Hotel Perła Południa

Preamble

Considering the legal obligation arising from the provisions of the Act of May 13, 2016, on counteracting threats of crime with a sexual background and protecting minors, as well as the content of the United Nations guidelines on business and human rights, recognizing the significant role of business in ensuring respect for children's rights, the *** Perła Południa Hotel adopts the Standards for the Protection of Minors (also "SOM", "Standards") for implementation. This document constitutes a set of principles and procedures applied in cases of suspected harm to a child staying at the *** Perła Południa Hotel and for preventing such threats, taking into account the situations of children with disabilities and children with special educational needs. The Standards for the Protection of Minors at the *** Perła Południa Hotel are implemented based on the following principles:

1. The *** Perła Południa Hotel conducts its operational activities with respect for the rights of children as individuals particularly vulnerable to harm.
2. The *** Perła Południa Hotel recognizes its role in conducting socially responsible business and promoting desirable social attitudes. 3. The *** Perła Południa Hotel particularly emphas the importance of the legal and social obligation to report any suspected crime against children to law enforcement authorities and commits to training its employees in this regard.

Glossary

For the purposes of this document, the meaning of the following terms has been clarified:

1. Tourist facilities – hotel establishments and other facilities providing hotel services as defined in the Act of August 29, 1997, on hotel services and tour guides and tour leader services.
2. Child/Minor - For the purposes of these standards, a child is any person who has not reached the age of 18¹.
3. Child's guardian – the legal representative of the child: parent or guardian; foster parent; temporary guardian (i.e., a person authorized to represent a minor citizen of Ukraine who is on the territory of the Republic of Poland without the care of an adult).
4. Stranger adult – any person over 18 years of age who is not the child's parent or legal guardian².
5. Child abuse – to be understood as behavior that may constitute the commission of a prohibited act to the detriment of the child by any person, including an employee of the entity, or a threat to the child's welfare, including neglect; any intentional or unintentional action/inaction by an individual, institution, or society as a whole and any outcome of such action or inaction that violates the rights, freedoms, and personal welfare of children and/or disrupts their optimal development.
6. Forms of violence against children:
   • Physical violence against a child is violence resulting in actual physical harm to the child or posing a potential threat. This harm occurs due to the actions or omissions of a parent or other person responsible for the child, or to whom the child trusts, or who has authority over the child. Physical violence against a child may be a repeated or one-time act.
   • Psychological violence against a child is a chronic, non-physical, harmful interaction between the child and the guardian, including both actions and omissions. This includes, among others: emotional unavailability, emotional neglect, a relationship with the child based on hostility, blame, vilification, rejection, developmentally inappropriate or inconsistent interactions with the child, failure to recognize or acknowledge the child's individuality and psychological boundaries between parent and child.
   • Sexual exploitation of a child involves engaging the child in sexual activity that they are unable to fully understand and give informed consent to and/or for which they are not developmentally mature and cannot legally consent to and/or which is against the legal or customary norms of the society. Sexual exploitation occurs when such activity occurs between a child and an adult or between a child and another child, where the individuals are in a relationship of care, dependency, or power due to age or developmental status. Sexual exploitation may also take the form of sexual exploitation, i.e., any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, power, or trust for sexual purposes, including but not limited to financial, social, or political gain from the sexual exploitation of another person. Sexual exploitation is particularly threatening during humanitarian crises. The threat of exploitation exists both for children and their guardians (definition from the UN Bulletin ST/SGB/2003/13).
   • Neglect of a child is the chronic or incidental failure to meet the child's basic physical and psychological needs and/or failure to respect their fundamental rights, resulting in health problems and/or developmental difficulties. Neglect occurs in the relationship between the child and the person who is responsible for the child's care, upbringing, concern, and protection.
7. Crime against a child – all crimes that can be committed against adults, as well as additional crimes that can only be committed against children (e.g., sexual exploitation under Article 200 of the Penal Code³). Due to the specificity of accommodation facilities, where it is easy to gain the possibility of seclusion, the most common crimes that may occur on their premises are crimes against sexual freedom and morality, in particular rape (Article 197 of the Penal Code), sexual exploitation of insanity and helplessness (Article 198 of the Penal Code), sexual exploitation of dependence or critical position (Article 199 of the Penal Code), sexual exploitation of a person under 15 years of age (Article 200 of the Penal Code), grooming (seducing a minor using remote communication - Article 200a of the Penal Code).
8. Other forms of child abuse than committing a crime to their detriment – all forms of violence against a child that do not meet the criteria of a crime prosecuted on public accusation (e.g., yelling, humiliation, shaking, name-calling, neglecting needs, etc.).
9. Employee is a person employed under an employment contract or providing work under a similar contract (e.g., mandate contract, B2B, contract for specific work), as well as an intern, apprentice, volunteer, etc.
10. Employee employed to work with children is any person performing tasks or delegated to perform tasks related to the upbringing, education, recreation, treatment, providing psychological counseling, spiritual development, sports practice, or other interests of minors, or caring for them.
11. Entrepreneur – the body/entity/person managing a given facility or network of facilities, responsible for the proper functioning of the facility in formal terms.

