DECISION 5 –
Safeguarding
At WW, we believe that everyone should always be treated with respect, regardless of their sex, ethnic or social origin, language, religious or other beliefs, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation or other status. We believe that everyone has the right to freedom from all forms of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation and that abuse of these freedoms is unacceptable. We also believe that safeguarding is a collective responsibility and acknowledge that organisations and people in positions of power and with greater access to resources should be accountable for shouldering more responsibility.
In order to keep the Champions and the participants of their projects safe, we must understand their whole reality. This means actively engaging with Champions and their participants and creating spaces where they feel valued, can voice their concerns and needs without fear or judgement and are connected to others who will help keep them safe and protected.
In this safeguarding section we focus on keeping the Champions safe while they are engaged in your organisation’s seed grant programme and also how the Champions can provide a safe space for the participants in their projects.
JUMP TO
Safeguarding of/for Champions
From the moment your organisation starts to think about design and implementing seed grant programmes, safeguarding should be at the centre of every decision made in the design and execution of the programme. Therefore, a mapping exercise is essential to identify any potential risks when starting to work with this group of Champions. There is an inherent risk in achieving social change and therefore your organisation should commit to reduce identifying these risks. See below a mapping with example risks that could occur to your Champions if you haven’t addressed this within your programme.
High responsibilities of leading a project (or element e.g. budget)
Money (transferring seed grants)
Family/community response to the Champion
Champions
Behaviour of others towards the participants
Movement to implement their initiatives
Virtual engagement with their mentors
MADE TO PLAY, PROTEIN MEDIA CONTENT
EXAMPLE: MONEY (TRANSFERRING SEED GRANTS)
If your organisation decides that the seed grant type is a financial grant, it means that new potential risks for your organisation and your champion come up. It might be the first time your Champions have access to their own money, that they don’t have a bank account, or that in their community no one has easy access to a bank account. It might be that your organisation loses the money because it’s not managed well, as the Champions might not have been able to previously learn the skills and experience required to manage this.
With all these potential situations in mind, think about the following questions to mitigate the safeguarding risks of your Champion and your organisation:
By doing this mapping exercise you will potentially see risks that your organisation has never considered or had to deal with. Once you have done the mapping exercise yourself for your own context and programme, it is important to reflect on:
Safeguarding of/for the participants
As an organisation is it your opportunity to make sure that the projects that are run by the Champions are safe. Therefore, in Step 7 of the programme design process; How do I create a safe and welcoming space where everyone feels comfortable, can participate fully and is able to learn? the Champions have had to think about the emotional and physical safety of their participants in their own projects.
A way for the Champions to identify the potential risks is to also do a mapping exercise. See below an example of a Champion mapping the safeguarding risks of their participants.
Home and school commitments
Family/community response to the girl
Movement to participate in the activities
Participants
Menstruation management
Injuries (first aid)
Changing place/toilet specifically for girls
PLAY IT FORWARD, ASOCIACION AMA
EXAMPLE: FAMILY/COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO THE PARTICIPANT
If your Champion has decided to implement a project that aims to prevent teenage pregnancy in girls through skateboarding for example, but traditionally girls from that community are not even allowed to participate in sports, that could bring risks to them. Additionally, their families or community might not even accept their participation in the programme once they realise that this programme is also addressing a sensitive topic and challenging traditionally-held views. Community/parental support and buy-in is important to allow participants to fully engage safely with the project.
Conclusion
After completing Part III – Champion Support, your organisation will have started to consider different processes involved in supporting your Champions to implement safe, impactful, and girl-led initiatives. You should have reflected on multiple mentorship models, understand the importance of feminist monitoring and evaluation methodologies, and how to integrate safeguarding practices in your seed grant programme. Each of these key decisions around programme design and support are integral to creating a holistic leadership development experience with your Champions.
Part IV will discuss COVID-19 and Participatory grant making. If your organisation does not foresee a need to include these in your seed grants project you can jump to the Conclusion section. Before continuing to Part IV or jumping to the conclusion, make sure you have completed all the decisions from Part III.
