CHILD PROTECTION & SAFEGUARDING POLICY
Effective Date: January 2026 | Next Review: January 2027
Our Commitment
Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust is committed to creating and maintaining a safe environment for all children under our care. We believe that every child has the right to protection from harm, abuse, and exploitation.
We believe that child safeguarding is crucial to ensuring that children under 18 years of age have the rights, confidence and environment in which they can make choices, express their views and communicate effectively with other children and adults.
We recognize the need for children to be safeguarded from abuse, discrimination and harm of any kind, be it physical, sexual, emotional or neglect and have therefore developed this document taking into account the universal human rights standards of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and local Kenyan culture and law.
Definitions
Child
For this policy, a "child" means an individual who has not attained the age of eighteen (18) years in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Kenya Children's Act 2022.
Safeguarding
The responsibility that we have to make sure our environment is safe for children, staff, stakeholders, operations and programs do not harm the children in our care and protection whether by acts of commission or omission.
It involves putting procedures, guidelines and systems in place to ensure that the welfare of the children is promoted and they are not exposed to risk of harm, neglect and abuse.
Safeguarding helps to create and maintain a safe culture that is child-focused and community-driven through sustained and meaningful engagement with children, their families, communities and all representatives.
Child Protection
It is the process of protecting children identified as either suffering or at risk of harm from abuse. It also includes measures and structures designed to prevent and respond to abuse.
Youth or Young Person
According to the Kenya law a "Young person" means a person who is of the age of sixteen (16) years or more but under the age of eighteen (18) years.
The mission of the organization, sometimes, forces organization to support young people who are over the age of 18. The organization recognizes that this group spans the categories of 'children' and 'adults' but regards young people as having particular safeguarding needs and requiring distinct consideration aside from younger children and older adults.
Vulnerable Child
Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust acknowledges that all children by nature are vulnerable to some extent due to factors such as age, gender, social and economic status, developmental stage and dependence on others.
However, the organization defines the children it targets as having unique needs because they are those who are at risk of achieving poor outcomes due to factors in their lives to do with poverty or lack of essential resources.
Factors may include:
- Insufficient physical, emotional, health and basic needs
- Risk or experience of harm
- Low capability of primary caregivers to provide a safe environment
- Absence of supportive relationships
- Poor wider community conditions beyond a family's control
- Untapped talents, abilities and skills
Child Abuse
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Child abuse" or "maltreatment" constitutes 'all forms of:
- Physical and emotional ill-treatment
- Sexual abuse
- Neglect
- Exploitation that results in actual or potential harm to the child's health, development or dignity
Child on Child Abuse
Inappropriate behaviors between children that are abusive in nature including physical, sexual or emotional abuse and all forms of bullying.
Partner
For the purposes of this policy a 'partner' refers to any organization that:
- Has a current partnership agreement with Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust or
- Is involved with The Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust's work in Dagoretti, whether this involvement is occasional or regular, short or long term, for a specific program or activity or with the organization as a whole.
The work may involve direct or indirect contact with children or young people.
Volunteer
A volunteer is an individual who gives their time to assist with Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust's work in Dagoretti, whether this work is occasional or regular, short or long term, for a specific program or activity, or with the organization as a whole.
The work may involve direct or indirect contact with children. We define long-term volunteers as those volunteering for over 6 months.
Direct Contact with Children
Being in the physical presence of a child or children in the context of Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust's work, whether contact is occasional or regular, short or long term.
This could include coaching children at the pitch, training children at the stage performances, running a one-off activity for children or visiting one of our projects.
Indirect Contact with Children
Indirect contact with children can take different forms for example:
- Having access to information about children in the context of Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust's work, such as:
- Children's names
- Locations of projects
- Photographs and case studies
- Providing training, support or funding for Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust's staff or programs that work 'directly' with children
Although the contact with children may be indirect, the contact nonetheless has an impact on children and therefore Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust has responsibility for the children under its care.
Internal Incident
An internal incident is any child protection incident that involves Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust staff members, volunteers, visitors, Directors, Partners, service providers or contractors involved in a Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust program or activity.
This includes activities that take place in Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust's centers and other locations. This also includes the Organization's communications.
Family-based Abuse
A family-based abuse is where a child is subjected to any form of abuse by a family member or guardian, or is at significant risk of such harm, necessitating intervention to ensure the child's safety and wellbeing.
Community-based Abuse
A community-based abuse is where a child is subjected to any form of abuse by individuals within the community or broader social environment, excluding the immediate family, or is at significant risk of such harm, necessitating intervention to ensure the child's safety and well-being.
The Need for a Child Safeguarding Policy
Child safeguarding policies help protect children
A child safeguarding policy clarifies what a project requires in relation to the protection of children.
It sets out standards of behavior for project staff and volunteers when they are around children and what to do if they notice, or are told about, inappropriate behavior in others.
Children who have been exposed to life on the streets are especially at risk of abuse, exploitation, and ill-treatment at the hands of care givers, other project workers, and those with access to their personal information.
In the case of children who have run away from home, many have already experienced ruptured relationships of trust or abuse of an adult-child relationship in the form of physical, psychological or sexual abuse.
Child safeguarding policies help protect employees
A child safeguarding policy is a statement of intent that demonstrates the project's commitment to safeguard children from harm.
Child safeguarding policies will help move the project towards best practices in this area and deter those who wish to abuse children from joining the project.
Child safeguarding policies help protect the project
Without proper policies, guidelines and procedures in place, allegations of abuse, whether founded or unfounded, can destroy an organization's reputation.
This will have serious implications for fundraising (thus undermining an organization's entire portfolio of work, even beyond the scope of the particular project concerned) as well as damaging the reputation of the street children's CBO sector as a whole.
This Child Safeguarding Policy sets out:
- Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust's principles for the protection of children
- Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust's expectations in terms of behaviors and good practice for working with children and young people
- The Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust's guidelines for responding appropriately if abuse of a child is alleged, disclosed, discovered or suspected
Core Child Safeguarding Principles and Values
We believe that:
- Child safeguarding and protection is both an individual and a collective responsibility
- All children and young people have equal rights to protection from abuse and exploitation and inequalities should be challenged
- All children and young people should be encouraged to fulfil their potential
- The welfare of children and young people is paramount
- Everyone must take precautions and responsibility to help create a safe place for children and support their care and protection. This begins with everyone being well-informed and aware of child protection issues
- Openness must be encouraged about concerns relating to child protection matters because child abuse thrives on secrecy
- Projects and networks owe a duty of care to the children with whom they work with and a responsibility to meet minimum standards of protection for the children in their care
Child Safeguarding Responsibilities
All employees, volunteers, consultants, sub-contractors, partner organizations and visitors are obliged to follow this policy and maintain an environment that prevents exploitation and abuse and which encourages reporting of breaches of this policy using the appropriate procedures.
All Personnel Working for STMI
This applies to all employees, long-term volunteers and any member working for Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust.
- Read, understand and commit to adhere to the STMI Child Safeguarding Policy and Code of Conduct
- Sign a personal declaration stating any criminal convictions, including spent convictions
- Provide names and contact information of two-character references as well as a valid certificate of good conduct. Details on requirements for referees are given in the recruitment section of this policy
- Employees or Long-term volunteers from outside Kenya will be required to show evidence of an up-to-date police check from their country of residence
- Strive to promote a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination, sexual harassment and abuse in all working environments
- Place the safety and welfare of children and young people above all other considerations
- Report any concerns about the welfare of a child or young person
- Report any concerns about the behavior of a fellow employee or Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust representative
- In a one-to-one situation with a child or young person, where privacy and confidentiality are important, try to make sure that another adult knows the contact is taking place and why. If possible, ensure another adult is in sight and that the child or young person knows another adult is around
Visitors and Short-Term Volunteers
For visitors and short-term volunteers (volunteering for less than 3 months), it is sufficient for them to be supervised by the organization. Visitors or short-term volunteers include sub-contractors, service providers, trainers, facilitators and/or volunteers. They will be expected to provide at least 1 professional or non-related referee before engagement with the children.
The referees' details will be submitted to the Designated Safeguarding Officer.
All visitors and short-term volunteers are expected to sign in and out.
Managers at all levels are responsible for ensuring employees, volunteers, consultants, visitors and partner organizations are aware of the policy and are supported to implement and work in accordance with it, as well as creating a management culture that encourages a focus on safeguarding.
They must ensure that they are responsive, acting immediately if they become aware of any safeguarding concerns and supportive towards employees or volunteers who complain about breaches in this.
Designated Safeguarding Officer
The Safeguarding Officer is responsible for the day-to-day implementation, supervision and monitoring of Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust Child Safeguarding Policy and Procedures.
Training and Education
Training and education are essential in implementing the Safeguarding Policy.
- The Safeguarding Officer will ensure that all new staff receive orientation training about the Safeguarding Policy and Procedures
- The Safeguarding Officer with the support of the executive committee, will further seek to provide additional training on the Safeguarding Policy and the wider Child Protection to all staff on an annual basis
- He/She will further ensure that all beneficiary children are trained using a child-friendly version of the Child Safeguarding Policy
- Parents/caregivers of the children will also receive relevant training and education on the Safeguarding Policy widely
All Staff Training
- General Safeguarding Policy
- STMI's Standards of Behavior
- Identification of abuse
- Reporting procedures and confidentiality
- Children Act and Legal provisions in child safeguarding
- How to fill out the Incident form
- Organization partners in child safeguarding
- Psychological First Aid
Behavior Protocols
Any employee, volunteer, or partner who has direct contact with children will be fully informed of Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust's Code of Conduct.
This includes guidance on appropriate behavior of adults towards children and of children towards children.
Communications about Children
Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust has a policy regarding the media and the use of actual names and images, including photographs and recordings.
This applies to all The Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust communities, partners and stakeholders and should be applied in all situations. Specifically relating to the protection of children, young people and vulnerable adults the Organization will:
- Use names and images of children, young people or vulnerable adults which are respectful and do not expose them to further vulnerability
- Reproduce images and use names of children only where we have the written permission of their parents/guardians using a consent form
- Make clear to children and their families that agreement to provide information or images is not a condition of involvement in activities and programs or receiving support from The Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust
- Change their names to protect their identity unless they choose to introduce themselves, in which case only their first name will be used. Adults will be referred to by their first names only unless they request for their full names to be used
- Omit any sensitive or private information about the child or their family in case studies. This includes but is not limited to their full names, contact details, HIV status, any other confidential information
- Inform employees, volunteers and partners about the ICT policies in relation to the use of technology and understand that they must not use this technology to access, produce or distribute any information or violent or sexual images that are harmful to children or any vulnerable person. This includes adult pornography
Prohibited Content
All publications and online content produced and distributed by Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust that include images, video and text related to children will not contain the following:
- Manipulated or sensationalized text and/or images
- Discriminatory and degrading language
- Images in which children are inappropriately clothed
- Information that could be used to identify the location of the child and cause them to be put at risk
Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust also expects volunteers, staff and partners, external contractors, with Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust's consent, to follow the guidelines above when sharing any photos or information about the beneficiary children and families of The Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust on their personal social media accounts.
Reporting Incidents
Employees are obliged to report in the following circumstances:
- If abuse is observed or suspected; or
- When an allegation of abuse is made; or
- When a child discloses abuse to the Safeguarding Officer who will record and act on these in a confidential manner in accordance with the standardized process developed by The Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust and in the best interests of the child. If the Safeguarding Officer is implicated, then the matter must be referred to the executive committee
- Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust will take appropriate action to protect the child/children in question from further harm and others in the organization during and following an incident or allegation
Ramifications of Misconduct
We will immediately suspend any employee, volunteer or support of any partner, who is alleged to have violated The Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust Child Safeguarding Policy, pending the outcome of an investigation.
Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust reserves the right to take any disciplinary action against any of the above who have been proven guilty in an investigation, which may include reporting the incident to the police or the Government's Children's Officer for the area.
Code of Conduct
Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust believes in and advocates children's rights to survival, protection, development and participation.
This Code of Conduct includes guidance on appropriate and expected standards of behavior of adults towards children, and also of children towards other children.
It has been developed with the best interests of the child as the primary consideration and should be interpreted in a spirit of transparency and common sense.
Appropriate Standards of Behavior
Adults should:
- Provide an enabling environment for children's personal, physical, social, emotional, moral and intellectual development
- Encourage and respect children's voices and views
- Be inclusive and involve all children without selection or exclusion on the basis of gender, disability, tribe, ethnicity, religion or any other status
- Be aware of the potential for peer abuse (e.g. children bullying, discriminating against, victimizing or abusing children)
- Develop special measures/supervision to protect younger and especially vulnerable children from peer and adult abuse
- Be aware of high-risk peer situations (e.g. unsupervised mixing of older and younger children and possibilities of discrimination against minors)
- Develop clear rules to address specific physical safety issues relative to the local physical environment of a project (e.g. for projects based near water, heavy road traffic, railway lines)
- Avoid placing yourself in a compromising or vulnerable position when meeting with children (e.g. being alone with a child in any circumstances which might potentially be questioned by others)
- Meet with a child in a central, public location whenever possible
- Immediately report the circumstances of any situation which occurs which may be subject to misinterpretation to the chairman
- Report suspected or alleged abuse to the chairman
Inappropriate Standards of Behavior
Adults should not:
- Hit or otherwise physically assault a child
- Use language that will mentally or emotionally abuse any child
- Act in any way that intends to embarrass, shame, humiliate, or degrade a child
- Show discrimination of race, culture, tribe, age, gender, disability, religion, sexuality, political persuasion, or any other status
- Develop a sexual relationship with a child
- Kiss, hug, fondle, rub, or touch a child in an inappropriate or culturally insensitive way
- Do things of a personal nature that a child could do for him/herself, including dressing, bathing, and grooming
- Encourage inappropriate feelings between a child and an adult
- Initiate physical contact (e.g. holding hands) unless initiated by the child
- Suggest inappropriate behavior or relations of any kind
- Allow children to engage in sexually provocative games with each other
- Stand aside when they see inappropriate actions inflicted by children on other children because it is frequent and common place
Commitment to Safeguarding Policy
Important Notice
This policy document is the property of Soka Toto Muda Initiative Trust and is confidential. Unauthorized distribution or copying is prohibited.
All staff, volunteers, and partners are required to read, understand, and comply with this policy at all times.
For any questions or concerns regarding this policy, please contact the Designated Safeguarding Officer.