Standards for the protection of minors

I General provisions

1. Standards for the Protection of Minors at the company “Psychoterapia Ewa Żupnik”, doing business at: 4/1 Lubelska Street, 30-003 Krakow, with assigned tax identification number (NIP): 6772482309 (hereinafter also referred to as: the Cabinet) have been developed in connection with the legal obligations imposed by the Law of May 13, 2016 on Counteracting the Threat of Sexual Crime and Protection of Minors.
2. For the purposes of the Standards for the Protection of Minors, the following glossary of terms is established:
   1. Harm to a minor – the commission of a criminal act or a criminal act (including indecent acts) to the detriment of a minor by any person, including a staff member, or by threatening the welfare of a minor, including neglect;
   2. Physical violence – intentional bodily harm, infliction of pain. The result of physical violence can be all kinds of physical injuries including: fractures, bruises, cuts, burns, internal injuries;
   3. Psychological violence – any action that negatively affects the psyche of a minor, including: repeated humiliation, humiliation and ridicule, involving adults in the conflict, manipulating the minor, lack of adequate support, attention, placing demands and expectations on the minor, which he is unable to meet;
   4. Sexual abuse – the involvement of a minor in sexual activity by an adult. Sexual abuse refers to behavior with physical contact (e.g., touching a child, intercourse with a child) and behavior without physical contact (e.g., presenting pornographic material to a child, voyeurism, exhibitionism);
   5. minor – a person who has not reached the age of 18 or has not married (as a result of which he became an adult);
   6. guardian – actual/legal guardian – a person authorized to represent and state about a minor;
   7. Cabinet – an enterprise run by Ewa Żupnik. Under the business name “Psychoterapia Ewa Żupnik” [NIP: 6772482309] providing psychotherapeutic services;
   8. management – the owner of the enterprise, the head of the Cabinet, his deputy, attorney and any person with decision-making authority in the Cabinet, regardless of the name of their function;
   9. Personnel – persons employed, cooperating or providing services at the Clinic who are involved in the provision of health services to minors or may come into contact with a minor or are involved in the employment procedure, regardless of their profession and legal basis for providing health services or performing official duties;
   10. Standards – these Standards in effect at the Cabinet,
   11. Employment – the establishment of cooperation with any person under an employment contract or any other civil law contract.
3. It is the responsibility of each member of the staff and the management of the Cabinet to comply with the standards.
4. For the purpose of preventing abuse of minors, staff and management also take the actions specified by the standards when they observe or become aware of abuse of a minor by adult third parties or by other minors.
5. The head of the Cabinet is responsible for the implementation, monitoring of compliance, evaluation of the implementation of the standards and other tasks specified in the standards.
6. Before hiring any person who will provide health services to minors or participate in their provision, information must be obtained from the Sex Offender Registry regarding whether the person is on the registry.
7. Before hiring a person who will provide health care services to minors or participate in their provision, he or she must be required to provide a current certificate from the National Criminal Register for the crimes specified in Chapter XIX (crimes against life and health) and XXV (crimes against sexual freedom) of the Penal Code, in Art. 189a (trafficking in persons) and Article 207 (abuse) of the Penal Code, and the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of July 29, 2005, or for the corresponding offenses specified in foreign laws.
8. In the case of employment of a foreigner, the foreigner must be verified for criminal records of the country of origin or the country where the person last resided, with respect to the offenses indicated in paragraph 7 or corresponding criminal acts sanctioned by the law of the country. In addition, the Head of the Cabinet is authorized to oblige the foreigner to submit an appropriate declaration of no criminal record. Statements shall be made under penalty of criminal liability for making a false statement.
9. Only those persons who are not listed in the Sex Offender Registry and who have provided a current certificate from the National Criminal Register confirming that they have not been convicted of the offenses referred to in paragraph (1) may be employed at the Cabinet. 7.
10. Each staff member is obliged to familiarize himself with the standards and comply with them. Confirmation of a staff member’s familiarization with the standards is the submission of a statement by the staff member that he or she has become familiar with the standards and is committed to complying with them.
11. Cabinet Manager at least once a year in December:
    1. reviews the Sex Offender Registry (rps.ms.gov.pl), determining whether a staff member who provides health services to minors or participates in the provision of such services at the Cabinet is not listed in the registry;
    2. receives statements from a staff member who provides health services to minors or participates in their provision at the Cabinet that he or she is not listed in the National Criminal Register for the offenses specified in paragraph 7 and that there are no preliminary or judicial proceedings pending against him or her for such offenses.
12. In case of knowledge of:
    1. initiating or conducting criminal proceedings against a staff member for the offenses specified in paragraph 7, the Cabinet head shall immediately remove such member from all forms of contact with minors;
    2. conviction of a staff member for a crime or crimes specified in paragraph 7, the Head of the Cabinet shall immediately terminate the contract that is the basis of his employment or remove him from his position.