¹ According to Polish law, a child is any person under eighteen years of age (Article 1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the UN General Assembly on November 20, 1989). A minor is a person who has not reached the age of majority, i.e., a person under the age of 18 or a woman who has reached the age of majority by entering into marriage after reaching the age of 16 (Article 10 § 1 and 2 of the Civil Code), which may occur with the consent of the guardianship court for valid reasons and if the circumstances indicate that marriage will be in the best interest of the family being established (Article 10 § 1 of the Family and Guardianship Code).
² Parents - Article 98 of the Family and Guardianship Code; guardian - Article 155 of the Family and Guardianship Code; foster parent - Article 1121 of the Family and Guardianship Code; temporary guardian; Article 25 of the Act on Assistance to Citizens of Ukraine in connection with the armed conflict on the territory of that state.
³ Act of June 6, 1997, Penal Code (consolidated text: Journal of Laws of 2022, item 1138, as amended).

CHAPTER I. FACILITY EMPLOYEES

General Principles

1. The *** Perła Południa Hotel commits to educating its employees about circumstances indicating that a child staying in the facility may be harmed and about ways to respond quickly and appropriately to such situations. The facility may conduct the aforementioned education through various forms of training, such as external and internal training, e-learning, educational materials developed by the hotel and available to employees, and educational materials freely available from other organizations.
2. Every employee, before being allowed to work, is familiarized with the Standards for the Protection of Minors (SOM), which is confirmed by signing a statement and committing to adhere to the principles and procedures outlined in this document. Appendix No. 1.
3. Employees employed to work with children undergo periodic training, which is documented by the employer.
4. The *** Perła Południa Hotel is committed to considering the needs of children with disabilities and children with special educational needs, adapting the guidelines from Appendix No. 12 to the specificity and scope of the facility's operations.

Hiring Individuals to Work with Children

1. Individuals working with children must demonstrate in their employment history that they have not harmed any child in the past.
2. Every individual employed/delegated by the *** Perła Południa Hotel to work with children must be checked in the Register of Sexual Offenders. This also applies to underage employees, i.e., those under 18 years of age. The check is carried out by printing the search results from the restricted-access register, which is then placed in the personal files of the checked individual. The scope of personal data required to check an individual in the Register is detailed in Appendix No. 3.
3. Additionally, every individual employed/delegated to work with children must provide a certificate from the National Criminal Register regarding offenses specified in Chapters XIX and XXV of the Penal Code, in Articles 189a and 207 of the Penal Code, and in the Act of July 29, 2005, on Counteracting Drug Addiction (Journal of Laws of 2023, item 172 and of 2022, item 2600), or for equivalent prohibited acts under foreign law.
4. If the employed/delegated individual holds citizenship other than Polish, they must also provide a certificate from the criminal register of the country of their citizenship, obtained for professional or volunteer activities involving contact with children, or a criminal register certificate if the law of that country does not provide for issuing such information for the aforementioned purposes.
5. The employed/delegated individual must also provide a declaration of the countries of residence within the last 20 years, other than the Republic of Poland and the country of citizenship, made under criminal liability. Appendix No. 4.
6. If the law of the country from which the criminal record information is to be provided does not provide for issuing such information or does not maintain a criminal register, the employed/delegated individual must declare this fact under criminal liability. Appendix No. 5.
7. Under statements made under criminal liability, the following statement is included: "I am aware of the criminal liability for making a false statement." This statement replaces the authority's warning of criminal liability for making a false statement.
8. When using the services of external entities, the facility should include a provision in the contract with that entity that allows for enforcing the appropriate standard in checking the employees' safety concerning children. This provision will allow the facility to monitor compliance with the obligation under the threat of immediate termination of the contract and contractual penalties or other sanctions related to non-compliance with the terms of the contract in this regard.

