The Protection of Children is a Priority
Supporting children in their development and the development of their personalities is a fundamental concern of the Church and Diakonia. The Evangelisches Werk für Diakonie und Entwicklung therefore sees itself as having a special obligation to protecting children effectively.
Child Protection Strategy of Bread for the World
Children are particularly vulnerable. The protection of their interests as well as the protection of their physical, mental and spiritual well-being as an integral human right must therefore be an elementary component of all activities of the Evangelisches Werk für Diakonie und Entwicklung (EWDE – Protestant Agency for Diakonie and Development) – all over the world. In many countries where Brot für die Welt (Bread for the World) and Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe (Diakonie Emergency Aid) support projects, most of the population is under the age of 20. Of the 1.9 billion children under the age of 18 worldwide - this is the United Nations age limit for children - about one billion live in poverty.
Development cooperation and humanitarian aid projects that directly or indirectly improve the situation of children are therefore particularly worthy of support.
Preventive Measures Minimize Risk
Even though children experience violence and sexual exploitation mainly in their own families, the risk of assaults outside the family should not be underestimated. Dependency relationships play a major role here.
This also applies to development cooperation and humanitarian aid organizations and their partner organizations. Due to their position, their employees hold a position of power that requires a particularly high degree of sensitivity and responsibility. The danger of potential perpetrators seeking access to children must be taken seriously and minimized with preventive measures. This starts with the hiring process: every person who will get into direct or indirect contact with children in their work must present an extended police certificate of good conduct. This is requested at regular intervals. All employees are continuously trained on child protection according to their functions. When hired, employees are informed about the child protection system and are obliged to contact the child protection team in the event of suspicious observations or information.
Binding Child Protection Strategy for all Employees
By anchoring our child protection strategy in a mandatory manner, we want to raise awareness of the issue of child protection among all employees and partner organizations and establish clear rules for dealing with any suspicion of child endangerment. The Child Protection Strategy forms a coordinated system for protection against violence and exploitation for all employees in Germany and abroad. To ensure compliance, we have established a child protection team, providing ongoing information and awareness, and implementing child protection standards in all departments. In addition, the child protection team immediately initiates the case management system in the event of suspected cases. The aim is to take all necessary measures to protect the child's best interests as quickly as possible and to clarify suspected cases immediately.
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