As a scientific organization, Merimna recognizes that some children are more vulnerable when suffering from a serious illness, mourning the death of a loved one, or experiencing a traumatic loss.

With the best interests of each child as its primary consideration, Merimna is committed to providing high-quality services in order to assure the effective protection of the children and adolescents who receive its services.

At the same time, it ensures that:

– Every child and adolescent is treated with respect for human dignity, the uniqueness of the individual, his or her growth and development potential and the particularities of the socio-cultural, national and racial context to which he or she belongs.

– Every child, adolescent and their family have the right to respect for their privacy and, by inference, to the confidentiality of all personal, psychological, medical and social information concerning them. Professional confidentiality may be broken only in cases where the mental and/or physical integrity of the child or third parties is threatened.

– Every member of the Merimna staff who comes into contact with the child or adolescent is professionally trained and aware of issues related to child abuse and neglect and the legal measures to be taken in such cases.

– All of Merimna’s staff and volunteers practice all the fundamental principles that govern the appropriate approach to children and adolescents in order to ensure their protection.

Merimna is bound by the principles of the Codes of Ethics of psychologists (Association of Greek Psychologists), nurses (Decree 216/2001), as well as doctors (Law 3418/2005), as they apply in the Greek State. It also recognizes that the conduct of health and mental health professionals must always be in accordance with the current Legal Framework of the country, the relevant International Conventions and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNO, 1989), which is a fundamental code of reference for the proper treatment of children and the support of their rights in different cultural contexts.  Merimna is also in compliance with the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (2007), known as the Lanzarote Convention, which has also been implemented in Greece.

Based on the above, in every aspect of its activities, Merimna:

Approaches each child with appreciation and respect.

Collaborates with the child’s parents, caregivers and other agencies, as necessary, to ensure the best interests of the child.

Adopts evidence-based interventions and practices based on the scientific knowledge and judgment of mental health and health professionals.

Protects children and adolescents from all public disclosure and unwanted exposure.

Especially regarding sexual exploitation and abuse of children, Merimna, considering that prevention is very important, takes special care in the recruitment of staff (prerequisite is a clean criminal record, references and google search).

In addition, clear instructions and a common framework for action are provided to Merimna staff so that their response is immediate and effective in case an incident of sexual exploitation or abuse comes to their attention in the context of their communication with children/families.

Finally, Merimna ensures that its human resources policies comply with the principles and processes of supervision, support, control, training and continuous professional development.

The partners and members of the Board of directors of Merimna are committed to ensuring the implementation of this policy.

This policy applies to all of Merimna’s human resources policies and applies to each of its activities.