Scope of Competence and Responsibility of Individuals Designated for Implementing the Standards for the Protection of Minors

1. Supervision of SOM compliance is carried out by the Entrepreneur.
2. The Entrepreneur appoints a SOM coordinator (hereafter referred to as the "Coordinator").
3. The Coordinator is responsible for familiarizing employees with the contents of SOM and monitoring their application in the Hotel *** Perła Południa.
4. The Coordinator organizes and documents the process of educating employees on recognizing signs that a child staying at the facility may be harmed and on ways to respond quickly and appropriately to such situations, in accordance with the procedures adopted by the facility.
5. The Coordinator documents each intervention or reported incident related to child abuse within the facility in a document created for this purpose (e.g., an incident log or intervention register).
6. In the event of a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed, the Coordinator is responsible for securing evidence, including surveillance recordings, and submitting them at the request of authorities in the form of copies by registered mail or personally to the prosecutor or police.
7. The Coordinator is responsible for conducting procedures in situations where a child has been harmed by a facility employee or another adult who is not directly employed by the *** Perła Południa Hotel but by a third party.
8. The Coordinator is responsible for monitoring and updating SOM and making them available to employees, guests, and other entities cooperating with the facility.
9. The Coordinator's contact information is available to all employees and guests of the facility, including children. The information must include how to contact the Coordinator (email address, phone number, availability: days and hours of work).

Principles of Safe Employee-Child Relations

1. All employees of the Hotel *** Perła Południa, as well as other adults who have contact with children on the facility's premises with the facility's consent, are obliged to follow the principles below.
2. The paramount principle of all actions taken by employees who have contact with children staying at the Hotel *** Perła Południa is to treat the child with respect, considering their dignity and needs.
3. It is unacceptable for employees and other adults to use any form of violence against a child.

A. Expected Behaviors and Practices of Employees

• Communicate with the child with patience and respect.
• Listen carefully to the child and respond appropriately to their age and the situation. When communicating with the child, try to have your face at the child's eye level.
• Assure the child that if they feel uncomfortable with a situation, they can tell you or another designated person and receive help.
• Inform the child where the SOM is located in a version they can understand. Ensure that if they have questions, they can approach you or another designated person.
• Adhere to equal treatment of children regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, ability/disability, social status, ethnicity, culture, religion, and worldview.
• Ensure a safe environment. If children are in the area where you work, make sure that equipment and facilities are used appropriately, and the surroundings are safe (pay attention to window and stair safety, restricted access to busy roads, open water, etc.).
• If you see a child/children left unattended and the situation may indicate a threat to the child's safety, take action to locate the parent/guardian.

B. Unacceptable Behaviors and Practices of Employees towards Children in the Facility

• You must not yell at, shame, humiliate, disregard, or insult a child.
• You must not hit, shove, push, or otherwise physically violate a child's integrity, except when there is a threat to the child's health or life.
• You must not engage in any romantic or sexual relationships with the child or make inappropriate proposals. This also includes sexually suggestive comments, jokes, gestures, and sharing erotic or pornographic content with children, regardless of its form.
• You must not record or photograph the child's image for private or official purposes without the consent of the child's parents/guardians and the child's own consent. This also applies to allowing third parties to capture images of children. The exception is when the child's image is only an incidental detail in a larger context, such as a gathering, landscape, public event, where parental/guardian consent is not required.
• You must not contact the child through private communication channels (private phone, email, messaging apps, social media profiles) or meet with the child outside of work.
• You must not offer the child alcohol, tobacco products, or illegal substances.
• Never touch a child if they do not want it or in a way that could be considered inappropriate or indecent.

