguarding, where it is used and what it means

The term Safeguarding is most widely used in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as Ireland and Australia. It refers to measures to protect the health, welfare and human rights of children, young people and vulnerable adults and help them to live free from violence and neglect, abuse and harassment, and to respond appropriately when violence occurs.
In the UK, theNational Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) pays special attention to preventing and responding to violence from anyone who actually attempts to abuse children, who may potentially do so, who attempts to abuse power, trust and vulnerability, especially for sexual purposes. The activity of this service is to ensure child protection policy at the state level. And the priority is prevention - preventing violence, conducting various courses and trainings for all those involved with children, and, if the fact of violence is established, a clear algorithm of response involving all necessary services, including legal, psychological, and medical assistance.

Children are vulnerable members of society. Given their age, they cannot protect themselves from violence and physical or mental harm on their own. It is the duty of society to ensure that this does not happen to any child, and we need safe adults who care about the holistic development of children. Child safety is a collective responsibility.

Violent acts may be visible, but often people remain silent about them. That is why it is so important for a society that strives for a culture of safety to conduct training and implement safety policies so that all members of society understand their own responsibility, so that adults in various fields care about the well-being of children.

For example, the international humanitarian organization GOAL, which also provides assistance to Ukraine, has made the protection of children and vulnerable adults part of its corporate culture. Any person with whom the staff works or comes into contact, regardless of age, gender, disability, sexual preference or country of origin, has the right to be protected from all forms of harm, physical or emotional abuse and neglect, as well as sexual exploitation and abuse. In other words, a safe-guarding policy is relevant not only for institutions that have direct contact with children, but should be part of the corporate culture of all organizations.

Child protection involves changing approaches to the security of public life, including kindergartens, schools, various clubs, sections, creative centers, charitable organizations, hospitals, churches, service institutions, transportation, etc. Everyone who works in such institutions needs appropriate training to ensure that they perform their duties competently.
Safety starts with us. So let's work together to create it in Ukraine. UCU's Center for the Dignity of the Child works with child safety in three areas: education, medicine, and the church. In each of these areas, we are engaged in prevention, training, and involvement in the formation of safety policies in various institutions and organizations, as well as in the implementation of these policies in the culture of the organization.

The course "Safeguarding. Child Safety in the Educational Environment" course, which we launched jointly with the Lviv Education Department, was successfully completed by 1978 educators from Lviv and the community on the NIT - Learning and Technology platform. It has also recently been made available on UCU-online.
It is intended for educators, club leaders, institutions working with children, and parents to understand how to recognize a child who is being abused, how to recognize the abuser, and what types of violence are involved. Also, to know the norms of behavior between workers and children, what to do if there is a suspicion that a child is being abused, and where to seek professional help. 6 short videos of up to 10 minutes, a pdf supplement with useful materials, and a certificate of completion.

You can take the course by registering on the UCU-online platform here: https://online.ucu.edu.ua/.../course-v1:UCU+EC19.../about We are adding a video instruction on how to register on the platform: https://drive.google.com/.../1SC6wqc8dqYuYk3qF.../view... *The form of study is remote, asynchronous. You can attend lectures at any time.