STANDARDS FOR THE PROTECTION OF MINORS

Preamble

Considering the provisions of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and recognising the vital role of business in ensuring the respect of the rights of children, in particular the right to protection of their dignity and freedom from all forms of abuse, Raffles European Warsaw hereby adopts this document as a template set of rules and procedures to be followed if there are suspicions that the child staying at the hotel has been abused, and in order to prevent such risks.

The policy for the protection of children at our hotel will be implemented based on the rules set our herein.

1. Raffles Europejski Warsaw runs its operations with the utmost respect for human rights, in particular the rights of children as persons particularly vulnerable to abuse.

2. Raffles Europejski Warsaw recognises its role in running a socially responsible business and in promoting desirable social attitudes.

3. In particular, Raffles Europejski Warsaw highlights the importance of legal and social obligation to report any suspected case of crime against children to law enforcement agencies, and hereby commits to training its staff accordingly.

4. Raffles Europejski Warsaw shall educate its staff about the circumstances indicative of a possible abuse caused to the child staying at the facility and about measures of quick and adequate response to such situations.

5. Establishing the identity of the child who will stay at the hotel and his/her relationship with the accompanying adult is one of the best ways to prevent child abuse. Therefore, the staff member shall take all the steps required to identify the child staying at the hotel and his/her relationship with the accompanying adult.

The Hotel Management has appointed a Coordinator. For any matters related to these Standards or to report violations of the Standards, please contact the Coordinator via e-mail: som.warsaw@raffles.com

Procedure to follow if there is a suspicion that the child has been abused

1. Always and as far as possible, the identification procedure shall be run for the child and his/her relationship with the adult accompanying him/her at the hotel.

2. In unusual and/or suspicious situations indicative of possible risk of child abuse, the identification must be performed by the staff member at the reception desk.

3. In order to identify the child staying at the hotel and his/her relationship with the accompanying adult, you shall do the following:

a. ask him/her about the child’s identity and his/her relationship with the person with whom he/she has arrived or has been staying at the hotel. To do so, you may ask to show the child’s ID or another document to

confirm that the adult is authorised to have the child under his/her care at the hotel. If no ID documents are available you may ask to provide the child’s data (first and last name, address and PESEL identification number);

b. If no documents demonstrating the kinship between the child and the adult are available you may ask such adult and the child to clarify this relationship.

c. If the adult is not the parent or the legal guardian of the child, you shall ask if they have a document to confirm the parent’s consent to his/her travel with the child (e.g. written statement).

d. If the adult does not have the parents’ consent you shall ask him/her to provide their phone number in order to call them and confirm that the child stays at the facility with a stranger adult with the knowledge and consent of the parents/ legal guardians.

4. If the adult resists and does not wish to show the child’s document and/or to clarify the relationship, please explain that the procedure is intended to ensure the safety of children who stay at Raffles Europejski Warsaw, and that it has been developed in agreement with relevant non-governmental organisations.

5. Once the issue has been clarified, thank him/her for the time spent to make sure that the child is under good care, and stress again that the procedure is intended to ensure the safety of children.

6. If, after the conversation, doubts still persist as to the concerns regarding the adult and his/her intention to abuse the child, please report it discreetly to the line manager and to other staff. In order to avoid any suspicions, you could say that you have to use the equipment in the back-up room and ask the adult to wait with the child in the lobby, at the restaurant or in another place.

7. From the moment of the initial concern, and as far as practicable, both the child and the adult shall stay within sight of the facility staff and shall not be left alone.

8. The line manager who has been informed about the occurrence shall decide to call the Police, and if in doubt, shall have a conversation with the adult to get further explanations.

9. If they manage to confirm in the conversation that a crime against the child has been attempted or actually committed, the line manager shall report that fact to the Police. In the next step, they shall follow the procedure applicable for cases which suggest that the child may have been abused.

