Standards for the protection of minors

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STANDARDS FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHILDRENCHILDREN

APARTGDYNIA

Preamble

Bearing in mind:

obligation under the Act of 13 May 2016 on Counteracting Threats of Sexual Offences and Protection of Minors[1]
content of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, recognising the important role of business in ensuring respect for children’s rights, APARTGDYNIA

adopts the Child Protection Standards.

The Child Protection Standards in APARTGDYNIA are implemented on the basis of the following principles:

APARTGDYNIA conducts its operational activities with respect for the rights of children who, due to their age, emotional and mental state, are particularly vulnerable to abuse.
APARTGDYNIA recognises its role in running a socially responsible business and promoting desirable social attitudes.
APARTGDYNIA recognises the importance of the legal and social obligation to notify law enforcement authorities of every case of abuse, suspicion of committing a crime to the detriment of a child and undertakes to train its employees so that they have the competence to fulfil this obligation.

Glossary

For the purposes of this document, the following terms have been given the following meanings:

Tourist facilities – hotel facilities and other facilities where hotel services are provided as defined in the Act of 29 August 1997 on hotel services and the services of tour leaders and tourist guides[2]
Child/minor – for the purposes of these standards , it is assumed that a child is any person who is under 18 years of age.
Guardian of a child – a statutory representative of a child: a parent or guardian; a foster parent; a temporary guardian (i.e. a person authorised to represent a minor citizen of Ukraine who resides in the territory of the Republic of Poland without the supervision of adults)
A stranger is any person over 18 years of age who is not a guardian for the child, within the meaning of point 3.
Child abuse – Child abuse – child abuse is any behaviour towards a child that constitutes a prohibited act against the child. In addition, harm is negligence (intentional or unintentional), act or omission, as well as any of its results resulting in the violation of the rights, freedoms, personal rights of the child and disruption of his or her development.

The following basic forms of abuse are distinguished:

Physical violence against a child. It is a one-time or repeated act or omission as a result of which a child suffers actual physical harm or is potentially at risk of it. Harm is the result of an act or omission on the part of a parent, guardian, person responsible for the child, having power over the child or one whom he trusts.

Psychological violence against a child. It is a long-term, non-physical, harmful interaction between a child and a person responsible for them or someone the child trusts. As in the case of physical violence, it includes both actions and omissions. Manifestations of psychological violence include, m.in:

emotional unavailability;
emotional neglect;
a relationship with a child based on hostility, blame, slander, rejection;
developmentally inappropriate or inconsistent interactions with the child;
not noticing or not acknowledging the individuality of the child;
not seeing or acknowledging psychological boundaries between the child and the person responsible;
inadequate socialization, demoralization;
situations in which a child witnesses violence;

Sexual violence against a child (sexual abuse of a child). It is the involvement of a child through an adult or another child in sexual activity. It applies to situations where there is no physical contact (e.g. exhibitionism, verbal harassment – e.g. talking about sexual content inappropriate to the child’s age, commenting on the child’s appearance and behavior in a sexual way, encouraging contact with pornographic content, grooming – strategies of non-sexual seduction of the child with the intention of establishing sexual contact in the future) and when such contact occurs (situations such as: touching the child, sexual intercourse, forcing the child to touch the perpetrator’s body). Any sexual activity undertaken with a child before the age of 15 is a crime. In the case of children, we speak of sexual abuse when there is a relationship of power, care or dependence between the abuser (adult, another child) and the abused (child) due to age or stage of development. Another form of sexual exploitation of children includes sexual exploitation. It is any kind of abuse: actual or attempted abuse of a child’s vulnerability, superiority of power or trust – for sexual purposes. Sexual exploitation includes (although not necessary) the financial, social, or political gains from sexual exploitation. A particular threat of sexual exploitation occurs during humanitarian crises. The threat of sexual exploitation concerns both the children themselves and the guardians of these children, who may fall victim to exploitation.

Neglecting the child. It is a chronic or incidental failure to meet the physical and mental needs of the child. It can take the form of disrespecting the rights of the child, which in turn leads to disorders in the child’s health and/or development. Child neglect occurs in the child’s relationship with the person obliged to care, raise, care and protection.

