Safeguarding Policy

Policy statement and scope

Karmic Ventures LLC ("the Company") operates a platform that facilitates long-term relationships between adult members ("companions") in developed countries and families raising children ("partner families") in developing countries. The Company recognises that this model creates specific obligations regarding the safety, welfare, and dignity of the children at the centre of these relationships.

This policy establishes the Company's commitment to child safeguarding, defines the standards applied across all aspects of platform operation, and sets out the procedures for preventing harm and responding to safeguarding concerns.

Scope

This policy applies to:

• All employees and contractors of Karmic Ventures LLC
• All companions who are members of the platform
• All local partner organisations operating under agreement with the Company
• All third-party service providers who handle data relating to children

This policy covers all children under the age of 18 who are members of partner families in the Karmic Parents programme, regardless of the age of majority in their country of residence.

Definitions

Safeguarding principles

The following principles govern all safeguarding decisions and design choices across the platform:

• Child welfare first: Every decision — commercial, operational, technical, or relationship-based — is evaluated against its potential impact on child safety and welfare before any other consideration.
• Anonymity by design: Children's identifying information is structurally inaccessible to companions through platform architecture, not merely restricted by policy.
• Mediated contact only: All communication between companions and families is routed through the Company's platform. No direct contact channel exists or is provided.
• Human oversight: No algorithmic process makes safeguarding-relevant decisions. All vetting, matching, and incident response involves human judgment at every stage.
• Proportionate response: Safeguarding concerns are treated seriously and responded to promptly. The threshold for concern is low. The threshold for action is proportionate to the evidence.
• Mandatory reporting: Known or suspected abuse of a child in the programme is reported to relevant child protection authorities in the child's country of residence. This obligation is not subject to discretion.
• Continuous improvement: Safeguarding standards are reviewed annually and updated in response to incidents, near-misses, regulatory changes, and best practice developments.

Companion vetting and screening

Required before any access is granted

• Submission and review of a written letter application assessed for honesty, appropriateness, and the absence of safeguarding concerns
• Verified government-issued identity documentation
• Criminal background check conducted in the companion's country of residence through a recognised third-party screening provider
• Video conversation with a member of the Karmic Parents team of no less than 20 minutes
• Explicit written agreement to the Terms of Service including the safeguarding obligations contained therein

Grounds for automatic rejection

• Any conviction for an offence involving children, including but not limited to: contact sexual offences against children, possession or distribution of child sexual abuse material, child abduction, child cruelty, grooming
• Any conviction for offences involving violence, sexual violence, fraud, or financial crime within the preceding ten years
• Provision of false or misleading information during the application process
• Background check results inconsistent with declarations made in the letter application
• Video conversation raises concerns that cannot be resolved through further inquiry

Ongoing screening

Companions are subject to re-screening at the Company's discretion, including but not limited to situations where new information comes to light about a companion's circumstances or conduct. Companions are required to disclose any criminal charges or convictions occurring after their initial vetting within 30 days of the relevant event.

Family verification and welfare monitoring

Initial verification

All partner families are verified in person by a local partner organisation prior to being matched with a companion. Verification includes:

• In-person home visit by a local partner representative
• Confirmation of family composition and child ages
• Assessment of family circumstances and welfare
• Written consent from parent or legal guardian for participation in the programme
• Explanation of family rights, including the right to exit the programme at any time
• Documentation of local partner contact details for ongoing use

Ongoing welfare monitoring

• Minimum one in-person welfare visit per family per year by the local partner organisation
• Monthly check-in by local partner via telephone or in-person where families are flagged as requiring closer support
• Immediate welfare visit triggered by any safeguarding concern raised through the platform
• Written welfare reports submitted to the Company following each visit, retained for a minimum of seven years

Family exit

Families may exit the programme at any time without consequence. Exit requests are managed by the local partner organisation and communicated to the Company, which manages the transition with the companion. No family is required to provide a reason for exit.

Platform design and access controls

Structural protections

• Companions have no access to any database of partner families. No browsing, searching, or selecting of families is possible through the platform.
• Children's full names, addresses, schools, and specific locations are not recorded in any companion-accessible part of the system.
• All messages, submissions, and communications from companions to families are routed through the Company's platform and are visible to the Company.
• Direct messaging between companions and families is not a platform feature and cannot be enabled by either party.
• Companion accounts are suspended immediately upon detection of attempted safeguarding violations pending review.

Content moderation

All content submitted through the platform is subject to review before delivery to families. The Company reserves the right to withhold, edit, or return any content that appears to violate safeguarding standards, including content that:

• Seeks to identify or locate a child or family beyond what the programme discloses
• Contains romantic, sexual, or inappropriately personal language
• Seeks to establish direct contact outside the platform
• Makes financial promises or requests outside the platform's contribution mechanism
• Is otherwise inconsistent with the platform's safeguarding standards

Prohibited conduct

The following conduct by companions results in immediate account termination without warning and, where appropriate, referral to relevant authorities:

The Company cooperates fully with law enforcement and child protection authorities in any investigation arising from companion conduct, including disclosure of all relevant platform data.