10. If unusual and/or suspicious occurrences are witnessed by the staff of other departments, e.g. cleaning service, room service, bar and restaurant staff, relaxation area or security staff, etc., they shall immediately report them to their line manager who will decide on appropriate steps to follow (see points 7 and 8 above).

11. Depending on the case and the place, the line manager shall check whether the suspicion of child abuse is reasonable. To do so, they shall choose adequate measures in order to clarify the situation, to decide about the intervention, and to call the Police.

Procedure to follow if there are signs that the child has been abused

1. If there is a reasonable suspicion that the child staying at the hotel has been abused, the report shall immediately be made to the Police, under the 112 emergency number, together with the circumstances of the case. Depending on the development and the circumstances of the occurrence, the call shall be made by the person who has been a direct witness (staff member/line manager) If the occurrence is reported by the staff member, the same report shall be made to the line manager.

2. A reasonable suspicion that the child has been abused shall arise when:

a. the child has reported the abuse to the staff at the facility;

b. the staff member has noticed the abuse;

c. the child shows signs of abuse (e.g. scratches, bruises) and, when asked, responds incoherently and/or chaotically and/or becomes confused or there are other circumstances which may be indicative of the abuse, e.g. child pornography has been found in the adult’s room.

3. Steps shall be taken to prevent the child and the individual suspected of abuse from leaving the facility.

4. In justified cases the suspect may be apprehended under the citizens’ arrest. In such a case, until the Police arrives, the apprehended individual shall stay under the watch of two staff members, in a separate room, out of sight of other guests.

5. In any event, all and any efforts shall be made to ensure that the child is safe. The child shall stay under the care of the staff until the Police arrives.

6. If there is a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed whereby the child has had contact with the biological material of the offender (sperm, saliva, epidermis), as far as possible, the child shall be prevented from any washing and eating/drinking until the arrival of the Police.

7. Once the child has been taken by the Police, CCTV footage and other evidence (e.g. documents) regarding the occurrence must be secured, upon the request of the law enforcement agencies, their copy shall be sent by registered mail or provided in person to the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Police.

8. Upon the intervention, the occurrence shall be recorded in the event log or in other relevant records.

Hiring people to work with children

1. All persons who work with children shall guarantee their safety, which means that their employment history must demonstrate that they have not abused any child in the past

2. Each person hired by Raffles Europejski Warsaw for any work related to providing education, leisure and care for children must be vetted against the Register of Sexual Offenders. The vetting against the Register shall be done by printing out the results of a search in the Register with restricted access, which shall next be included in the personal file of the person subject to vetting The vetting shall be repeated every year.

3. All staff members hired to work with children, including those who may potentially engage with children, shall make a statement on clear criminal record, and further declare that no proceedings are pending against them for crimes against children.

For the purpose of this document, the following terms shall have the following meaning.

1. The child shall mean any person below the age of 18.

2. The stranger adult shall mean any person above the age of 18 who is not the parent or the legal guardian of the child.

3. Child abuse shall mean a crime committed against the child.

4. Crime against the child – all and any crimes which may be committed against adults and, in addition, crimes which may solely be committed against children (e.g. sexual abuse under Article 200 of the Criminal Code). Considering the specific profile of tourism facilities where seclusion can easily be obtained, crimes which are most likely to occur on their premises shall include crimes against sexual freedom and morality, in particular rape (Article 197 of the Criminal Code), sexual abuse in the situation of insanity and helplessness (Article 198 of the Criminal Code), sexual abuse in the situation of dependence or critical life circumstances (Article 199 of the Criminal Code), sexual abuse of a person under the age of 15 (Article 200 of the Criminal Code), grooming (seduction of the minor by means of distance communication – Article 200a of the Criminal Code).

5. The staff member hired to work with children and subject to vetting against the Register of Sexual Offenders shall be any person recruited to perform such duties, including any person hired under the civil law contract, an intern, a trainee or a volunteer, regardless of their citizenship and age. 

Learn more - link.