Peer violence (peer bullying). Peer violence occurs when a child experiences various forms of bullying from peers. Applies to direct actions or actions using communication technologies (e.g. via the Internet and mobile phones). Peer violence is observed when a harmful action is aimed at causing pain or harm to someone (intentionality), is systematic (repeatability), and the victim is weaker than the perpetrator or a group of perpetrators. Includes:

verbal violence (e.g. name-calling, getting along, ridicule);
relational violence (e.g. exclusion from the group, ignoring, turning others against the person, blackmail);
physical violence (e.g. beating, kicking, pushing, tugging);
material violence (e.g. theft, destruction of objects);
cyberbullying/electronic violence (e.g. malicious messages in messengers, posting on a social networking site, posting photos or videos on the Internet ridiculing the victim);
sexual abuse – touching intimate parts of the body or forcing sexual intercourse or other sexual acts by a peer,
violence conditioned by gender-related norms and stereotypes (e.g. violence in romantic relationships between peers).

Crime to the detriment of a child – the Penal Code generally contains a catalogue of prohibited acts that may be committed to the detriment of adults and children. In addition, it provides for prohibited acts that are applicable if they are committed to the detriment of a minor, including a minor who is under 15 years of age[3]
An employee is a person employed under an employment contract or performing work on the basis of a similar contract (e.g. mandate, B2B, contract for specific work), as well as an intern, apprentice, volunteer, etc.
An employee working with children is any person whose actual duties are related to upbringing, education, leisure, treatment, providing psychological counselling, spiritual development, sports or other interests by minors, or taking care of them.
Entrepreneur or farmer – a body/entity/person managing a given tourist facility or network of facilities, responsible for the proper functioning of the facility in formal terms.

Chapter I

Facility employees

General rules

APARTGDYNIA educates its employees in order to equip them with the ability to recognize the symptoms/symptoms of child abuse and the ability to react quickly and appropriately to situations of abuse.
Each employee, before being allowed to work, familiarizes himself with the Child Protection Standards, which is confirmed by submitting a statement on the performance of this activity. At the same time, it makes a commitment to comply with the rules and procedures contained in the standards.
APARTGDYNIA takes into account the situation of children with disabilities and children with special educational needs.

Scope of competence and responsibilities of persons designated to implement the Child Protection Standards in APARTGDYNIA

Supervision over the application of the Child Protection Standards is carried out by the Entrepreneur or farmer.
An entrepreneur or farmer appoints a Coordinator for Child Protection Standards (hereinafter referred to as the “Coordinator”).
The coordinator is responsible for familiarizing employees with the content of the Child Protection Standards and monitoring its application in APARTGYDNIA
The coordinator organizes and documents the process of educating employees in the field of recognizing symptoms that a child staying in the facility may be harmed and how to react quickly and appropriately to such situations, in accordance with the procedures adopted by the facility.
The coordinator describes each intervention or reported incident related to child abuse on the premises in a document that is created for this purpose (e.g. an event log or intervention register).
In the event of a justified suspicion that a crime has been committed, the Coordinator is responsible for securing evidence (including CCTV recordings) and providing it at the request of the services in the form of a copy by registered mail or in person to the prosecutor or the police.
The Coordinator is responsible for conducting the procedure in a situation where a child has been harmed by an employee of the facility or another adult who is not directly employed by APARTGDYNIA but by a third party.
The Coordinator is responsible for monitoring and updating the Child Protection Standards and their availability both among employees and other entities cooperating with the facility and guests.
The coordinator’s data is available to all employees and guests of the facility, including children. The data must include information on how to contact the Coordinator (e-mail address, telephone number, availability: working days and hours).

Principles of safe employee-child relations

All employees of APARTGDYNIA, as well as other adults who have contact with children on the premises of the facility, are obliged to apply the following rules, if this contact takes place with the consent of the facility.
The guiding principle of all activities undertaken by employees who have contact with children in APARTGDYNIA is to treat children with respect and take into account their dignity and needs.
It is unacceptable for employees and other adults to use violence against a child in any form.

