CADEF CAMEROON is committed to the protection, safety, and wellbeing of all children and vulnerable adults who engage with our programmes. This policy sets international-standard expectations and procedures to prevent harm, recognise and report concerns, and respond swiftly, ethically, and compassionately when safeguarding risks arise.
Purpose
To protect children and vulnerable persons from abuse, neglect, exploitation, and harmful practices by establishing clear prevention, reporting, and response measures that align with international safeguarding principles.
Scope
This policy applies to:
- All CADEF staff, board members, interns, volunteers, consultants, contractors, and partners.
- All CADEF activities, programmes, events, fieldwork, digital platforms, and representations at any location.
- Interactions with children and vulnerable adults reached directly or indirectly by CADEF programmes, including through partners and community volunteers.
Guiding Principles
- Best interests of the child: Decisions affecting a child prioritise their safety and wellbeing.
- Zero tolerance: CADEF has zero tolerance for all forms of child abuse, exploitation, neglect, and harmful practices.
- Do no harm: All activities must avoid exposing children or vulnerable persons to preventable risk.
- Confidentiality and dignity: Information is handled sensitively to protect survivors and witnesses.
- Survivor-centred approach: Responses prioritise safety, informed choice, confidentiality, and non-discrimination for survivors.
- Accountability and transparency: CADEF maintains clear reporting lines, documented procedures, and regular review.
- Compliance with law: Procedures meet applicable national laws and international standards; where laws conflict with this policy the higher standard for protection applies.
Definitions
- Child: Any person under 18 years of age.
- Vulnerable adult: An adult at increased risk of abuse due to disability, illness, age, or social circumstances.
- Abuse: Physical, sexual, emotional or psychological harm, neglect, exploitation, or any other act that endangers a child’s wellbeing.
- Sexual exploitation and abuse: Any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust for sexual purposes.
Roles and Responsibilities
- Board of Directors: Provide governance oversight, approve the policy, ensure resourcing for safeguarding, and review major incidents.
- Executive Director: Ensure policy implementation, appoint a Safeguarding Focal Point, and report to the Board on safeguarding performance.
- Safeguarding Focal Point: Act as the designated officer for receiving reports, coordinating investigations, and ensuring survivor support and referral.
- Managers and Supervisors: Ensure staff compliance, deliver induction and refresher training, and model safe behaviours.
- All Personnel and Partners: Read, understand, sign acknowledgement of the policy, complete mandatory safeguarding training, and report concerns immediately.
Prevention Measures
- Safe Recruitment: Include safeguarding statements in job adverts; require references; conduct background checks where feasible; include safeguarding clauses in contracts.
- Codes of Behaviour: All personnel must follow clear behavioural standards with children and vulnerable adults, including no one-to-one private contact without appropriate safeguards.
- Training and Induction: Mandatory safeguarding induction for all personnel and annual refresher training. Role-specific advanced training where staff have direct contact with children.
- Risk Assessment: Conduct safeguarding risk assessments for programmes, events, field visits, media activities, and partner arrangements. Embed mitigation measures in project design.
- Community Engagement: Communicate safeguarding expectations to communities, partners, and volunteers and provide accessible information on reporting channels.
- Media and Consent: Obtain informed consent from children and guardians before photography, recording, or publication, following the Media & Consent guidance.
Reporting Procedures
- Immediate Safety: If a child is in immediate danger, priority is to secure safety and seek urgent medical or protective services.
- Internal Reporting: Report concerns immediately to the Safeguarding Focal Point or, if unavailable, to the Executive Director or Board Chair. Reports must be made even if the information is incomplete.
- Confidential Channels: CADEF provides secure and confidential channels for reporting, including anonymous mechanisms where safe and legally permitted. Retaliation against reporters is prohibited.
- External Reporting: Where required by law or risk assessment, CADEF will notify statutory child protection authorities and cooperate with official investigations.
Response and Investigation
- Triage and Risk Assessment: The Safeguarding Focal Point conducts an initial assessment to determine urgency, safety actions, and next steps.
- Survivor-Centred Support: Provide immediate support tailored to the survivor’s needs, including medical care, psychosocial support, and safe accommodation where necessary. Decisions are guided by the survivor’s informed wishes and best interests.
- Investigation: Allegations are investigated promptly, impartially, and confidentially. Investigations follow documented procedures and legal obligations; external experts or independent investigators are engaged when necessary.
- Case Management: Maintain a secure case record with restricted access. Case outcomes, actions taken, and safeguarding lessons learned are documented.
- Disciplinary and Legal Action: CADEF will take appropriate disciplinary action, up to termination, against personnel found to have breached this policy and will support legal proceedings where appropriate.
Partner and Contractor Obligations
- Safeguarding Due Diligence: Screen partners and contractors for safeguarding capacity during selection and include safeguarding requirements in agreements.
- Mandatory Standards: Partners must adopt equivalent safeguarding standards, provide training to their staff, and report concerns to CADEF. CADEF will suspend or terminate partnerships where safeguarding standards are not met.
Record Keeping and Confidentiality
- Secure Storage: Maintain safeguarding records in secure, access-controlled systems.
- Minimum Information: Record only necessary information for protection and legal purposes.
- Retention: Follow the Document Retention policy for storage and lawful disposal of safeguarding records.
- Data Protection: Handle personal data in line with the Privacy & Data Protection policy and applicable law.
Monitoring, Learning, and Review
- Monitoring: Track safeguarding indicators, training completion, and incident response times; report summaries to the Board annually.
- Learning: Conduct after-action reviews, integrate lessons into practice, and share non-identifying lessons with staff and partners.
- Policy Review: Review this policy at least annually or after any serious incident; revise as needed and publish updates on the CADEF website.
Confidentiality, Anonymity, and Non-Retaliation
- Confidentiality: Protect identities and details of survivors and reporters; share information strictly on a need-to-know basis.
- Anonymity: Offer anonymous reporting where it does not compromise a child’s safety or breach legal obligations.
- Non-Retaliation: CADEF prohibits retaliation against anyone reporting in good faith and will take action against retaliatory behaviour.
Communication and Accessibility
- Public Information: Publish an accessible summary of this policy on the CADEF website and provide clear signposting to reporting channels.
- Language and Format: Ensure policy and reporting materials are available in local languages and in accessible formats for children, caregivers, and community members.
Definitions and Useful Contacts
- Definitions provided earlier apply.
- Safeguarding Focal Point: contact details published internally and on the CADEF intranet and listed in programme materials.
- For governance queries or formal requests, email info@cadef.org.
Related Policies
Read this policy alongside the Code of Conduct, Whistleblower Protection, Privacy & Data Protection, Feedback & Complaints, and Document Retention policies.
Last updated: October 2025.