Child & Vulnerable Persons Protection Policy
Last updated:- 30 July 2018
The following is our Child & Vulnerable Persons Protection Policy. This Policy applies to all users and visitors to the site, no matter your geographic location. If required and your not in the UK, action will also be taken within your legal jurisdiction by the relevant authorities, should it be required. This is guidance to help protect all our users.
Child Protection Policy Statement
Vamphire.com has a duty of care to safeguard all children from
harm. All children have a right to protection, and the needs of disabled
children and others who may be particularly vulnerable must be taken into
account. Vamphire.com will ensure the safety and protection of all children
through adherence to the Child Protection guidelines adopted by Vamphire.com
A child is defined as a person under the age of 18 as under The Children Act
1989, Brittan and Northern Ireland. *
* The Children Act 1989
allocates duties to local authorities, courts, parents, and other agencies in
the United Kingdom, to ensure children are safeguarded and their welfare is
promoted. Currently, this act provides the legislative framework for child
protection within England. Key principles established by the act include the
paramount nature of the child's welfare. the expectations and requirements
around duties of care to children.
Policy Aims
The aim of the Vamphire.com Child Protection Policy is to promote good practice:-
► Providing children and young people
with appropriate safety and protection whilst in the care of Vamphire.com (PBT
Media Relations Ltd.)
► Allow all staff/volunteers to make informed and
confident responses to specific child protection issues.
Good Practice Guidelines
Child abuse, particularly sexual abuse, can arouse strong emotions in those facing such a situation. It is important to understand these feelings and not allow them to interfere with your judgment about the appropriate action to take.
All personnel should be encouraged to demonstrate exemplary behaviour in order to protect themselves from false allegations. The following are common sense examples of how to create a positive culture and climate.
Good practice means:-
► Always working in an open environment avoiding private or
unobserved situations and encouraging open communication.
► Treating all young people/disabled adults equally with respect and dignity.
► Always putting the welfare of each young person first.
► Maintaining a safe and appropriate distance with children (e.g. it is not
appropriate for staff or volunteers to have an intimate relationship with a
child or to share a room with them).
► Physical contact should be avoided. Where possible use verbal instructions to
position a young person for suitable photographs to be taken. Young people
should always be consulted and their agreement gained. Some parents are becoming
increasingly sensitive about physical contact and their views should always be
carefully considered.
► Building balanced relationships based on mutual trust and empowering children
to share in decision making.
► Keeping up to date with technical skills, qualifications and insurance.
► Ensuring that at events, adults should not enter childrens rooms or invite
children into their rooms.
► Being an excellent role model this includes not smoking or drinking alcohol
in the company of young people.
► Giving enthusiastic and constructive feedback rather than negative criticism.
► Securing parental consent in writing to act in loco parentis, if the need
arises to administer emergency first aid and/or other medical treatment.
► Keeping a written record of any injury that occurs, along with the details of
any treatment given. !
► Just because you have the legal right to take someones photo it doesnt mean you have the right ethically to take a photograph. Be respectful of others as youd want for your own wishes. Always ask the child as well if they want a photograph, whenever possible. (See Ethics Code)
Practices to be avoided
The following practices should be avoided except in emergencies.
If a case arises where these situations are unavoidable, it should be with the
full knowledge and consent of someone in charge at the event or the childs
parents.
You Should Avoid:-
► Spending excessive amounts of time alone with children away
from others.
► Taking or dropping off a child to an event.
You Should Never:-
► Engage in rough physical or sexually provocative games, including horseplay.
► Share a room with a child.
► Allow or engage in any form of inappropriate touching.
► Allow children to use inappropriate language unchallenged.
► Make sexually suggestive comments to a child, even in fun.
► Reduce a child to tears as a form of control.
► Allow allegations made by a child to go unchallenged, unrecorded or not acted
upon.
► Do things of a personal nature for children or disabled adults that they can
do for themselves.
► Invite or allow children to stay with you at your home unsupervised.
NB. It may sometimes be necessary for staff or
volunteers to do things of a personal nature for children, particularly if they
are young or are disabled. These tasks should only be carried out with the full
understanding and consent of parents and the players involved. There is a need
to be responsive to a persons reactions. If a person is fully dependent on you,
talk with him/her about what you are doing and give choices where possible. This
is particularly so if you are involved in any dressing or undressing of outer
clothing, or where there is physical contact, lifting or assisting a child to
carry out particular activities. Avoid taking on the responsibility for tasks
for which you are not appropriately trained.
Incidents that must be reported/recorded
If any of the following occur you should record the incident and
report this immediately at info@vamphire.com. Please make sure the parents of
the child are informed:-
► If you accidentally hurt a child.
► If he/she seems distressed in any manner.
► If an individual appears to be sexually aroused by your actions.
► If an individual misunderstands or misinterprets something you have done.
When reporting, please indicate your full name and any contact details, so we
can easily get in touch with you, should it be required. All information you
provide will be strictly confidential and only passed to relevant authorities,
if required.
