Local context

It's important that mission workers and volunteers are respectful towards local people and agencies, acknowledging cultural differences and deferring to local leaders' knowledge of, and relationships with, the local community.

Although there may be differences in cultural practice, the abuse of vulnerable people is never acceptable. Practices such as female genital mutilation, domestic violence or abuse of children in the context of beliefs about witchcraft and spirit possession can never be justified.

Church members on a mission trip are ultimately accountable to the organisation that has sent them and are expected to conform to the same standards of child safety and good practice as in the UK.

From a safeguarding point of view, overseas mission is high risk and unsupervised contact between mission volunteers and children or adults at risk would not usually be safe or appropriate. Issues around contact with children or vulnerable adults need to be thought through in advance of the mission trip and, where the context involves close contact, such as helping at an orphanage or school, mission team members and local leaders need to work closely together. In this context, roles, responsibilities and boundaries between local leaders and team members need to be agreed in advance and written into the Code of Conduct signed by team members.