Content and data relating to children

Consent requirements

• No photograph, video, voice recording, or other content involving a child is collected or shared without the explicit written consent of the child's parent or legal guardian
• Consent is required for each individual piece of content — blanket consent given at programme entry does not extend to future content
• All consent documentation is retained for the duration of the programme and for a minimum of three years following the child's eighteenth birthday
• Content consent may be withdrawn at any time, after which the relevant content must be removed from companion-accessible areas within 48 hours

Data minimisation

The Company collects and processes only the minimum data necessary about children to operate the programme. Data relating to children is stored separately from other platform data with additional access controls and is accessible to the minimum number of team members required for programme operation.

Retention and deletion

Data relating to children in the programme is retained for the duration of active participation and for three years following the child's eighteenth birthday to facilitate the at-18 transition process. After this period, data is deleted unless retention is required by law.

Reporting and incident response

How to report a concern

Safeguarding concerns may be reported by any person — companion, family member, local partner, employee, or third party — through the following channels:

• Email: safety@karmicparents.com — monitored continuously, response within 24 hours
• Through the local partner organisation in the relevant programme country
• Through any Karmic Parents team member

Concerns may be raised anonymously. Anonymous concerns receive the same level of initial assessment as named concerns.

Response timeline

Mandatory reporting

Where a safeguarding assessment concludes that a child is at risk of harm or has been harmed, the Company reports to the relevant child protection authorities in the child's country of residence. This obligation applies regardless of the source of the information, the identity of the person implicated, or any other consideration. The Company does not investigate alleged crimes — it reports them and cooperates fully with authority investigations.

Record keeping

All safeguarding concerns, assessments, actions taken, and outcomes are documented in the Company's safeguarding log. Records are retained for a minimum of seven years. Safeguarding records are separate from general operational records and accessible only to designated safeguarding personnel.

At-18 transition protocol

When a child in the programme approaches the age of 18, the following protocol is followed:

Year before majority

• Local partner organisation notifies the Company that the relevant child will reach 18 within the next 12 months
• Parent or legal guardian is consulted regarding the family's wishes for the transition
• Sealed letters from the companion are reviewed to confirm appropriateness for delivery
• Young adult is informed of the companion relationship in age-appropriate terms by the parent, with local partner support if required

At majority

• Young adult is provided with a full explanation of the companion relationship, the content of the programme, and the option to consent to direct contact
• Consent documentation is completed in writing by the young adult as an independent adult
• Future Fund balance is transferred regardless of consent status
• Sealed letters are offered to the young adult — receipt and reading is their choice

If consent to contact is given

• A facilitated introduction call is conducted through the platform
• Following the call, the young adult and companion may exchange direct contact details if both wish
• Karmic Parents has no further role in or responsibility for the relationship after direct contact is established

If consent is not given

• The companion is informed that direct contact is not possible
• No further contact between companion and young adult is facilitated or permitted through the platform
• The Future Fund has already been transferred — this is not affected by the consent decision

Training and awareness

Team members

All Karmic Parents team members who interact with companion or family data complete safeguarding awareness training before taking up their role. Training is refreshed annually. Records of training completion are maintained by the Company.

Companions

All companions are required to read and confirm understanding of this Safeguarding Policy and the Child Safety page as part of the platform onboarding process. Companions receive a summary of key safeguarding obligations at the point of each annual membership renewal.

Local partners

Local partner organisations are required to confirm that their staff involved in the Karmic Parents programme have received appropriate safeguarding training in their jurisdiction. Evidence of training is required at the point of partnership agreement and at annual review.

Local partner obligations

All local partner organisations operate under a formal written agreement with Karmic Parents that includes the following safeguarding obligations:

• Conduct all family verifications and welfare visits in accordance with the standards set out in Section 05 of this policy
• Report any safeguarding concern arising from programme contact to the Company's DSL within 24 hours
• Maintain their own child safeguarding policy appropriate to their jurisdiction
• Ensure that all staff involved in the programme have current safeguarding training
• Cooperate fully with any safeguarding investigation conducted by or involving the Company
• Maintain confidentiality of family information in accordance with the Company's Privacy Policy
• Provide annual safeguarding compliance reports to the Company

Failure to meet these obligations may result in termination of the partnership agreement. The Company conducts annual review of all local partner safeguarding practices.

Policy review and accountability

Review schedule

This policy is reviewed annually by the Company's Designated Safeguarding Lead. Review considers:

• Any safeguarding incidents or near-misses occurring in the review period
• Changes to applicable law or regulation in programme countries
• Changes to platform functionality that affect safeguarding
• Best practice developments in child safeguarding in comparable sectors
• Feedback from local partners and, where appropriate, families

Updated versions of this policy are published on the Company website and communicated to all companions and local partners within 30 days of adoption.

Accountability

The founder of Karmic Ventures LLC holds ultimate accountability for safeguarding standards across the platform. The Designated Safeguarding Lead holds operational responsibility for implementing this policy and responding to concerns. Both roles and their named holders are identified in the contacts section of this document.

External review

The Company will engage an independent safeguarding review by an external specialist within 24 months of this policy's adoption, and subsequently at intervals of no more than three years. The findings of external reviews will be published in summary form on the Company website.

Contact and escalation

In a safeguarding emergency involving immediate risk to a child, contact local emergency services first. Do not wait. Notify the Company DSL as soon as practicable after emergency services have been contacted.