Safeguarding Policy

Introduction

Wikirate International e.V., along with its sister organizations - "The Wikirate Project" in the United States and "The Wikirate Project UK" in the United Kingdom, collectively referred to as "Wikirate" or the "Organization," is committed to safeguarding all of our stakeholders, and in particular children and adults at risk.

Wikirate is an organization that manages the Wikirate platform used by a wide community of individuals and partners. We support numerous partners globally to improve corporate behavior and transparency across environmental and social issues.

We take seriously our responsibility to safeguard our employees, community and those who work with the Wikirate platform.

 

Definitions

Safeguarding: measures to protect the health, well-being and human rights of children and at-risk adults to be safe and secure and free from abuse, exploitation and harm.

Child: anyone under the age of 18, irrespective of the age of adulthood in the country where they live.

Adult at risk: Individuals who are 18 years old or older and may face increased vulnerability due to factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, religion, physical or mental abilities, disabilities, social, civic or health status, sexual orientation, gender identity, economic disadvantages, indigenous status, or migration status. These individuals might be at a higher risk of negative impacts from a project and/or might have fewer opportunities to benefit from Wikirate projects' advantages. This vulnerability could lead to an inability to safeguard themselves against abuse or exploitation.

Abuse: The abuse of children or adults at risk occurs when the behavior of someone in a position of greater power than a child or adult at risk causes harm (physical, emotional, sexual or neglect).

 

Scope

This policy applies to all Wikirate stakeholders, including Wikirate staff worldwide, volunteers, interns, consultants, associates, board members, advisory council members, contractors and partners. 

 

Our commitments

• Protection and Security: Wikirate firmly upholds the principle that all of its stakeholders, and in particular both children and adults at risk should be safe and secure and free from abuse, exploitation and harm.
• Zero Tolerance: Wikirate does not tolerate any harm to children and adults at risk in our working environment and is committed to preventing harm to children and adults at risk.
• Clear Responsibilities: Wikirate will ensure that all those under the scope of this policy have access to it, are well-acquainted with its contents, and fully understand their roles and duties.
• Reporting Obligations: Wikirate will ensure that all those under scope of this policy understand their obligation to report any violations of local laws to the relevant authorities. Additionally, any concerns are to be reported to our designated focal point.
• Whistleblower Protection: Wikirate has in place a Whistleblowing Policy that encourages accountability and sets out our procedures if a grievance arises, including the duty to protect the anonymity of whistleblowers.
• Whistleblowing Mechanism: Wikirate has in place a Whistleblowing Procedure coordinated by the Wikirate Ethics Committee that can be used by anyone who has a concern about Wikirate or its affiliates.
• Investigation Protocol: Wikirate will investigate safeguarding concerns as set out in the Whistleblowing Policy and Procedure.
• Contractor Compliance: Wikirate will ensure all contractors have agreed to adhere to our Safeguarding Policy, as set out in our Code of Conduct.
• Transparency and Accessibility: To promote transparency and awareness, Wikirate will ensure that this policy is publicly and visibly available on our websites wikirate.org and wikirate-intl.org.

This policy has been approved by the Board and will be reviewed on a yearly basis. 

Policy last updated: February 2024