If you witness any of the above-described behaviors and/or situations from other adults or children, always inform the person responsible for implementing and monitoring SOM in the facility or your direct supervisor: Maria Mucha, Hotel Manager, tel. +48606761945, maria.mucha@perlapoludnia.pl.

CHAPTER II. PROCEDURE FOR IDENTIFYING A CHILD DURING REGISTRATION AT THE RECEPTION

1. One effective form of preventing child abuse is to establish the identity of the child staying in the facility and their relationship to the adult with whom they are staying.
2. The reception staff takes all possible steps to identify the child and their relationship with the accompanying adult.
3. To identify the child and their relationship to the person they are staying with in the facility, the following steps should be taken:

a. Request the child’s identification document or another document confirming that the adult has the right to care for the child. Examples of documents that may serve for identification include: ID card, school ID, MObywatel application, Internet Patient Account, court ruling. In the absence of an identification document or refusal to present it, ask for the child’s details (name, surname, address, PESEL number).
b. In the absence of documents indicating the child’s relationship with the adult or refusal to present them, ask the adult and the child about this relationship. An example conversation script with the adult and child is provided in Appendix No.2.
c. If the adult is not the child’s parent or legal guardian, they should be asked to present a document such as a notarized parental consent for the person to travel with the child or a consent signed by the child’s parent, including the child’s details, home address, parent’s contact information, and the identity document number/PESEL number of the person entrusted with the child’s care.

If the adult does not have any of the above documents, they should be asked to complete an appropriate statement according to the template prepared by the facility. The statement should include the child’s details and the adult’s details, along with an indication of the relationship between the child and the adult. If the adult is not the child’s parent or legal guardian, they should declare that the parents/legal guardians have given consent for the care of the child.

4. If the adult refuses to present the child’s document and/or indicate the relationship, it should be explained that this procedure is in place to ensure the safety of children using the services of Hotel *** Perła Południa and that, according to the law of May 13, 2016, facility staff must comply with child rights regulations. After explaining the matter positively, thank them for their time in ensuring the child is in good care.
5. If the conversation does not dispel doubts regarding the adult and their intentions towards the child, especially if they refuse to present an identity document or the child does not have such a document, and also refuse to sign a written statement, the situation should be discreetly reported to the supervisor and security staff (if they are on the premises at the time) in a way that does not raise suspicion (for example, by referring to the need to use equipment in the reception back office, asking the adult to wait with the child in the lobby, restaurant, or another area).
6. From the moment the first doubts arise, both the child and the adult should, as far as possible, remain within the sight of the facility staff and should not be left alone.
7. The supervisor who has been informed of the situation takes over the conversation with the adult to obtain further clarification.
8. If the conversation confirms the suspicion of an attempt or commission of a crime against the child, the supervisor notifies the police. The procedure then follows as in the case of circumstances indicating child abuse (see Chapter III).
9. If employees from other departments, such as cleaning services, room service, bar and restaurant staff, relaxation area staff, security, etc., witness unusual and/or suspicious situations, they should immediately notify the supervisor, and in their absence, the decision-maker, who will take appropriate action (see points 7 and 8 above).
10. Depending on the situation and location, the supervisor verifies the extent to which the suspicion of child abuse is justified. To this end, they select appropriate means to clarify the situation or decide to intervene and notify the police.

