A news article has been published today in the Scottish edition of The Times, covering a historical safeguarding incident that took place in a project in Malawi in July 2009. Tearfund is deeply saddened by the incident.
The project was run by a partner organisation Tearfund was working with at the time and was partially funded by a grant from the Scottish Government.
The incident involved an employee of the partner organisation who abused a 16 year old girl within that organisation’s care. When a Tearfund staff member in Malawi was notified of the allegation of abuse, even though the allegation did not involve a Tearfund staff member, we ensured our safeguarding procedures we had at the time were followed. A Tearfund Child Protection Officer also intervened to ensure that swift and appropriate action was taken.
This included providing care for the individual who was harmed, and the partner organisation launching an investigation. The individual was provided counselling and moved away from the project. The incident was reported to the Malawi Police, and the partner organisation dismissed their staff member. Tearfund ceased working with this partner organisation in 2010.
We remain committed to the safeguarding and protection of everyone we work with, including beneficiaries, volunteers, Tearfund staff and the staff of partner organisations.
About Tearfund
Tearfund is a Christian relief and development agency and a member of the Disasters’ Emergency Committee. Founded in 1968, Tearfund has been working around the world for 50 years responding to disasters and helping lift communities out of poverty. For more information about the work of Tearfund, please visit www.tearfund.org.
