Safeguarding and Vulnerable Persons Policy

RC No: 9235708

SAFEGUARDING AND VULNERABLE PERSONS POLICY

Effective Date: July 11, 2026

Version: 1.0 (Community Safety & Crisis Protocol)

1. PURPOSE, CORE PHILOSOPHY, AND SCOPE

The Global ManityHQ Network ("ManityHQ," "we," "us," or "our") is built upon a profound commitment to creating safe spaces where men can freely express themselves, process life’s pressures, heal from emotional and mental dis-ease, and pursue purposeful lives. Across societies, men are frequently denied environments where they can be vulnerable, supported, or simply seen. In creating these alternative spaces, we recognise our strict duty of care to protect the psychological, emotional, and physical safety of all participants.

The purpose of this Safeguarding Policy is to ensure that all ManityHQ environments, both digital and physical, remain safe, supportive, and completely free from exploitation, abuse, judgment, or performance pressure.

This Policy applies universally to:

• All registered members of our global, men-only community, The BASE.
• All participants, attendees, and guests at physical or digital events, including Table of Men, Hug-a-Man Day, and the International Men’s Day (IMD) Hangout and all future events and initiatives of ManityHQ.
• All executive leaders, board members, management personnel, community managers, facilitators, and field volunteers operating on behalf of ManityHQ.

2. CORE SAFEGUARDING STANDARDS

Our safeguarding standards are directly anchored upon our organisational values, which form our BASE: Brotherhood, Audacity, Service, and Empathy. All interactions within our ecosystem must strictly adhere to the following behaviours:
2.1. Empathy (Listening Without Judgment): Every member and facilitator must listen deeply and speak openly without mockery, performance expectations, shame, or judgment.

2.2. Confined Space Confidentiality: To protect emotional safety, whatever is shared within our closed community platforms, chat groups, or interactive forums must remain strictly confidential. Unauthorised sharing, capturing, or leaking of another man's disclosures, personal struggles, or identity outside the platform is a severe violation of this policy and results in immediate termination of access.

2.3. Safe Peer Boundaries: ManityHQ operates primarily as a peer-support and advocacy movement. Members and volunteers must maintain healthy, non-exploitative personal boundaries. Financial manipulation, bullying, intimidation, unwanted sexual advances, or any form of behavioural coercion is strictly prohibited.

3. CODE OF CONDUCT FOR FACILITATORS, MANAGERS, AND VOLUNTEERS

Because our management team, community managers, and volunteers lead day-to-day operations and programmatic delivery, they hold an elevated position of trust. They must adhere to the following rules:

3.1. Equal Sitting: Facilitators must ensure that within spaces like Table of Men, all men sit as equals, speak openly, and listen deeply. No facilitator may assume an authoritarian or clinical psychological posture unless explicitly licensed to do so.

3.2. Freedom from Coercion: No volunteer or staff member may force a participant to share or be vulnerable. True transformation happens through connection, and every man must control his own timeline of sharing.

3.3. Prohibited Advice-Giving: Volunteers and peer facilitators are trained to offer collective wisdom, shared experiences, and guided reflections. They are strictly prohibited from prescribing medication, offering formal clinical psychological diagnoses, or overriding professional medical advice.

4. PROTOCOL FOR HANDLING SEVERE EMOTIONAL DISTRESS AND CRISIS DISCLOSURES

While ManityHQ is fundamentally a peer-support network and not a clinical crisis clinic, our facilitators and team members may occasionally encounter individuals experiencing severe mental health crises, deep trauma disclosures, or expressions of self-harm.

In such events, the following Crisis Response Protocol must be executed immediately:

4.1. The Principle of Supportive Presence

• The facilitator must remain calm, validate the participant's struggle with deep empathy, and assure them that their pain is heard and valid.
• The individual must be gently transitioned to a private, secure communication channel (such as a 1-on-1 breakout room or direct message) to prevent public escalation while ensuring they are not left isolated.

4.2. Escalation and Referral Pathways

• The handling volunteer must immediately notify the Community Manager of The BASE or the Chief Executive Officer.
• The management team will gently provide the individual with pre-vetted, localised professional mental health resources, national helpline contacts, or professional counseling hotlines relative to their execution city (Lagos, Abuja, Halifax, or London).

4.3. Exceptional Breach of Confidentiality

• While confidentiality is our baseline, ManityHQ preserves the explicit right to break a participant's confidentiality if, and only if, an individual explicitly states or strongly indicates an immediate, clear threat to their own life (suicidal intent) or the life of another person.
• In such acute emergencies, the management team will coordinate strictly with local emergency services or family contacts to preserve human life and longevity.

5. REPORTING AND INTAKE OF POLICY VIOLATIONS

Any member who feels that their emotional safety has been compromised, or who witnesses a breach of code of conduct by another member or volunteer, is strongly encouraged to report the incident.

• Submission: Reports can be sent directly through the secure Contact Form on our website or flagged directly to the Chief Executive Officer.
• Investigation: The management team will review all safeguarding complaints within 48 hours, conducting private conversations with all involved parties.
• Action: Disciplinary outcomes range from formal behavioral warnings to immediate, permanent bans from The BASE, global campaigns, and physical event locations.

6. REVISIONS AND GOVERNANCE OVERSIGHT

This Safeguarding Policy is stewarded directly by our Management Team and receives ethical oversight from our Board of Directors to ensure we remain mission-driven, credible, and sustainable. It will be systematically reviewed every twelve months to integrate new community insights and practical field feedback.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I, ________________________________________, acknowledge that I have read, understood, and agree to comply with this Safeguarding and Vulnerable Persons Policy.

Signature: _______________________________

Date: ____________________________________