Behaviors and practices expected of employees

Be patient and respectful when communicating with your child.
Listen carefully to your child and give him answers appropriate to his age and situation. When communicating with your child, try to keep your face at the level of your child’s face.
Reassure your child that if they are uncomfortable with a situation, need help, they can tell you or another person and get help.
Inform your child where in APARTGDYNIA the Child Protection Standards are located in a version that they understand. Ensure that if they have questions, they can contact you or another designated person.
Treat children equally, regardless of any characteristics, including their gender, sexual orientation, ability/disability, social, ethnic, cultural, religious and worldview status.
Take care of a safe space. If there are children in the area where you are working, make sure that equipment and equipment are used as intended and that the environment is safe (note window and stair security, restricted access to busy roads, open water, etc.).
If you see a child/children left unattended and the situation may indicate a threat to the child’s safety, take action to find the parent/guardian.

Unacceptable behaviors and practices on the part of employees in relation to children in the facility

You must not shout, shame, humiliate, disrespect or insult your child.
You must not hit, poke, push or violate the physical integrity of the child in any way, unless there is a threat to the health or life of the child.
You must not have any romantic or sexual relationship with your child or make inappropriate proposals. This includes sexual comments, jokes, gestures, and sharing sexual and pornographic content with children in any form.
You must not record the image of your child for private or business purposes (recording, photographing) without the consent of the child’s parents/guardians and the consent of the child himself. This also applies to allowing third parties to record images of children. The exception is when the child’s image is only a detail of the whole, such as a gathering, landscape, public event – then the consent of the child’s parent/guardian is not required.
You must not contact your child through private communication channels (private phone, email, instant messaging, social media profiles) or meet your child outside the workplace.
You must not offer your child alcohol, tobacco products or illegal substances.
Never touch your child if he or she does not want to, or in a way that may be considered indecent or inappropriate.

If you witness any of the above-described behaviors and/or situations on the part of other adults or children, always inform the person responsible for implementing and monitoring the Child Protection Standards or your direct supervisor about it: Natalia Szarmach tel: 666 659 606 Manager

Chapter II

Procedure for identifying a child when registering at the reception

One of the forms of effective prevention of child abuse is to establish the identity of the child staying in the tourist facility and his or her relationship with the adult with whom he or she is staying in the facility.

To this end, the Reception Desk Employee takes all possible steps to identify the child and his/her relationship with the adult who accompanies the child.

For the purposes of identifying a child and his/her relationship with an adult with whom he/she is staying in the facility, the following should be done:

Ask for your child’s ID (ID card) or other document to prove your child’s details. Examples of other documents that can be used for identification include: school ID, MObywatel application, Online Patient Account.
If you do not have an identity document or refuse to present it, you should ask for the child’s data (e.g. name, surname, address, date of birth) by both the adult and the child. In addition, you should ask both the adult and the child about the relationship between them. An example of a conversation with an adult and a child can be found in Appendix 1.
If the adult is not the child’s guardian, they should be asked to show an appropriate document, e.g. a parent’s consent to travel with the child. It can be a written consent with an officially certified signature by a notary or a consent signed by the child’s parent, which will include the child’s data, address of residence, telephone number to the parent and the number of the identity document/PESEL number of the person to whom the parent entrusted the care of the child. If an adult does not have any of the above-mentioned documents, they should be asked to fill in an appropriate statement, according to the template prepared by the tourist facility. The statement should contain the child’s data and the data of the adult with whom the child is staying, along with an indication of the relationship between the child and the adult. If the adult is not the parent or guardian of the child, they should declare that the parents/guardians have agreed to the custody of the child.
In the event that the adult in whose company the child is staying refuses to show the child’s document and/or indicate the relationship between them, it must be explained that the procedure is to ensure the safety of children using APARTGDYNIA and that, in accordance with the provisions of the Act of 13 May 2016, the employees of the facility are obliged to determine whether the child is safe. Once the matter has been clarified in a positive way, you should thank them for the time they have taken to make sure that the child is well cared for.
If the conversation does not dispel doubts about the adult accompanying the child and his/her intentions towards the child, and especially if the adult refuses to show an identity document or make a statement containing the child’s data, the supervisor and security staff should be discreetly notified about it (they are on the premises at the time of the facility), in such a way as not to arouse suspicion (e.g. the need to use the equipment at the back of the reception desk can be invoked), asking an adult to wait with the child in a lobby, restaurant, or other location).
From the moment the first doubts arise, the employee of the tourist facility should be attentive to both the child and the adult, and if possible, try not to leave them alone.
A supervisor who has been notified of the situation takes over the conversation with the adult for further clarification.
If the conversation confirms the belief that an attempt or an act has been committed to the detriment of the child, the supervisor notifies the police about this fact. The procedure is still applied as in the case of circumstances indicating that a child has been harmed (see chapter III).
In the event that employees of other departments of APARTGDYNIA, g. cleaning service, room service, bar and restaurant employees, relaxation zones, security etc., witness unusual and/or suspicious situations, they should immediately notify their supervisor and, in his absence, the decision-maker who will take appropriate action (see points 7 and 8 above).
Depending on the situation and place, the supervisor verifies to what extent the suspicion of child abuse is justified. To this end, he selects appropriate measures to clarify the situation or decides to intervene and notifies the police.

