Our safeguarding journey: Lessons from an Islamic Relief learning event

As Islamic Relief publishes a new learning paper on safeguarding, our Safeguarding Project Coordinator Bushra Rehman discusses key insights gained from an event bringing together Islamic Relief colleagues from 11 countries.

In recent years, the importance of safeguarding has gained significant traction in the humanitarian and development sectors. In 2022, Islamic Relief launched a new project with the aim of strengthening safeguarding mechanisms, ensuring the protection of vulnerable individuals, and embedding safeguarding principles into organisational cultures. The Establishing Community and Faith-based Approaches to Safeguarding Mechanisms in Humanitarian Contexts project concluded this year, having targeted 8 Islamic Relief offices in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Through this project, Islamic Relief made remarkable progress in weaving a strong safeguarding approach across all organisational functions, including programmes and HR, as well as engaging with communities on safeguarding. At the same time, through discussions and reflections, the project revealed that our efforts are a work in progress.

In May 2024, colleagues from 7 of the 8 target offices – Mali, Malawi, Sudan, South Sudan, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Yemen – met in Amman, Jordan, to share their experiences of implementing safeguarding in their own contexts. Colleagues from Islamic Relief Palestine were unable to join due to the ongoing escalation in Gaza. Colleagues from Kenya, Jordan Somalia and Ethiopia also participated in the learning event.

In our discussion, several themes emerged that will help guide our safeguarding work going forward:

Concrete, context-specific examples are needed to make safeguarding concepts tangible

Colleagues noted that generic trainings on compliance often failed to meaningfully engage participants, focusing too much on policy without addressing the real-life contexts and behaviours that contribute to harassment and other safeguarding issues.

This means participants sometimes did not take training seriously or understand how policies applied to their daily interactions. To be effective, trainings on safeguarding should be tailored to promote behavioural change, engaging participants in discussions about the root causes of harassment and gender inequality, challenging harmful norms and behaviours and equipping participants with practical skills to create a safer and more respectful environment.

Faith leaders have a key role to play in protecting at-risk individuals

The safeguarding project aimed to create Community Hope Action Teams (CHATs) that included faith leaders to leverage the influence of these leaders to engage more community members. The CHATs, composed of community members, faith leaders and local authorities were tasked with identifying safeguarding risks, promoting safe practices and providing support to those in need.

One successful example from Mali saw an imam using knowledge he’d gained from training to inform community members, fellow religious leaders and parents about child protection. He’s integrated child safeguarding principles into his sermons, emphasising Islamic teachings on compassion, justice and the sanctity of children’s rights.

Organisational change is impossible without leadership buy-in

Leadership buy-in is essential to drive and sustain organisational culture shifts and without the commitment of senior leaders, efforts to embed safeguarding into organisational culture often faltered.

With this support, organisations can revise existing policies, introduce new guidelines and foster an environment where safeguarding is prioritised. A genuinely committed environment will feature diverse leadership and management teams, inclusive of women, young people, individuals with disabilities, and others typically underrepresented at senior level. There is a need for continuous advocacy and training on, and demonstrating of the tangible benefits of safeguarding to garner support from top management.

Understanding intersectionality will improve safeguarding strategies

People at risk, such as those with disabilities, often face compounded vulnerabilities due to overlapping factors like gender, age, and socioeconomic status. There is a need to adopt an intersectional approach to safeguarding, ensuring that strategies are inclusive and responsive to the diverse needs of all individuals.

Future trainings should also address gender stereotypes, unequal power relations, and the impact of traditional masculinity, which may contribute to the normalisation of abusive behaviours. This understanding was crucial in developing comprehensive policies and practices that do not overlook any segment of the population.

We need to move away from treating safeguarding and SEAH as a ‘women and girls’ issue

We must balance acknowledging the gendered underpinnings of safeguarding violations – such as exploitation and abuse – without reinforcing the stereotype that only women and girls are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. This is particularly important as these beliefs can prevent men and boys from reporting incidents.

When explaining the safeguarding policy and reporting procedure during staff and community trainings, it is also important to include case studies and scenarios involving male victims to raise awareness and reduce stigma.

Reporting mechanisms should be expanded for ease

Reporting mechanisms need to be effective, inclusive, accessible, confidential and trusted by the community. We reviewed the various feedback and complaints channels, including hotlines, suggestion boxes, and digital platforms and agreed that a focus on formal mechanisms alone is not enough. We need to tap into informal mechanisms to report concerns and share feedback by, for example, appointing community-based representatives.

Where certain community members, such as women and people with disabilities, face restrictions in accessing the public domain and community dialogue, it is even more important to ensure peer-to-peer support with existing community structures, such as schools, faith leaders, women’s support hubs.  

By focusing on capacity building, engaging faith leaders, forming community teams, and promoting inclusive approaches, the project has laid a robust foundation for safeguarding in the participating countries. The lessons learned from this initiative serve as a valuable learning opportunity for Islamic Relief to extend and build on our safeguarding efforts.

Read more in the new learning paper: Establishing Community and Faith-Based Approaches to Safeguarding in Emergency Contexts.