World Vision, being a humanitarian organisation, regards safeguarding children and vulnerable adults we serve as foundational to all World Vision’s activities, programmes, and lines of ministry (relief, development, and advocacy). Central to everything we do is our commitment to first do no harm to children or adult beneficiaries, to respect the rights of all beneficiaries, and to uphold the best interests of children as a primary consideration in all actions and decisions.

Commitment

World Vision’s absolute priority is protecting children, vulnerable communities and our own staff.

We have zero tolerance of incidents of violence or abuse against children and other people in the communities we serve, either committed by our staff or others connected to our work. We abhor any misuse of power, status, or trusted position for any sexual or other exploitative purposes. We endeavour to tackle this root cause of abuse in our prevention and training efforts. Continuous improvement of safeguarding efforts, which emphasises prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse and other forms of violence or harm, is at the top of our agenda. In our programmes, we have mechanisms to enable communities, beneficiaries, and staff to report potential cases of abuse. We provide training for frontline staff in how to recognise and respond to issues of sexual exploitation and abuse, of children, vulnerable groups, and staff.

Reporting

We encourage anyone who has concerns, either about the conduct of World Vision employees or others affiliated with our work, or of any violence or abuse of children or other vulnerable groups in World Vision’s operations, to report via

1. Call: World Vision Hong Kong (852) 2394 2394
2. Email: World Vision Hong Kong at [email protected], OR
3. Website: World Vision’s confidential Integrity and Protection Hotline at http://worldvision.ethicspoint.com

Confidential Disclosure

Whilst World Vision Hong Kong maintains appropriate confidentiality for individuals in safeguarding incidents, we may disclose information about incidents, when lawfully permitted, in order to support prosecution of suspected criminal activity, meet donor and regulatory requirements, support learning and accountability, advocate to prevent future incidents, or as required by law.

Information in ongoing investigations of Safeguarding Incidents, and information about past incidents, is shared only with those on a ‘need-to-know’ basis, as deemed necessary by the national office or regional office or World Vision International Safeguarding Unit. If it is likely that sensitive information about survivors or about violence against children or adults will not be kept confidential, and would put people at risk if accessed by unauthorised parties, such information is not collected.

Detailed personal information, in particular health information, is not obtained or maintained by World Vision Hong Kong, except for the minimum necessary to ensure World Vision Hong Kong handles the matter appropriately. Such personal data is kept strictly confidential and protected in accordance with the applicable data protection and informational security standards.

Responding to Incidents

All reported incidences are investigated and dealt with in line with World Vision policies. If inappropriate behaviour is confirmed, the consequences may include dismissal from World Vision and reporting the incident to law enforcement authorities for criminal prosecution. For child victims in particular, their immediate safety and longer-term recovery is our priority, and so we also provide support to the victims and help to seek justice for them.