Chapter III

Intervention procedure in the event of disclosure of circumstances indicating child abuse by an adult

Harm may be revealed in the following ways:
the child disclosed the fact of abuse to the facility employee,
the employee observed abuse,
The child has signs of abuse (e.g. scratches, bruises) and when asked answers incoherently and/or chaotically and/or becomes embarrassed or there are other circumstances that may indicate harm, e.g. finding pornographic materials with children in an adult’s room.
An employee who has a reasonable suspicion that a child staying in the facility is or has been harmed should immediately notify the supervisor/decision-maker, who notifies the police.
In the event of a threat to the child’s safety, the employee who has a reasonable suspicion of harming the child immediately notifies the police by calling 112 and describing the circumstances of the incident. Notwithstanding the above, the Employee notifies the APARTGDYNIA Coordinator of the incident.
Efforts should be made to make it difficult or even impossible for the child and the person suspected of harming the child to move away from the facility.
In the case specified in Article 243 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a citizen apprehend of the suspect. In such a situation, until the police arrive, the detained person remains under the supervision of security staff or other hotel employees, who can perform such activities without endangering their health or life.
In any case, the child’s safety should be taken care of. The child, if possible, should be under the care of an employee until the police arrive. If possible, you should try to support the child.

In the event of a justified suspicion that a crime has been committed resulting in the child’s contact with the perpetrator’s biological material (semen, saliva, epidermis), the child should not be allowed to wash and eat/drink until the police arrive. You should calmly and respectfully explain to your child why such restrictions have been applied to him.
After the child is taken over by the police, the CCTV footage and other relevant evidence (e.g. documents) concerning the incident should be secured and handed over to the Coordinator, who, at the request of the services, will provide a copy of them by registered mail or in person to the prosecutor or the police.
After the intervention, the incident should be reported to the Coordinator, who then describes it in the event log or other document intended for this purpose.

Chapter IV

Procedure in the event of suspicion or finding

child abuse by an employee/other adult

In the event of suspicion of child abuse by an employee or another adult who is not directly employed by APARTGDYNIA but by a third party, the person who became aware of this fact should immediately inform the Coordinator of this fact, and in his absence another person designated for this purpose.
If the child’s life or health is at risk, the person who became aware of it should immediately notify the police by calling the emergency number 112, providing their own data, the child’s details (if possible), the child’s whereabouts and a description of the circumstances of the case, and notify the supervisor/decision-maker, who notifies the child’s guardians/parents. The person who learned about the incident also informs the Coordinator by e-mail/writing.
If an employee has committed a form of harm to a child other than committing a crime to his or her detriment, the Coordinator, after obtaining the information, should examine all the circumstances of the case, in particular by listening to the employee suspected of harming and other witnesses to the incident. In a situation where the violation of the best interests of the child is significant, in particular when there has been discrimination or violation of the child’s dignity, the Coordinator should recommend to the person managing the facility adequate personnel actions in relation to this employee.
If the person who committed the harm is not directly employed by APARTGDYNIA, but by a third party (e.g. outsourcing), then it should be recommended that he/she be prohibited from entering the area of APARTGDYNIA, and if necessary, terminate the contract with the third party.

