The child's best interests come first
When a child's safety or privacy conflicts with something else, such as convenience, growth or what a church can see, the child comes first. That is the test for every design decision.
Age matters
When signing up, people are asked for their date of birth. That places them in one of these groups:
- Under 13
- The strictest settings, few parts available, and always consent from a parent or guardian.
- 13 to 15
- All protections for minors, and consent from a parent or guardian.
- 16 and 17
- You may consent to the use of your data yourself. All protections for minors still apply.
- 18 and over
- Adult.
No one-to-one contact between adults and minors
Barnabas will have no private channel between an adult and a minor: no private messages and no private follow-up. Tracks for couples are for adults only. When leaders can see something from a young person, it is always at least two leaders, never one adult alone.
Leaders with a VOG
Anyone who works with young people in a church has a certificate of conduct (Verklaring Omtrent het Gedrag, VOG) and signs the code of conduct. Without both, no one can be linked to a group with young people.
A confidential adviser
Every church that works with young people through Barnabas appoints a confidential adviser (vertrouwenspersoon) and works with a reporting code. That person is the point of contact when something is wrong.
If something is wrong
Anyone who says something bad is happening is first offered help themselves. A report never goes to a parent or leader automatically, because they may be involved. The young person stays in control of what is shared with family.
- De Kindertelefoon: for children and young people, free and anonymous, 0800 0432 (in the Netherlands).
- Veilig Thuis: for domestic violence and child abuse, day and night, 0800 2000 (in the Netherlands).
- SMPR: reporting point for abuse in a pastoral relationship.
- In immediate danger: call 112.
Privacy under the GDPR
For children under 16, consent from a parent or guardian is required (GDPR article 8). Religious belief is a special category of personal data (GDPR article 9). That is why we are extra careful with it: as little data as possible, shorter retention for minors, no profiling, no location and no third-party analytics.
A parent's consent is not a window. A parent or guardian only sees whether a child takes part, never what the child writes. Before any data of minors is processed, we carry out a data protection impact assessment (DPIA).
Questions
Do you have a question or concern about safety? Email privacy@barnabas.pro.