Skip to content
EMPOBase
en

What safeguarding and PSEA mean for every NGO

By the EMPOBase team · · 4 min read

Short answer

Safeguarding means protecting people from harm caused by your staff, your programs or your partners. PSEA, protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, is the part that covers sexual misconduct against the people you serve. Every NGO needs a written policy, a code of conduct that staff sign, safe ways to report, a named focal point, and a trained response to every report.

Key points

  • Safeguarding covers harm done by your own staff, programs and partners.
  • PSEA is the part about sexual exploitation and abuse of the people you serve.
  • You need a policy, a signed code of conduct, safe reporting channels and a named focal point.
  • Signed declarations must be renewed, not filed once and forgotten.

What do these words mean?

Safeguarding is your duty to prevent harm to the people your organization touches, and to act when harm happens. The harm may come from staff, volunteers, contractors, partners or the way a program is run.

PSEA means protection from sexual exploitation and abuse. It is the part of safeguarding about sexual misconduct by anyone working for or with your organization against the people you serve. Many donors and humanitarian bodies treat PSEA as a minimum standard.

Safeguarding also covers children and adults at risk. Local law on mandatory reporting differs by country, so check yours.

Why does every NGO need this?

Your work often places staff in a position of power. People may depend on your aid, your jobs or your services. That imbalance is where abuse can happen, and where people may fear to speak. A policy on paper is not enough. The test is whether a person who has been harmed knows how to report, believes they will be heard, and is safe when they do.

What should you have in place?

  1. A written policy. Say what is forbidden, who is covered and what happens after a report. Keep it short enough to read in one sitting.
  2. A code of conduct. Every staff member, volunteer and contractor reads and signs it.
  3. Safe recruitment. Use reference and background checks suited to the role, and ask about past conduct. Our article on fair recruitment covers the process.
  4. Safe reporting channels. Offer more than one route, in local languages, for staff and community members.
  5. A named focal point. One trained person whom everyone can identify, plus a backup.
  6. A response procedure. Define who investigates, how you protect the reporter, how you support the survivor, and when you tell the donor.
  7. Training. New staff learn the basics in week one, and everyone refreshes on a set cycle.
  8. A risk register. List where harm could occur in each program and how you reduce it.

How should reporting work?

Reporting channels fail when they are hard to find or feel unsafe. Check these points:

  • A person can report without giving their name, if they choose.
  • The channel is not run by the person being reported.
  • People can use their own language and their own way, such as a phone call or a face-to-face talk.
  • The reporter hears what happens next, as far as confidentiality allows.
  • Every report is logged, even one that turns out to be unfounded.

Keep survivors at the centre. Their safety and wishes come before the organization’s reputation.

Why do declarations need renewing?

A code of conduct signed on the first day is soon forgotten. Treat the signed declaration as a record with an expiry date, for example once a year. At renewal, staff read it again, and you see who has not signed. People who join mid-year should not drop out of the cycle.

What do donors and auditors look for?

Typically they ask for the policy, the signed declarations, the training record, the number and type of reports and how each was handled, and the name of the focal point. Keep these in one place, with dates. Avoid sharing details that could identify a survivor.

Be careful with what you share. Reports contain sensitive details about people who may be at risk. Share them only with the people who must act, and give donors the facts they need, such as the type of case and the action taken, without names that could identify a survivor.

How do partners fit in?

Your duty does not stop at your own staff. If a partner or contractor works with communities on your behalf, ask the same of them: a policy, a code of conduct, a way to report, and a named contact. Put this in the agreement. Check it at the start and review it during the work. If a partner has a weak system, offer help and a plan with dates, and say what happens if it does not improve.

Staff also need to know that raising a concern is safe. A person who reports should not lose their job, their access or their standing because they did. Say so in the policy, and act on it. People watch what happens to the first person who reports.

Where EMPOBase fits

In EMPOBase, Safeguarding & PSEA sits in the People & HR module. Signed PSEA and code-of-conduct declarations are a renewable record with an expiry, and a banner appears at sign-in when one is due. The safeguarding workspace holds policy status, reporting channels, the focal point (visible to every staff member) and a risk register. EMPOBase does not run your investigation, so your trained team still does that. Read more in the documentation.

Questions people ask

Do small NGOs need a safeguarding policy?

Yes. Size does not remove the risk, and donors often ask for the policy before they sign. A short, clear policy that people use is better than a long one that nobody reads.

Is safeguarding the same as child protection?

Child protection is one part of safeguarding. Safeguarding also covers adults at risk and sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment of anyone in your work.

Who should receive a safeguarding report?

A trained focal point, with a second route to a senior person if the report involves the focal point. The reporter should never have to go through the person they accuse.