AwA* Child & Youth Protection Policy
Purpose and Scope of the Protection Policy
The safety and well-being of young people are central concerns in open youth work.
Our protection policy has been adapted from the framework protection concept of bOJA (nationwide network for open youth work) and is dedicated to better protecting children and young people in our work from violence and upholding their rights.
The framework provides staff, young people, partners and funders with valid definitions of violence and outlines the steps that must be taken for violence prevention within the organisation, as well as the concrete standards and guidelines needed when accompanying and supporting young people.
The framework serves as a guide for organisations and includes forms and practical implementation resources. It has served as the basis for our present protection policy. The individual sections are oriented towards “Keeping Children Safe”, Kindernothilfe e.V., and the child protection guidelines of the Network for Children’s Rights Austria.
The safety of vulnerable persons (“safeguarding”) is a central concern in open youth work. We are guided by the internationally accepted minimum standards for the protection of children and young people, based on the concepts of “Keeping Children Safe” — an organisation focused on developing and implementing safeguarding and child protection standards.
What the Child and Youth Protection Policy means:
AwA* has given itself its own rules.
These rules are meant to better protect children and young people — for example in their rights as children.
But also in their contact with AwA* staff.
If you would like to talk to someone about the behaviour of a person who works at AwA*, you have 2 options:
How to get in touch:
You write an email or a message via the form.
Our child and youth protection officers will then get back to you.
They are there to support you.
They only act with your explicit consent.
They advise you anonymously and free of charge.
If you would like to give us feedback on our protection policy or share anything else with us, feel free to write to
kinderjugendschutz@awa-stern.info
or
You can read the Child and Youth Protection Policy here and download it as a PDF:
Internal Awareness point:
There is also an internal Awareness point (“Anlaufstelle”) for everything related to Awareness. The internal contact point for AwA* means: people can submit feedback regarding non-compliance with agreements or standards within the Awareness work, as well as any kind of boundary-crossing behaviour by persons associated with AwA*.
You can find more information here:
https://awa-stern.info/en/internal-awareness-point-for-awa-awareness-anlaufstelle/