Article 1. No Abuse of Power; Respect for the Rights of Vulnerable People

• ·Treat all vulnerable people with courtesy, dignity, and fairness, free from prejudice or discrimination based on gender, age, religion, national or ethnic origin, or disability.
• ·Ensure equal access to the organization's activities for all vulnerable people regardless of their background. Deliberate exclusion of, or favoritism toward, particular individuals or their families is strictly prohibited.
• ·Before making any decision that affects a vulnerable person, provide a clear and accessible explanation and obtain informed consent. For a child, this must involve the child together with a parent or legal guardian.
• ·Maintain a professional and respectful demeanour. Staff and affiliated parties must avoid any attitude, language, or expression that may cause a vulnerable person to feel humiliated or demeaned.

Article 2. No Violence of Any Kind

• ·Strictly refrain from any physical, psychological, or emotional abuse of a vulnerable person.
• ·Do not enter into any sexual relationship with a vulnerable person. Recognize that such a relationship constitutes sexual abuse regardless of consent.
• ·Sexual activity with children (persons under the age of 18) is prohibited regardless of the age of majority or age of consent locally. Mistaken belief regarding the age of a child is not a defence.
• ·Do not seek financial or political gain through the exploitation of vulnerable people, including child labour or human trafficking. Exchange of money, employment, goods, or services for sex, including sexual favours or other forms of humiliating, degrading or exploitative behaviour, is prohibited. This includes the exchange of assistance that is due to beneficiaries.
• ·Avoid creating any environment or situation that could raise concern or suspicion of inappropriate conduct with a vulnerable person. Never spend time alone with a vulnerable person in an enclosed or secluded space, including vehicles and other transport. Where an activity must take place in an enclosed space, follow the two-adult rule and supervise one another's impact on the vulnerable person.

Article 3. Privacy and Protection of Personal Data

• ·Obtain prior written consent from the person concerned — including a parent or legal guardian in the case of a child — before collecting or using their personal data. Limit collection and use to the minimum necessary, and securely destroy the data once the consent period ends.
• ·Do not use personal mobile phones or other personal digital devices to collect a vulnerable person’s personal data, and never use photographs or video gathered for programme purposes for personal purposes such as personal social media accounts.
• ·Never disclose personally identifiable photographs or video together with a vulnerable person’s name and location.
• ·Do not photograph or film a vulnerable person in a state of undress or in a manner that exposes intimate parts of the body, and never use personal data to produce sexually exploitative material.

Article 4. Duty to Report

• ·Immediately report any suspected, witnessed, or known safeguarding violation or allegation to the designated contact — the outreach team leader, the on-site outreach manager, or the head office.
• ·This duty to report applies whether or not the person involved belongs to MediAccess. Concerns about outside parties — partner hospitals, cooperating organizations, local coordinators — must be reported in the same way.
• ·Do not tolerate, conceal, or encourage any safeguarding incident.
• ·No one who reports in good faith shall be subject to any detrimental action for having done so. MediAccess keeps the identity of the person reporting confidential and prohibits any retaliation.
• ·Outreach team leaders and the head office are responsible for creating and maintaining an environment that prevents safeguarding violations, and for ensuring that the procedures to do so work in the field.

Article 5. Other Requirements

• ·Do not initiate private contact with vulnerable people through social media.
• ·Do not give vulnerable people harmful items, including unprescribed medication, alcohol, or tobacco.
• ·Do not smoke, drink alcohol, or engage in conduct prohibited to minors while in the presence of children.
• ·Never use corporal punishment against a child under any circumstances, including for the purpose of discipline.

Article 6. Standards for Physical Contact

• ·Limit physical contact with vulnerable people to open, public places and to what is culturally appropriate. Comfort with physical affection varies from person to person; always respect the other person's personal boundaries.
• ·Do not engage in physical contact of any kind with which the other person is not comfortable. You remain responsible for how you respond to a vulnerable person's behaviour, even if they have behaved inappropriately.
• ·Do not travel alone with a vulnerable person except in a life-threatening emergency to protect them from serious injury or death. Even then, make every effort to keep them safe and protected.

Article 7. Sanctions for Violations

• ·Sexual exploitation and abuse constitute acts of gross misconduct and are in themselves grounds for termination of employment, volunteer status, or contract.
• ·Acknowledge that any violation of this Code of Conduct may result in the following measures, depending on severity: verbal warning, written warning, immediate suspension of activity and repatriation, termination of employment, volunteer status, or contract, and restriction from future outreach participation.
• ·Understand that where a violation contravenes the law, appropriate legal action may also be taken.
• ·Accept that all violations are recorded and securely retained, and shared only on a need-to-know basis for investigation and response, with respect for the privacy and personal data of everyone involved.