Chapter V

Procedure in the event of other forms of violence against a child being found by a parent/guardian/other adult

In the event of child abuse by a parent/guardian or other adult with whom the child is on the premises, every employee witnessing such abuse should react to it firmly.
If the child’s life or health is at risk, the person who became aware of it should immediately notify the police by calling the emergency number 112, providing their own data, the child’s details (if possible), the child’s whereabouts and a description of the circumstances of the case, and notify the superior/decision-maker. The person who became aware of the incident also informs the Coordinator, at least by e-mail/in writing.
If an employee of the facility witnesses physical violence used against a child (spanking, tugging, shouting, other violence listed in the definition of physical violence), he or she should try to stop the abuse and react.
In the event of leaving a child under 7 years of age unattended, the employee who became aware of such an event should notify the supervisor about this fact. The supervisor who has been notified of the situation makes decisions on further action, in the context of the provisions of the Penal Code and the Code of Petty Offences[4]. Depending on this context, the supervisor will attempt to locate the parent/legal guardian or other adult with whom the child is on the premises and explain that the supervisor must not leave the child unattended. In a situation where it is not possible to find the parent/legal guardian or another adult with whom the child is staying in the facility, or the parent/legal guardian/other adult is unwilling and/or unable to take care of the child, the supervisor notifies the police about this fact. In any case, the child’s safety should be taken care of.

Chapter V

Monitoring and evaluation of Child Protection Standards

The entrepreneur or farmer appoints a Coordinator responsible for the Child Protection Standards applied in APARTGDYNIA and places his contact details in a place easily accessible to staff and guests, including children.
The entrepreneur or farmer determines the scope of tasks and competences of the Coordinator in the field of preparing employees to apply the provisions of the Child Protection Standards, the rules for preparing employees for their application and the method of documenting these activities
The coordinator referred to in the preceding point monitors and evaluates the Child Protection Standards at least once every two years.
Monitoring and evaluation include verifying the implementation of the Child Protection Standards, responding to signals of violation of rules and procedures, and proposing changes to the document, especially in terms of adapting them to current needs and compliance with applicable regulations.

The Coordinator conducts a survey among APARTGDYNIA employees, at least once every 2 years, to monitor the level of implementation of the Child Protection Standards.

In the survey, employees can propose changes and indicate violations in the area of rules and procedures of the Child Protection Standards in APARTGDYNIA.
The Coordinator prepares questionnaires filled in by employees, prepares a monitoring report on this basis, which is then submitted to the Entrepreneur or farmer. The entrepreneur or farmer introduces the necessary changes to the document and announces to employees the new wording of the Child Protection Standards.

Chapter VI Final provisions

The Child Protection Standards come into force on August 15, 2024
The Child Protection Standards are made available to all employees by placing them on the website.APARTGDYNIA.PL the Standards of Protection of Minors tab and in the APARTGDYNIA OFFICE, after entering through the main door.
The Child Protection Standards are made available to adult guests of APARTGDYNIA by placing them on the website.APARTGDYNIA.PL the Standards of Protection of Minors tab and in the APARTGDYNIA OFFICE, after entering through the main door.
The Child Protection Standards are available in an understandable and abbreviated version for children staying in APARTGDYNIA in a place accessible and visible to them. A short version may contain graphic elements.

[1] Journal of Laws of 2024, item 560

[2] Journal of Laws of 2023, item 1944

[3] Act of 6 June 1997. Penal Code (Journal of Laws of 2024, item 17)

[4] Penal Code, Article 160 paragraphs 1 and 2; Article 210 par.1, Code of Petty Offences Article 106