Safe volunteering

A safe environment is important. Especially when your organization works with minors or people with an intellectual disability. This means that in addition to the presence of a physically safe (playing) environment and safe materials, minors and people with disabilities must also be able to feel safe. This does not only apply to them: all people in the organization benefit from a physically and socially safe working environment. Preventing (sexual) transgressive behavior is also in the interest of the organization itself. As an organisation, you therefore have the task of placing the subject on the agenda. Openness and preventive policy help here.

Discuss safety

The damage that unwanted sexual behavior causes is great. First of all with the victims, but also in the organization where it takes place. So set a good example and make safety a topic of discussion. Encourage employees to improve and guarantee safety within the organization and put the subject and especially the need for prevention on the agenda. This creates an open culture and shows the organization that the subject is taken seriously.

For more information and useful tips, visit the website in safe hands .

Need information, support or advice?

(Volunteer) organizations that are interested in training, a consultation, completing the risk analysis or individual support can call on the Volunteer Center Haarlem & Surroundings and its partners. Contact person for this is Sylvia Wesselius, s.wesselius@vwc-haarlem.nl , telephone 023-5300 500

Independent confidential advisor

An independent confidential adviser has been appointed for the municipalities of Haarlem and Bloemendaal. You can contact her with questions about (suspicions of) undesirable (sexual) behavior within a (volunteer) organization or if you yourself are dealing with undesirable (sexual) behaviour.

Introducing: Confidential Adviser Ingeborg van de Poll

My name is Ingeborg van de Poll and I am a confidential counselor for volunteers and (volunteer) organizations in Haarlem. The name confidential advisor says it all, you can talk to me in confidence. Sometimes you experience insecurity in your volunteer work or as an organization you see something that you find difficult to discuss. It can be topics where you feel unsafe because someone else has done something to you that you have experienced as unpleasant. It may be that someone has called you names, threatened or bullied you. And it may also be that someone has touched you unwantedly. Situations where someone has crossed your border! As a confidential advisor, I have a duty of confidentiality. So everything you tell me stays between you and me.

I made a short video in which I tell a little more about myself and my work as a confidential advisor.

If you have any questions or would like to talk to me, I can be reached at number 06-33687278 and via email i.vandepoll@hetlsr.nl

complaints committee

Organizations do their best to treat their volunteers as well as possible. Nevertheless, it can happen that a volunteer has complaints about the organization or about people who, whether or not employed, perform work for the organization. Normally, a complaint is resolved by talking to the person(s) involved or through internal mediation via the board or management of the (volunteer) organization. If this does not work satisfactorily and the organization itself does not have a complaints committee, you can turn to an independent complaints committee for volunteer work in Haarlem and the surrounding area.

The complaints committee can be contacted via okc@vwc-haarlem.nl . The secretary will then deal with the case. This secretary works independently of VWC-BUUV.