Caritas India’s Safeguarding and Annual PoSH Training Strengthens a Culture of Safety

Caritas India has reaffirmed its alignment with global safeguarding and protection standards by conducting its Mandatory Annual Safeguarding and Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) Training for Head Office staff on 10 December 2025 and for Regional Office staff through a virtual session on 16 December 2025, strengthening its commitment to safe, respectful, and inclusive workplaces. Around the world, international NGOs, Church-based agencies, and UN-aligned organisations increasingly mandate regular safeguarding and anti harassment training as a core accountability measure, recognising that credibility and trust depend on how staff, partners, and participants are protected in practice. In this context, Caritas India’s annual training signals that it is not only compliant with Indian law on workplace sexual harassment but also attentive to emerging global benchmarks on child and adult safeguarding, survivor-centred approaches, and institutional accountability.

The two training days, organised by the Human Resources Department, brought together Caritas India and Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) staff at the Head Office and online, promoting shared learning and reinforcing a unified safeguarding culture across offices and functions. During the 16 December virtual session, Executive Director Fr. Jesudass delivered the opening remarks, stressing that “People matter” and that safeguarding is rooted in awareness and compassion rather than suspicion, and urging staff to break the culture of silence by speaking up with courage so that everyone who encounters Caritas India experiences love and respect.

Training content reflected global good practice, focusing on Building Safe Spaces through PoSH and Child Protection, recognising indicators and signs of abuse, and understanding vulnerability through real-life case studies. Sessions were facilitated by Ms. Sunita Ashwin (Lead HR), Ms. Catherine (Lead Safeguarding) and Dr. Dileesh Varghese (Lead MEAL), who together highlighted the links between legal compliance, organisational policy, monitoring, and a survivor-centred response. Ms. Sunita Ashwin led Safeguarding and PoSH-focused inputs on both days, covering mandatory PoSH compliance and, on 10 December, Signs and Symptoms of abuse, while the 16 December session on the same topic was facilitated by Ms. Catherine; Dr. Dileesh Varghese guided participants through an “Understanding Vulnerability” exercise using case studies to connect policy to field realities.

An anonymous pre-training survey captured staff perceptions and experiences related to safeguarding and workplace behaviour, providing a baseline to tailor discussions and surface concerns that might otherwise remain unspoken. Group activities on key PoSH elements, interactive case discussions, and an open Q&A space helped staff clarify doubts about roles, reporting pathways, and boundaries, echoing a global shift from one-way lectures to participatory, scenario-based safeguarding training. Participants actively engaged, raised thoughtful questions, and shared reflections from programme and community contexts, demonstrating growing ownership of safeguarding as a shared responsibility rather than a standalone compliance function.

Feedback from participants noted that the sessions were interactive, practical and easy to understand, and that they enhanced confidence to recognise early warning signs, respond appropriately and uphold safeguarding responsibilities in day-to-day work. By institutionalising annual safeguarding and PoSH refresher trainings, Caritas India positions itself alongside international agencies that treat protection from sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment as a non-negotiable standard, reinforcing its moral and professional credibility with communities, partners, donors, and the wider Caritas Confederation