15 organisations urge Lithuania to adopt child safety standard

Fifteen Lithuanian organisations have called on the country’s state leaders, Parliament, Government and relevant institutions to establish a common minimum safe environment standard in law for institutions and organisations working with children, LRT reported.

The proposed national standard would cover child protection policies, safe staff recruitment, the development of employees’ skills and psychological wellbeing, children’s social and emotional competencies, and children’s involvement in creating a safe environment.

It would also include cooperation with parents and guardians, ensuring a safe physical environment, clear response procedures, ongoing monitoring of implementation and regular reviews of the standard.

The appeal was initiated by the Lithuanian Youth Council. It was also signed by the Lithuanian Scouts, the Lithuanian School Students’ Union, the Maltese Order Relief Service, the NGO Confederation for Children, the National Network of Poverty Reduction Organisations, the National Education NGO Network, the Lithuanian Union of Sports Federations and the organisation Save the Children Lithuania.

The Lithuanian Women’s Lobby Organisation, the Consumers’ Alliance, the Lithuanian Red Cross, the Lithuanian Disability Organisations Forum, the National Association of Sports Federations and the Child Support Centre also joined the appeal.

Existing QR code is not enough, organisations say

The organisations said the existing legal work with children code, known as the QR code, is an important but insufficient child protection measure.

They said the check determines whether a person is subject to legally established restrictions on working or engaging in activities with children. However, it does not by itself show how an organisation prevents and identifies risks, enables a child to report a problem safely or responds appropriately when one arises.

“Children’s safety cannot begin only after a criminal act has already occurred. We need to create a system that helps organisations identify and prevent risks before harm occurs,” LiJOT President Umberto Masi was quoted as saying in a statement.

Masi said Lithuania already had expert-developed safe environment standards for children and examples of good practice. He said the country now needed to agree on the essential safety guarantees that must be provided to every child, whether they attend a school, sports club, youth organisation, camp, social services institution or another setting.

The appeal proposes requiring by law that legal entities conducting activities with children and subject to requirements under the Law on the Fundamentals of Protection of the Rights of the Child establish and regularly review systems for ensuring a safe environment for children.

The organisations proposed linking the new regulation systematically with the existing system governing work and activities with children, using the supervisory institutions already operating in different sectors where legally and administratively justified.

They said the requirements should be proportionate to the type and duration of the activity and its level of risk. Where an organisation is already subject to equivalent or higher requirements under existing legislation, those requirements should count as meeting the general requirements to the relevant extent.

The appeal’s authors also said organisations should have access, before mandatory requirements enter into force, to model procedures, methodological recommendations and training prepared by the state and experts.

They called on the Government and Parliament to include the creation of a national safe environment standard for children in the planned inter-institutional action plan for preventing sexual violence against minors and providing assistance. They also asked the authorities to identify the institutions responsible for implementing the process and set out the planned deadlines.