1. Background

House 9 Foundation Inc. has zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment. House 9 Foundation Inc. will not tolerate its staff or associates that engage in any form of sexual exploitation or abuse, which either adults, women, and children are particularly at risk of sexual exploitation and abuse. House 9 Foundation Inc. is committed to protecting all communities that the organization works with from sexual exploitation and abuse at all times.

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2. Purpose

House 9 Foundation Inc. does not tolerate sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment and is committed to promoting a culture where people are treated with dignity and respect, both in the workplace and in projects and programs conducted.

 

3. Scope

This policy applies to anyone working for a contract with House 9 Foundation Inc., including employees, contractors, volunteers, and even consultants.

 

4. Definitions For this policy, the following definitions apply:

i. Sexual harassment: An illegal behavior towards a person that causes mental or emotional suffering, which includes repeated unwanted contact without a reasonable purpose, insults, threats, touching, or offensive language.

ii. Harassment: Any unwanted behavior, physical or verbal (or even suggested) that makes a reasonable person feels uncomfortable, humiliated, or mentally distressed.

iii. Sexual Abuse: Sexual abuse is any actual or threatened physically of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal conditions, when they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Sexual abuse may include a range of behaviors up to and including rape.

iv. Sexual Exploitation: Sexual exploitation involves a person profiting from using another person's body sexually to benefit (financially or otherwise).

 

5. Core Principles

Everyone must be given a copy of the policy to follow and comply with all relevant legislation, including laws in relation to sexual abuse, harassment and must behave and respects the rights of the people they are interacting with in line with the following principles:

• Any act of sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment is prohibited.

• Sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment constitute acts of misconduct and are; therefore, disciplinary action must be taken, including termination of employment.

• House 9 Foundation Inc. members shall create and maintain an environment that prevents sexual abuse, exploitation, or harassment and ensure it's their responsibility to support and develop systems that maintain this environment.

• House 9 Foundation Inc. will provide training and awareness raising for all persons covered under the scope of this policy to make them aware of their responsibilities in preventing incidents.

• As a requirement for every employee, the policy will be explained within the framework of the HR Manual. Each employee must confirm receipt and compliance with the policy with their signature.

 

6. Enforcement

All acts of misconduct and behavior identified in this policy will be handled fairly, and we will do everything to stop and prevent sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment. In addition, the following steps will be taken:

• The Managing Director will work with the help of an Integrity officer to oversee what to do to minimize any problems arising from the organization.

• Perform a risk analysis to determine and ensure the organization develops specific

• prevention mechanisms as needed.

• Ensure the background and criminal records check to align with data protection laws and regulations before hiring someone.

• Investigating sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment involving employees must align with the House 9 Foundation Inc., investigation protocol.

• All reports and related information will be treated in confidence and kept secure by the

• Integrity Officer.

• House 9 Foundation Inc., represented by the Managing Director, supported by the Integrity Officer, will act on the findings of investigations and ensure lessons learned are used to improve

• policy and processes as appropriate

 

7. Reporting

House 9 Foundation Inc., employees must report according to the processes outlined.

i. Who is involved? Who is responsible, and was anyone else involved?

ii. When did the incident(s) occur, where did the incident(s) occur?

iii. Information about dates, times, and any contact details, if available.

iv. Were there any additional witnesses we may be able to contact? Anything else? She/he may provide any available documents, photos, screenshots, messages, etc., that they hold to help to clarify the report.

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8. Review Process

This policy will be reviewed initially after one year and afterward every three years by the HR and the Board members of the House 9 Foundation Inc.