CHAPTER III. PROCEDURE IN CASE OF CIRCUMSTANCES INDICATING CHILD ABUSE BY AN ADULT

1. A reasonable suspicion of child abuse arises when:
a. The child discloses the fact of abuse to a facility employee,
b. An employee observes the abuse,
c. The child has visible signs of abuse (e.g., scratches, bruises), and when asked, responds inconsistently and/or chaotically, or becomes embarrassed, or there are other circumstances that may indicate abuse, such as the discovery of pornographic materials involving children in an adult’s room.
2, An employee who has a reasonable suspicion that a child staying in the facility is or has been abused should immediately notify their supervisor/decision-maker, who will inform the police. If there is an imminent threat to the child’s safety, the employee who has the reasonable suspicion of abuse should immediately contact the police by calling 112 and describing the circumstances of the incident. Regardless of the above, the employee should also inform the Hotel *** Perła Południa Coordinator about the incident.
3. Efforts should be made to make it difficult or even impossible for the child and the person suspected of abusing the child to leave the facility.
4. In the situation defined by the Code of Criminal Procedure, a citizen’s arrest of the suspected person can be made. In such a case, until the police arrive, the detained person should remain under the supervision of security staff or other hotel employees who can perform such actions without risking their health or life.
5. In all cases, the safety of the child must be ensured. As much as possible, the child should remain under the care of an employee until the police arrive. If possible, an attempt should be made to support the child (Appendix No. 10).
6. If there is reasonable suspicion that a crime involving the child’s contact with the perpetrator’s biological material (semen, saliva, skin cells) has been committed, the child should not be allowed to wash, eat, or drink until the police arrive, if possible. It is important to explain to the child why these restrictions are being applied.
7. After the child is taken over by the police, surveillance footage and other relevant evidence (e.g., documents) related to the incident should be secured and handed over to the Coordinator, who will send a copy by registered mail or deliver it personally to the prosecutor or police upon request.
8. After the intervention, the incident should be reported to the Coordinator, who will document it in the event log or another document designated for this purpose.

CHAPTER IV. PROCEDURE IN CASE OF SUSPECTED OR CONFIRMED CHILD ABUSE BY AN EMPLOYEE OR ANOTHER ADULT

1. In the event of suspected child abuse by an employee or another adult who is not directly employed by Hotel *** Perła Południa but by a third party, the person who has obtained this information should immediately inform the Coordinator or, in their absence, another designated person.
2. If the life or health of the child is at risk, the person who has obtained this information should immediately notify the police by calling the emergency number 112, providing their own details, the child's details (if possible), the child's location, and a description of the circumstances of the case, and inform their supervisor/decision-maker, who will notify the child's guardians/parents. The person who received the information about the incident should also inform the Coordinator, at least in the form of an email/written report.
3. In the event that an employee has committed a form of abuse against a child other than the commission of a crime to the child's detriment, the Coordinator, upon receiving the information, should investigate all the circumstances of the case, particularly by interviewing the employee suspected of abuse and other witnesses of the incident. If the violation of the child's welfare is significant, especially if it involves discrimination or a breach of the child's dignity, the Coordinator should recommend to the person managing the facility appropriate personnel actions against the employee.
4. If the person who committed the abuse is not directly employed by Hotel *** Perła Południa but by a third party (e.g., outsourcing), it should be recommended that they be banned from entering the premises of Hotel *** Perła Południa, and if necessary, the contract with the third party should be terminated.

CHAPTER V. PROCEDURE IN CASE OF IDENTIFYING OTHER FORMS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST A CHILD BY A PARENT/LEGAL GUARDIAN OR ANOTHER ADULT

1. In the event of identifying abuse of a child by a parent/legal guardian or another adult with whom the child is staying in the facility, any employee witnessing such abuse should respond firmly.
2. If the child’s life or health is at risk, the person who becomes aware of the situation should immediately notify the police by calling the emergency number 112, providing their own details, the child’s details (if possible), the child’s location, and a description of the circumstances, and inform their supervisor/decision-maker. The person who received the information about the incident should also inform the Coordinator, at least in the form of an email/written report.
3. If a facility employee witnesses physical violence against a child (e.g., slaps, shaking, shouting, other forms listed in the definition of physical violence), they should attempt to stop the abuse and react. Possible forms and methods of responding to abusive behaviors by the parent/guardian/another adult towards the child are outlined in Appendix No. 11.
4. In the situation where a child under 7 years old is left unattended, the employee who becomes aware of such an incident should inform their supervisor. The supervisor, upon being informed of the situation, decides on further action, considering the circumstances and the context of the provisions of the Penal Code and the Code of Misdemeanors. Based on this, the supervisor attempts to locate the parent/legal guardian or another adult with whom the child is staying in the facility and explains that they cannot leave the child unattended. If it is not possible to locate the parent/legal guardian or another adult with whom the child is staying in the facility, or if the parent/legal guardian/another adult is unwilling or unable to take care of the child, the supervisor notifies the police. In every case, the child’s safety must be ensured.