II Rules for establishing a relationship with a minor in the Cabinet

1. The basic principle of the actions taken by the staff and management of the Cabinet in dealing with minors is to act for their welfare and to ensure the safety of the minors during their stay at the Cabinet.
2. Staff members and management:
   1. treat the minors with respect, remaining calm and patient in their interactions with the minors, and showing understanding of their difficulties, problems and needs;
   2. They treat each child with due respect;
   3. Support them in overcoming difficulties;
   4. Ensure that their patient rights are respected;
   5. respect their right to care by legal representatives or actual guardians;
   6. As far as possible, explain to them the actions taken in an age-appropriate manner, while trying to minimize the fear and anxiety arising from the situation, and seek approval for the health services provided;
   7. provide opportunities for the minor to express his or her opinion and ensure the minor’s right to be heard;
   8. treat all minors equally regardless of gender, sexual orientation, social, ethnic, cultural, religious status and worldview.
3. Any person employed by the Cabinet who is aware that a minor has suffered physical abuse, mental abuse or sexual abuse is required to exercise extreme caution and tact in dealing with that minor.
4. If a minor by his conduct seeks to make physical contact with a staff member of a potentially inappropriate or inadequate nature, the staff shall take appropriate, firm action, sensitively explaining to the minor the need to maintain the boundaries of the personal area.
5. For the therapy of a minor patient, the consent of the guardian must be obtained according to Polish law.
6. When treating a minor patient, it is important to provide intimacy appropriate to the patient’s age, needs and expectations.
7. The minor should be encouraged to adopt an assertive attitude, express his own opinions, communicate his own feelings.
8. The minor and his/her guardian shall be informed of the possibility of reporting inappropriate behavior of a Cabinet staff member towards the minor, words said by the minor, gestures made by the minor, or other behavior that caused a feeling of discomfort or concern or was offensive or hurtful.
9. The minor and his guardian may make a report to any member of the Cabinet staff, who is obliged to notify the Manager or the person responsible for implementing the Standards.
10. Cabinet staff members pay attention to risk factors and symptoms of abuse of minors.

III Prohibited Behaviors

1. It is forbidden to use any form or form of violence against minors – both physical, psychological and verbal violence.
2. It is forbidden to use power relations or physical superiority (e.g.: intimidation, coercion, threats) against a minor.
3. It is forbidden to touch minors in a way that could be misinterpreted or that goes beyond the legitimate need for therapy.
4. It is forbidden to present erotic, pornographic or violent content to minors.
5. It is forbidden to ridicule minors, humiliate them, label them and treat them unequally.
6. It is forbidden to disclose sensitive information about the child to unauthorized persons.
7. Physical contact with a minor must never be clandestine or concealed, or involve any gratification, or stem from a relationship of power or authority.
8. Personnel may not contact a minor directly without his/her guardian. Any contact between Personnel and a minor patient should, as a rule, take place only in the Clinic, during the Clinic’s working hours, and relate to purposes within the scope of Personnel’s duties.
9. Staff may not establish contact with a minor in any form other than that provided for the provision of psychotherapeutic services, in particular by inviting or accepting invitations from minors on social media, instant messaging or through other private forms of contact. Staff are also prohibited from inviting the minor to their place of residence or meeting with them outside of the Clinic’s business hours.

IV Rules and procedure for intervening in situations of suspected abuse of a minor and the person responsible for receiving reports and informing the relevant institutions