Policy Implementation Statement
Currently, we have put in place that all users are requested to upload ID. This is part of our Child and vulnerable person policy, as well as basic security procedures. If a user is uploading photos of underaged or vulnerable people when not for news copy, fully completed model releases are required. If we suspect or get told of any issues that could be putting young and vulnerable people in harms way, necessary actions will be taking, that includes contacting relevant authorities.
We follow the Editors Code of Practice Committee rules on reporting and photographing as given by The UKs press regulator IMPRESS. If covering any news that is in reference to children or vulnerable people, you must follow their code, even if youre not in the UK. For more information, please go to this website.
Guidance on Photographing Children & Young People
All information within this booklet relates to the laws of England and Wales and may differ from the laws in your jurisdiction. We strongly advise you to check relevant legislations of the country you live/ work in prior to take further action.
Do I need permission before I take a photograph of someone in a public place?
No, within the UK you dont. There are no laws preventing photography of people, children, buildings, objects or anything else in a public place, or in any place open to the public where photography is not expressly prohibited. There is no expectation of privacy in a public place, however, do not get overly persistent. Do not chase people and cause an obstruction, otherwise you might find yourself being at risk of facing a harassment charge. If your based or travelling outside the UK, please note that rules might be different.
Is it illegal to take photographs of children?
No, within the UK it is not illegal to take photographs of children in a public location as long as you dont capture an indecent photograph. However, you should keep in mind that some schools and children's sports venues may choose to restrict photography at some events. Such venues are private property and can impose any rules they wish. Therefore we strongly recommend you to make some research before attending any event and make sure that there are no any specific restrictions enforced by the event organiser. Please note that outside the UK, the rules might be different!
Can I publish photographs containing people or children?
It depends on situation and the publications legal jurisdiction. If the image is taken in public locations, you do not need to require the permission of the individual(s) who appear in that photograph in order to publish it. However, you cant publish images which are defamatory or depict the indecent exploitation of children. Nor can you publish images captured on private land where the landowner forbids photography.
When do I need permission to publish pictures of people or children?
If you intend to use images of prominently recognizable individuals to advertise something then permission should be sought (otherwise a parent may not be too happy to see a picture of their child on a sweet packet or promoting a product they would not normally wish to endorse).
Ive received a complaint from someone appearing in one of my pictures, what do I do?
Many parents wrongly assume that you need permission to take or publish images of them or their children (this would only be the case if the image were used in advertising). Politely explain the law, after all, if they were correct then we would have no tourism industry and no news industry! Chances are that the person making the complaint was also happily snapping away and posting their pictures online. I would recommend that you keep a record of any communication between yourself and the complainant, particularly if there has been any threat made towards you. Some photographers will remove an image rather than waste time attempting to communicate with an angry or confrontational complainant, but this should always be accompanied by a brief explanation of the law and a statement that you have removed the image as a favour to them.
Im a wedding photographer and a guest is insisting I remove images from my Blog and Facebook page containing her child, what do I do.
It is reasonable for anyone attending a wedding to presume there will be both a professional photographer in attendance and guests who will be taking photographs. In the age we live in it is also reasonable to expect that the professional photographer, and the guests, will share their images on the internet for the enjoyment of others. In short, guests at a wedding should expect to be photographed. In some instances the photographer may wish to refer the complainant to the bride and groom, since the photographer is not obliged to take instruction from any third party.
I took my little boy to a childrens party recently where I enjoyed taking pictures and sharing them with the other parents on Facebook one of the mothers is telling me to remove all the shots containing her daughter, what do I do?
Providing the party host or landowner was fine with people taking pictures at the party then there is nothing to restrict you from capturing images of your family and other families, and there is nothing preventing you from sharing those images online (or selling prints to the other party-goers). Other parents do not have the right to determine whether or not you can take or share your photographs. If a parent does not wish his or her child to be photographed then it is best that they move away whilst photographs are being taken. Also check to see if none of the children have legal issues with having photographs taken, should they be published, even on social media.
If I take somebodys picture do they have the right to a copy of it? I photograph events, just like other hobbyists, but quite often people get in touch and ask for digital copies of my photographs.
Under Copyright law every image you create is your intellectual property; the people appearing in the photographs do not have any rights to the image and they do not have the right to ask for copies of your work. If that were the case, the photography industry couldnt exist. Its up to you what you do with your pictures, however photographs are sold according to their form and the manner in which they will be used. As a general rule a full resolution digital image will command a much higher price tag than a print, simply because a digital copy (if the license permits it) can be used many times over online or as hard copy.
Is it allowed that photographs of children can be used for publication?
The use of photographs in newspapers and magazines is already
subject to strict guidelines. The Press Complaints Commissions Code of Practice
states that:-
► Journalists must not interview or photograph a child under the age of 16 on
subjects involving the welfare of the child in the absence of or without the
consent of a parent or other adult who is responsible for the children.
► Pupils must not be approached or photographed while at school without the
permission of the school authorities.
There is no breach of the Data Protection Act 1998 or General Data Protection
Regulation (GDPR) in passing on a childs name
to a journalist as long as parental consent has been secured.
If you think we have missed anything or you think we should add more information, please let us know.
Other pages you should look at on VAMPHire.com:-
General Ethics |
Proof Age and Identity
|
Guide Model Releases
|
Reporters Check List