Digital safeguarding policy

Published: 2 October 2024

Version: 4

Find out what's changed and why in the most recent updates to this policy.

Policy aims and purpose

Digital safeguarding is how we help everyone at Girlguiding stay safe online. We follow the same safeguarding principles offline and online, but recognise that some types of harm can happen only, or mostly, online.

This policy sets out our commitment to digital safeguarding and the different types of online harms, our expectations, and how we help our members, volunteers and activities stay safe online.

This policy applies to all Girlguiding adult volunteers, adult members, and all staff employed by The Guide Association whether permanent, fixed term or contracted. It covers all Girlguiding activities at any level which take place online. These include:

• Any activities that take place over internet Girlguiding provides.
• Any Girlguiding activities that take place on non-Girlguiding affiliated digital platforms, like Facebook or Zoom, or devices, like mobile phones or computers.

It also applies to everyone who uses our websites, digital platforms and social media. It applies in the UK and for British Overseas Territories.

The Guide Association works in close partnership with other Girlguiding employers to respond to safeguarding matters where it includes country and region or local staff.

You must follow this policy and its procedure, and read them alongside our safeguarding policy and procedure.

If you have a safeguarding concern – offline or online – you must report it within 24 hours (or sooner if it’s an emergency) to the HQ safeguarding team.

Definitions

• Adult member - anyone over 18 years old for whom a subscription is paid.
• Adult volunteer - anyone aged over 18 who gives their time to Girlguiding without being paid, in a registered volunteer role. This includes volunteers working directly with members and volunteers with no direct contact.
• Digital platforms – includes social media, websites, apps and online software.
• Girlguiding – the Guide Association and all local units, districts, divisions, counties, countries and regions.
• Member – includes young members and adult members.
• Social media – any digital communications that allows you to communicate with more than one person at a time, like Facebook, X, Whatsapp or Instagram. Email can be considered to be social media, for example a group email chain.
• Social media channels – includes both our official and volunteer social media channels, like a Facebook page.
• Staff - anyone employed by The Guide Association whether permanent, fixed term or contracted.
• Young member - anyone who’s a Rainbow, Brownie, Guide or Ranger. Or a volunteer aged under 18 in any role, for example a young leader.

Policy statement

Girlguiding’s commitment to digital safeguarding

We’re committed to safeguarding everyone in Girlguiding. This includes people who use our digital services and social media channels. 

We follow the same safeguarding principles for Girlguiding’s activities offline and online. This policy relates closely to our safeguarding policy and managing information policy.

We recognise and respond to digital safeguarding concerns including but not limited to:  

• Online abuse – including online bullying, online harassment, cyberstalking, and discrimination and abuse on the grounds of protected characteristics.
• Online exploitation – including sexual exploitation and online grooming.
• Online harms – including, the promotion of self-harm, suicide and eating disorders, and the sharing of illegal and inappropriate imagery.
• Specialist areas – including radicalisation.
• Other harms including disinformation and misinformation, hoaxes, hacking, oversharing of personal information, impersonation and harmful online challenges.

You don’t have to be certain about a concern, so if you think someone is at risk of any of these harms, and if in doubt, you must report it. 

Expectations

Girlguiding expects all adult volunteers, adult members and staff to:

• Always report a safeguarding concern, offline or online, even if you aren’t sure. Girlguiding’s HQ safeguarding team is here to help.
• Respond to online incidents in the same way as other safeguarding incidents. This could be something that happens at a unit meeting, or a member raising an issue at an online meeting.
• Follow the digital safeguarding procedure, alongside our safeguarding policy.
• Recognise the types of online harms and the risks they have.
• Make every effort to ensure girls and young members understand why and how to stay safe online.
• Make sure you have the correct permissions in place before taking and using photographs or recording.
• Delete photos after events, in line with our managing information procedure.
• Never contact a girl or young member under 14 without permission from their parent or carer. This applies even if they contacted you first, unless it's an emergency.
• Follow Girlguiding’s code of conduct online as you would offline.
• Make sure you set up and use social media accounts responsibly. See our digital safeguarding procedure for more information.
• Make sure you do everything possible to stop access to illegal or inappropriate content on Girlguiding devices or devices used for Girlguiding activities. For example, using parental controls.

How Girlguiding helps our members, volunteers and activities stay safe online

• Our safe practice department leads digital safeguarding at Girlguiding. This includes our HQ safeguarding team. They make sure we’re obeying the law and using best practice. They also work with our digital team on safeguarding.
• The HQ safeguarding team are on hand to support all our members, volunteers, and staff. You can contact them at [email protected].
• We make sure our projects, activities, programmes and campaigns support all of our members, volunteers and staff to stay safe online.
• We aim to incorporate best practice in digital safeguarding in everything we do.
• We help our volunteers to support members in being effective online.
• We take action in line with best practice when a digital safeguarding incident happens.
• We support and train volunteers and staff in digital safeguarding.
• We keep links with key organisations to raise awareness and refer and report incidents.
• We risk-assess all our projects, initiatives, programmes, activities, services and campaigns to make sure digital safeguards are in place.
• We support volunteers and staff using our safeguarding structure. We use our safeguarding procedure to manage allegations against volunteers
• We use our managing concerns about adult volunteers policy to manage breaches of this policy by volunteers. For staff, we use our staff disciplinary procedure, which is on the staff intranet.

Staying safe is our priority but we can’t resolve every issue. Some may be the service provider or user’s responsibility.

British Overseas Territories

Members in British Overseas Territories must abide by local legislation when applying this policy, where relevant.