Updated: Februray 26, 2026
Purpose
The Bayimba Foundation Safeguarding Protocols establish mandatory standards to prevent, detect, report, and respond to abuse, exploitation, neglect, harassment, and all forms of harm. They are designed to protect all individuals engaged in or affected by Bayimba’s work,particularly women, persons with disabilities, refugees, and host communities.
The protocols promote dignity, accountability, and zero tolerance for misconduct, ensuring a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment for all. Safeguarding is a collective responsibility, and compliance is a condition of engagement with the Foundation.
Scope
These protocols apply across all Bayimba Foundation operations and activities, including The Bayimba Centre located at Lunkulu Island, Mukono/Buikwe District, Uganda; all festivals and events organized by the Foundation, such as the Bayimba International Festival of the Arts, DOADOA l East Africa Performing Arts Market, Amakula International Film Festival, and the Future Imaginations Festival; and training programs delivered through the Bayimba Academy and its partners.
The protocols apply to all staff members, regardless of position or level of authority, and extend to volunteers, partners, consultants, visitors, and service providers associated with our work. They cover conduct within our programs, host communities, and workplaces, and establish safeguarding as a shared responsibility for every individual engaged with the organization.
Accessibility Principles
We are committed to:
- Providing physical accessibility to our facilities and venues
- Ensuring that our programs and services are inclusive and accessible to all
- Promoting equal opportunities for participation and engagement
- Fostering a culture of respect, empathy, and understanding
Safeguarding Principles
We are committed to:
- Protecting the safety and well-being of all participants, visitors, and staff
- Preventing harm, abuse, and exploitation
- Responding promptly and effectively to incidents or concerns
- Providing a safe and confidential reporting mechanism
Disability Inclusion Principles
We are committed to:
- Promoting equal opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in our programs and services
- Providing reasonable accommodations and support to ensure accessibility
- Fostering an inclusive and respectful environment that values diversity and promotes empowerment
Responsibility for Safeguarding
- Leadership and oversight: Senior management and designated safeguarding focal persons are responsible for policy implementation, oversight, and enforcement.
- Individual duty: Every person associated with Bayimba must act with integrity, remain vigilant, report concerns promptly, and uphold safeguarding standards.
- Zero tolerance: Bayimba enforces a zero-tolerance policy toward abuse, exploitation, neglect, and harassment. Breaches will result in disciplinary action, including termination or referral to authorities.
Safeguarding commitments – Bayimba Code of Conduct
All Bayimba Employees and Related Personnel shall:
- Creating a safe organizational culture
- Promote an inclusive, equitable, and respectful environment.
- Prevent and address sexual harassment, exploitation, abuse, neglect, and child abuse.
- Treat all individuals with dignity and fairness.
- Protection against misuse of reporting
- Malicious, false, or intentionally misleading reports constitute misconduct and may result in dismissal.
- Responsible use of images and media
- Photograph, film, or interview vulnerable persons only when required by duty and with prior approval.
- Use Bayimba-owned devices exclusively.
- Obtain informed consent in line with the Bayimba Stories and Images Consent Policy.
- Cooperation with investigations
- Fully cooperate with safeguarding assessments or investigations.
- Maintain confidentiality throughout investigative processes.
- Accommodation and boundaries
- Employees and personnel must be accommodated separately from participants unless authorized.
- Maintain professional boundaries; avoid favouritism, coercion, or abuse of power.
- Respect confidentiality and privacy at all times.
- Protection of vulnerable groups
- Never be alone with a child or vulnerable person in unsafe settings.
- Ensure activities are supervised, inclusive, and age-appropriate.
- Provide reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities.
- Prevention measures
- Mandatory safeguarding training for staff and volunteers.
- Background/reference checks and certificates of good conduct where possible.
- Clear reporting channels communicated to communities.
- Community awareness initiatives on rights and safeguarding.
- Risk assessments conducted prior to activities or fieldwork.
- Reporting safeguarding concerns
- Concerns must be reported immediately (within 24 hours where possible).
- Suspicion alone is sufficient to raise a concern.
- Reports may be submitted via safeguarding focal persons, confidential phone/email, complaint boxes, or suggestion boxes.
- Retaliation against good-faith reporting is strictly prohibited.
- Response and case management
- Ensure immediate safety of survivors.
- Apply a survivor-cantered and confidential approach.
- Do not conduct unauthorized investigations.
- Refer survivors to medical, psychosocial, or legal services.
- Document cases securely and anonymously.
- Confidentiality and data protection
- Share information strictly on a need-to-know basis.
- Secure all physical and digital records.
- Obtain informed consent before sharing personal data.
- Accountability and disciplinary action
- Breaches of safeguarding protocols will result in disciplinary measures, including suspension, termination, or referral to authorities.
- Partners and contractors must comply with Bayimba safeguarding standards.
- Community feedback and complaints mechanism
- Provide accessible, safe, and inclusive channels for feedback.
- Ensure mechanisms are inclusive of women, children, and persons with disabilities.
- Allow anonymous reporting options.
- Monitoring and review
- Conduct regular reviews of safeguarding risks and incidents.
- Update safeguarding policies annually.
- Promote continuous learning and improvement.
CONCLUSION
Safeguarding is a fundamental obligation of Bayimba Foundation and central to its mission, values, and integrity. The Foundation is firmly committed to protecting all individuals, particularly persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups by ensuring safe, accessible, and inclusive environments across all its operations. Compliance with these protocols is mandatory, and failure to adhere will result in disciplinary action.
Bayimba maintains a zero-tolerance stance toward misconduct and upholds safeguarding as a continuous responsibility that guides all its activities, decisions, and relationships.
Approved by:
Faisal KIWEWA
Director Bayimba Foundation