1. If you observe or become aware of:
   1. situations of violence or exploitation of a minor – any member of the Cabinet staff or management is obliged to respond immediately, aiming to stop unlawful behavior and ensure the protection of the minor;
   2. behavior giving rise to suspicion of violence or abuse of a minor – any member of the Cabinet staff or management is obliged to report it to the Cabinet manager;
   3. violations of standards – any member of the Cabinet staff or management is required to immediately report suspected violations to the Cabinet manager.
2. The management or staff of the office shall intervene upon receiving information about the abuse of a minor or suspected abuse of a minor, and shall call the parents/guardians of a child who is reasonably suspected to have been or to be abused and inform them of the suspicions.
3. Suspected violations of standards, particularly by abusing minors, can be reported at tel: yourself.krakow@gmail.com.
4. The Cabinet Manager shall strive to promptly clarify the case of a report of suspected abuse of a minor by a staff member, taking all necessary measures. The actions taken shall be documented by the Cabinet Manager.
5. In the event that it is reported that a staff member is suspected of harming a minor, the staff member shall be immediately removed from all forms of contact with minors until the matter is investigated.
6. If it is observed that a minor’s guardian neglects the minor’s psychological and physical needs or the family is educationally inefficient, uses or condones violence against the minor, or otherwise harms the minor, action should be taken appropriate to the situation.
7. In the situation described in paragraph 5, in the case of:
   1. poverty – you can talk to the minor’s guardian and inform him or her about support options, especially social welfare centers, and draw up a support plan,
   2. negligence – you can inform about the possibility of psychological support, in particular, helplines and specialized clinics, and draw up a support plan;
   3. violence – the Blue Card procedure can be initiated and a support plan can be drawn up.

The support plan is presented to the child’s parents/legal guardians with the recommendation to cooperate in its implementation.

8. If the interview with the guardian shows that he or she is not interested in helping the minor, ignores the incident or the minor’s psycho-physical condition, or otherwise does not support the minor who has experienced abuse, the Head of the Cabinet prepares a request for an insight into the situation of the family, which is referred to the competent family court. A note is made of the request.
9. In the case of suspicion that the health or life of a minor is at risk, or when there is a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed against a minor, the head of the Cabinet prepares a notice of possible crime and forwards it to the locally competent police or prosecutor’s office.
10. The facility maintains a Register of incidents threatening the welfare of a minor.
11. At the site of psychotherapy with minors, information about the nationwide help lines for victims of crime and domestic violence is posted in a space accessible to patients:
    1. nationwide telephone number for victims of crime +48 222 309 900;
    2. National Emergency Service for Victims of Family Violence “Blue Line” 800 120 002;
    3. Helpline for Children and Adolescents 116 111.

V Rules for updating the Standards and the scope of competence of those responsible for preparing staff members for their application

1. The Head of the Cabinet shall review the standards no less than annually in order to adapt them to current needs and to comply with current regulations. The conclusions of the review shall be documented.
2. Members of staff, minors or their legal representatives may submit their comments on the standards to the Cabinet Manager, including by email: yourself.krakow@gmail.com
3. The Cabinet Manager can check staff’s knowledge of the standards and organize training on the standards.
4. The Manager of the Cabinet, before the start of therapy, presents the content of the standards to the parents of the minor who is to receive therapy at the Cabinet.

VI Rules for making standards available to parents or legal or actual guardians and minors for their perusal and application

1. The standards are a publicly available document. The standards can be found:
   1. At the reception or waiting room of the Cabinet;
   2. On the Cabinet’s website at: https://yourself-psychoterapia.pl/
2. Any minor or guardian of a minor may obtain a copy of the Standards for review. The Standards shall be provided by the Head of the Cabinet as soon as such a request is made.
3. Based on the Standards, an abbreviated version of the Standards was developed, including information relevant to minors. The abridged version of the standards is attached as an appendix to the Standards.

VII Principles for establishing a plan to support a minor after the disclosure of harm

1. Once the abuse of a minor is disclosed, the Cabinet manager establishes a plan to support the minor together with his guardian, if he is not the one committing the abuse.
2. As far as possible, once the support plan is established, the Cabinet manager listens to the minor’s opinion and takes it into account.

VIII Rules for the protection of the image of a minor

1. The minor’s personal data shall be protected under the terms of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation).
2. The image of a minor is subject to protection.
3. Publicizing the image of a minor recorded in any form (i.e., photography, audio-video recording) requires the written consent of that minor’s guardian and the minor himself.
4. If the image of a minor is only a detail of a whole, such as a gathering, a landscape, a public event, the guardian’s consent to capture the minor’s image is not required.
5. The image of a minor recorded by means of video surveillance cameras used to record images for the purpose of ensuring the safety of persons and property in the Cabinet is not subject to public disclosure and does not require the consent of the minor’s guardian to record his/her image. The use of materials recorded in this way is limited only to the purposes originally specified for their registration.

IX Final provisions

1. Standards vis-à-vis people employed by the Cabinet have the force of internal regulations, with which they are obliged to comply.
2. The Standards shall come into force on the date of their promulgation. Announcement of the Standards shall be made by publishing them in the form specified in the Standards.
3. The Head of the Cabinet is authorized to amend the Standards. The amended Standards shall come into effect as of the date of their promulgation in the manner specified in the Standards.