Implementing Safeguarding in the International Aid Sector

Improve the safeguarding standards in your international aid organisation

Safeguarding is vital for protecting the children and vulnerable individuals that international aid organisations work with, as well as their staff and personnel from all forms of harm. This has also been identified as an area that needs strengthening in the international aid sector.

This free six-week course will help you consolidate your understanding of the causes of harm, abuse, and exploitation and learn how to implement improvements in your organisation’s safeguarding measures in different programmatic contexts.

Ultimately, the course will equip you with the skills and tools you need to effectively prevent, report, respond, and learn from implementing safeguarding in your work.

Understand the risks posed to safeguarding in the international aid sector

On the course, you’ll have the chance to examine the risks to safeguarding people that are commonly found in different areas of international aid work.

You’ll also get to evaluate the prevention mechanisms used to minimise these risks and consider how these processes could be strengthened.

Develop effective safeguarding procedures and learn improvements for reporting and responding to exploitation and abuse

The course covers appropriate responses to disclosures and survivor-centred referrals, complaints and whistleblower mechanisms, safe marketing and accountability.

Access safeguarding training from the experts at The Open University.

This course was co-created by senior academic safeguarding specialists from The Open University and an international human rights and safeguarding expert who has worked with several international aid and humanitarian agencies.

The course material was developed with advice from BOND, CHS Alliance, and the learner community and reviewed by Safeguarding Leads in international agencies.

This course is designed for all staff in development and humanitarian agencies. It will strengthen current individual and organisational knowledge and practice of safeguarding and support the career pathways for those aid workers who are looking to become safeguarding specialists.

This course is intended for those who are aged 18 years and above only.

This online course has been funded by UK aid from the UK government; however the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK government’s official policies.

Please note: this course is facilitated by Vicky Ferguson, Philippa Ramsden and Simon Vorley from 28 March until 8 May 2022.

• Introduction
• Introduction to the course
• Getting ready to engage with others!
• What is safeguarding?
• The safeguarding cycle
• Implementing safeguarding
• Identification
• Identifying safeguarding risks and vulnerable people
• The role of gender in safeguarding
• Safeguarding in research
• Assessing risk
• Lessons learnt
• Prevention
• Introduction
• The nature of power
• Safeguarding people with disabilities
• Safe recruitment
• Code of conduct
• Digital safeguarding
• Review what you have learnt
• Report and respond
• Introduction
• Barriers to reporting
• Disclosure, reporting and supporting survivors
• Whistleblowing and a ‘survivor-centred approach‘
• Mapping and a response checklist
• Duty of care and the importance of safeguarding staff
• Review what you have learnt
• Improving accountability in safeguarding
• Introduction
• Accountability is at the heart of safeguarding
• Accountability to affected people
• Guide the development of accountability processes and tools
• Strengthen knowledge and information in the people we serve
• Mainstreaming safeguarding through all communications
• Review what you have learnt
• Learning and organisational culture
• Introduction
• How to develop a positive safeguarding culture
• Useful tools to reflect on safeguarding values
• Monitoring, learning and good supervision
• Review what you have learnt