Safeguarding in media production: protecting people on shoots

The Safeguarding Resource and Support Hub defines safeguarding as preventing harm to people in the delivery of development and humanitarian assistance.¹ Media production is part of that delivery. A shoot brings outsiders with equipment, money and influence into homes, clinics and schools, often to meet people in difficult circumstances.

Safeguarding in media production therefore protects two groups: the contributors in front of the camera and the community around the shoot, and the crew themselves. The Hub notes that staff and associates may themselves experience harm at the hands of colleagues.¹ A good plan covers both, and it is written before the first location visit, not after a problem.

Bond's guidelines on ethical content warn that the people asked to feature in NGO communications are likely to feel obliged to take part.² Someone who receives support from a programme may find it hard to refuse the organisation that provides it, or the crew it has hired.

Do no harm communications begin by naming that imbalance. Make it clear that taking part is voluntary and that saying no changes nothing. UNICEF's interview guidance for children applies well beyond them: do no harm, and avoid questions, attitudes or comments that are judgemental.³ World Press Photo's code of ethics also asks photographers not to pay people for information or participation, so that independence is upheld.⁴

Most organisations already have a safeguarding policy. The gap is that it is written for staff, not for the freelance camera operator, driver or visiting journalist. Bond says organisations should require everyone working with or for them to follow their code of conduct, and that this must extend to all those involved in story production, including visitors and media representatives not otherwise under contract.²

A safeguarding policy for film crews does not need to be long. The Keeping Children Safe standards, written for child safeguarding, offer a structure that works for any production: policy, people, procedures and accountability.⁵ Applied to a shoot, that means:

• Policy: a short code of conduct that every crew member reads and signs before filming.
• People: safe recruitment of freelancers and a named safeguarding focal point for each production.
• Procedures: a risk assessment and a reporting route agreed in advance.
• Accountability: a debrief after the shoot and a record of any concern raised.

Protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) is a core part of safeguarding. The Resource and Support Hub defines sexual exploitation as any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power or trust for sexual purposes.¹ A crew arriving with cameras and a budget holds exactly that kind of power.

The Inter-Agency Standing Committee's Six Core Principles, revised in 2019, set the standard across the humanitarian system.⁶ Brief every crew member on them before the shoot, in a language they understand, and write them into freelance and supplier contracts. Among the principles:⁶

• Sexual exploitation and abuse are acts of gross misconduct and grounds for termination of employment.
• Sexual activity with anyone under 18 is prohibited, whatever the local age of consent, and mistaken belief about age is no defence.
• Exchanging money, employment, goods or services for sex is prohibited.
• Anyone with concerns about a fellow worker, in the same agency or not, must report them through established mechanisms.

Bond advises that a risk assessment should take place during the planning phase of story production.² For each location and contributor, ask who could be harmed by being filmed, by being seen with the crew, or by the story being published. Ask whether the shoot could raise expectations of aid, who will be present, and where interviews will happen.

Local staff matter most here. Bond says the staff closest to contributors must feel able to say no to story production requests, and calls this a positive outcome of working ethically.² The Keeping Children Safe standards ask for safeguarding risk assessments to be built into existing risk assessment processes at all levels.⁵ Folding them into the normal production plan makes them far more likely to happen.

Some stories ask people to talk about violence, loss or illness. Bond is clear that story production must at all costs avoid re-traumatising someone, and that teams should have distress and referral protocols prepared in advance.² Before filming, find out which local support services exist and how to refer someone to them.

On the day, explain the questions beforehand, let the person set limits, and stop if they become distressed. Do not push for detail the story does not need. World Press Photo also asks photographers to be aware of the influence their presence can have on a scene, and to avoid unnecessary risks that can lead to dangerous situations.⁴

Everyone on a shoot should know, before filming starts, whom to tell if something worries them. Bond advises following your organisation's safeguarding policy and alerting the appropriate staff member.² The Keeping Children Safe standards call for a locally appropriate process for reporting and responding to incidents and concerns, and for designated focal points with clearly defined roles.⁵

After the shoot, debrief the crew, check that consent and safeguarding records are complete and stored securely, and review the edit for anything that could expose a contributor. In our own practice, we treat safeguarding as part of production support: it is planned alongside permits, transport and schedules, not added at the end.

• Signed code of conduct for every crew member, freelancers included
• A named safeguarding focal point for the production
• Risk assessment completed during planning
• PSEA principles briefed in a language the crew understands
• A clear reporting route shared before filming
• Local referral options for distressed contributors identified
• Local staff free to say no or to stop the shoot
• Debrief and secure storage of records after the shoot