⁴ Penal Code Art. 160 §1 and 2; Art. 210 §1, Code of Misdemeanors Art. 106.

CHAPTER VI: MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF MINOR PROTECTION STANDARDS

1. The Entrepreneur appoints a Coordinator responsible for the Minor Protection Standards applied at Hotel *** Perła Południa and places their contact information in a location easily accessible to employees and hotel guests, including children.
2. The Entrepreneur defines the scope of tasks and competencies of the Coordinator concerning preparing employees to implement the provisions of the Minor Protection Standards (SOM), the principles for preparing employees for their application, and the method of documenting these activities.
3. The Coordinator mentioned in the previous point conducts monitoring and evaluation of the SOM every two years.
4. Monitoring and evaluation include verifying the implementation of the Standards, responding to signals of violations of rules and procedures, and proposing changes to the document, especially in terms of adapting them to current needs and ensuring compliance with applicable regulations.
5. The Coordinator conducts a monitoring survey among the employees of Hotel *** Perła Południa every two years to assess the level of implementation of the SOM. The survey template is provided in Appendix No. 6.
6. In the survey, employees can propose changes and indicate violations of SOM rules and procedures within the facility.
7. The Coordinator reviews the surveys completed by employees, prepares a monitoring report based on them, and then submits it to the Entrepreneur. The Entrepreneur implements the necessary changes to the document and announces the new version of the Minor Protection Standards to the employees.

Final Provisions

1. The Minor Protection Standards come into effect on August 15, 2024.
2. The Minor Protection Standards are made available to all employees by posting them on the Hotel *** Perła Południa website and at the reception of Hotel *** Perła Południa.
3. The Minor Protection Standards are made available to guests by posting them on the Hotel *** Perła Południa website and at the reception.
4.The Minor Protection Standards are provided in a simplified and understandable version for children staying at Hotel *** Perła Południa in a location accessible to them.

Lista załączników:

✔ Załącznik nr 1.: Oświadczenie o zapoznaniu się ze Standardami Ochrony Małoletnich.
✔ Załącznik nr 2.: Przykładowy schemat rozmowy z dorosłym i z dzieckiem podczas identyfikacji.
✔ Załącznik nr 3.: Zakres danych do sprawdzenia osoby w Rejestrze Sprawców Przestępstw na Tle Seksualnym.
✔ Załącznik nr 4.: Wzór oświadczenia o krajach zamieszkania.
✔ Załącznik nr 5.: Wzór oświadczenia o niekaralności.
✔ Załącznik nr 6.: Ankieta monitorującą poziom realizacji SOM.
✔ Załącznik nr 7.: Przykłady sytuacji mogących budzić podejrzenia lub wskazywać na krzywdzenie dziecka.
✔ Załącznik nr 8: Przykładowa lista stanowisk pracowniczych w obiekcie podlegających weryfikacji w kontekście ochrony dzieci.
✔ Załącznik nr 9.: Wzór oświadczenia w zakresie stosowania SOM, dla firm outsourcingowych, zatrudnianych przez obiekt.
✔ Załącznik nr 10.: Jak rozmawiać z dzieckiem pokrzywdzonym przestępstwem – wskazówki dla pracowników obiektów.
✔ Załącznik nr 11.: Sposoby reagowania na krzywdzące zachowania rodzica/ opiekuna/innej osoby dorosłej wobec dziecka.
✔ Załącznik nr 12.: Wytyczne do standardów ochrony małoletnich w zakresie uwzględniającym sytuację małoletnich ze specjalnymi potrzebami edukacyjnymi, w tym z niepełnosprawnościami.

Lorem ipsum dolor t-sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing.