Safeguarding Policy
Orthomolecular Oncology / Survive Cancer:
UK Registered Charity: 1078066.
**********************************************************
SAFEGUARDING POLICY
**********************************************************
The purpose of this policy is to protect people – particularly children, at-risk adults and any charity beneficiaries, from any harm that may be caused due to their coming into contact with Orthomolecular Oncology/Survive Cancer.
This includes harm arising from:
- The conduct of any future staff, future volunteers or future personnel associated with Orthomolecular Oncology/ Survive Cancer.
- The design and implementation of Orthomolecular Oncology/ Survive Cancer’s potential public programmes and activities.
- The policy lays out the commitments made by Orthomolecular Oncology/ Survive Cancer, and informs any future staff, volunteers and associated personnel of their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding.
This policy does not cover:
- Sexual harassment. This is covered by employment legislation.
- Safeguarding concerns in the wider community not perpetrated by Orthomolecular Oncology/ Survive Cancer or associated personnel or volunteers.
- Nor does it cover any safeguarding concerns associated with actions taken by institutions or individuals who do contract scientific research or other essential contract work for Orthomolecular Oncology/Survive Cancer.
Policy principle:
Any Orthomolecular Oncology/ Survive Cancer staff or volunteers must avoid, if at all possible, any unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 years of age.
All potential staff or volunteers are required to supply two character references.
What is safeguarding?
In the UK, safeguarding means protecting people’s health, wellbeing and human rights, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect.
In our non-profit sector, we understand it to mean protecting people, including children and at-risk adults, from harm that arises from coming into contact with our staff, volunteers, or the charity’s activities.
Further definitions relating to safeguarding are provided in the glossary below.
Scope
- All potential staff and volunteers contracted by Orthomolecular Oncology/ Survive Cancer.
- Associated personnel while they are engaged with work or visits related to Survive Cancer, including but not limited to the following: consultants; volunteers; contractors; and charity visitors, including journalists.
POLICY STATEMENT
Orthomolecular Oncology/ Survive Cancer believes that everyone we come into contact with, regardless of age, gender, disability, or ethnic origin has the right to be protected from all forms of harm, abuse, neglect and exploitation. Survive Cancer will not tolerate abuse and exploitation by any potential charity staff, volunteers or other associated personnel.
This policy will address the following areas of safeguarding: child safeguarding, adult safeguarding, and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse.
Orthomolecular Oncology/ Survive Cancer commits to addressing safeguarding throughout its work, through the three pillars of prevention, reporting and response.
PREVENTION
Orthomolecular Oncology/ Survive Cancer responsibilities:
Orthomolecular Oncology/ Survive Cancer will:
- Ensure all staff and volunteers have access to, are familiar with, and know their responsibilities within this policy.
- Design and undertake all its programmes and activities in a way that protects people from any risk of harm that may arise from their coming into contact with Orthomolecular Oncology/ Survive Cancer. This includes the way in which information about individuals in any future research programmes is gathered and communicated.
- Implement stringent safeguarding procedures when recruiting, managing and deploying staff, volunteers and associated personnel, such as Trustees.
- Ensure staff or volunteers receive training on safeguarding at a level commensurate with their role in the organisation.
- Follow up on reports of safeguarding concerns promptly and according to due process.
Staff or Volunteers’ responsibilities.
Child safeguarding
Orthomolecular Oncology/ Survive Cancer staff, volunteers and associated personnel must not:
- Engage in sexual activity with anyone under the age of 18
- Sexually abuse or exploit children
- Subject a child to physical, emotional or psychological abuse, or neglect
- Engage in any commercially exploitative activities with children including child labour or trafficking.
Adult safeguarding
- Survive Cancer staff, volunteers and associated personnel must not:
- Sexually abuse or exploit at-risk adults
- Subject an at-risk adult to physical, emotional or psychological abuse, or neglect.
- In any way take advantage of people with medical conditions by giving them medical misinformation, or information that lacks a reasonable degree of scientific basis.
Protection from sexual exploitation and abuse.
Orthomolecular Oncology/ Survive Cancer staff, secondees and associated personnel must not:
- Exchange money, employment, goods or services for sexual activity. This includes any exchange of assistance that is due to beneficiaries of assistance
- Engage in any sexual relationships with the charity’s beneficiaries, since they are based on inherently unequal power dynamics
- Additionally, Orthomolecular Oncology/ Survive Cancer staff, volunteers and associated personnel are obliged to:
- Contribute to creating and maintaining an environment that prevents safeguarding violations and promotes the implementation of its Safeguarding Policy .
- Report any concerns or suspicions regarding safeguarding violations by an Orthomolecular Oncology/ Survive Cancer Staff, volunteer, or associated personnel to the appropriate staff or volunteer member.
ENABLING REPORTS
Orthomolecular Oncology/ Survive Cancer will ensure that safe, appropriate, accessible means of reporting safeguarding concerns are made available to staff or volunteers and any future research subjects or collaborators we may work with.
Any staff or volunteer reporting concerns or complaints will be protected.
Survive Cancer will also accept complaints from external sources such as members of the public, partners and official bodies.
How to report a safeguarding concern:
Staff or volunteer members who have a complaint or concern relating to safeguarding should report it immediately to:
Contact details:
Dr Carmen Wheatley. wheatley.carmen@googlemail.com
If the staff or volunteer member does not feel comfortable reporting it to (for example, if they feel that the report will not be taken seriously, or if that person is implicated in the concern), they may report to
Contact details: Kendra Kirkham, kendra@sky.com
RESPONSE
Orthomolecular Oncology/ Survive Cancer will follow up safeguarding reports and concerns according to policy and procedure, and legal and statutory obligations.
Orthomolecular Oncology/ Survive Cancer will apply appropriate disciplinary measures to staff or volunteers found in breach of policy.
Orthomolecular Oncology/ Survive Cancer will offer support to survivors of harm cause by staff, volunteers or associated personnel, regardless of whether a formal internal investigation is carried out. Decisions regarding support will be led by the survivor.
Confidentiality
It is essential that confidentiality is maintained at all stages of the process when dealing with safeguarding concerns. Information relating to the concern and subsequent case management should be shared on a need-to-know basis only and should be kept secure at all times.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Beneficiary of Assistance
Someone who directly receives goods or services from Orthomolecular Oncology/ Survive Cancer. Note that misuse of power can also apply to the wider community that the organisation serves, and also can include exploitation by giving the perception of being in a position of power.
Child /Minor
A person below the age of 18.
Harm
Psychological, physical and any other infringement of an individual’s rights, health and well being.
Psychological harm
Emotional or psychological abuse including (but not limited to) humiliating and degrading treatment such as bad name-calling, constant criticism, belittling, persistent shaming, solitary confinement and isolation.
Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA)
The term used by the humanitarian and development community to refer to the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse of affected populations by staff, secondee or associated personnel. The term derives from the United Nations Secretary General’s Bulletin on Special Measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (ST/SGB/2003/13)
Safeguarding
In the UK, safeguarding means protecting peoples’ health, wellbeing and human rights, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect. In our sector, we understand it to mean protecting people, including children and at-risk adults, from harm that arises from coming into contact with our staff or secondee or programmes.
Sexual abuse
The term ‘sexual abuse’ means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions.
Sexual exploitation
The term ‘sexual exploitation means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. This definition includes human trafficking and modern slavery.
Survivor
The person who has been abused or exploited. The term ‘survivor’ is often used in preference to ‘victim’ as it implies strength, resilience and the capacity to survive, however it is the individual’s choice how they wish to identify themselves.
At-risk adult
Sometimes also referred to as vulnerable adult. A person who is or may be in need of care by reason of mental or other disability, age or illness; and who is or may be unable to take care of him or herself, or unable to protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation.