Activity 3.1 What is a safeguarding risk?

A risk can be described as something that exposes someone to danger and harm.

A ‘safeguarding risk’ would be when organisations expose their staff, representatives and beneficiaries to danger and harm.

To understand this, read the case study below and then answer the questions that follow it in your learning journal.

Case study

Organisation X is setting-up a three-year programme called ‘Hear our Voices!’ in Country Y, a country with a large, displaced population due to heavy flooding.

This programme is to empower communities to receive food parcels in Year 1, develop new farming techniques in Year 2 and in Year 3 to build up their skills to campaign for better support from local government. The programme is funded by the institutional donors that have signed up to strict safeguarding standards.

The project will benefit children, women and older people. These communities suffer from low literacy and high domestic violence rates. Donors expect quarterly reports with photographic evidence of outputs and outcomes.

You anticipate that you will be recruiting new staff (paid, part-time and full-time) and associated personnel (people who represent your organisation in some way but who may not be employees) such as consultants, researchers, volunteers and community-based workers.

Questions:

• Who are the groups that the programme will be working with?
• How vulnerable are these groups? What is the reason behind your answer?
• Are there any risks associated with undertaking this programme?

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