The Plum Village Safeguarding Policy

Scope- Entities and Activities (France)

This Policy and the associated Protocol apply to all safeguarding-related matters arising from the organisation of retreats and the reception of the public in France, and they apply to all legal entities involved in such activities, including: 

1. the Congregation CBZVP
2. BIENVENUE AUX PRUNIERS (accommodation and catering)

They also apply to all persons acting under or for these entities (employees, residents, volunteers, contractors, visiting teachers, and any third parties entrusted with responsibilities in connection with retreats and the reception of the public).

From the Buddha, “Let no one do harm to anyone…” Metta Sutta, Nipata 1.8

Introduction

1. Plum Village is committed to providing a practice environment that is as safe and inclusive as possible for people who wish to benefit and learn from the teachings and community life here. While present within Plum Village, whether for a day, a longer stay, or a lifetime commitment, we wish for attendees to be free from harm, and to know what they can do if they experience or perceive harm taking place within the community, so that any harm can be addressed and learned from (and if necessary, steps taken to prevent this in the future).
2. Aware that all human beings have both wholesome and unwholesome seeds and habit energies, we recognise that mistakes and harmful actions (of body and speech) will inevitably occur within our community from time to time. These harms will reflect the harms that occur in wider society, and by recognising and looking deeply into the nature and causes of these harms we can learn more skilful ways to prevent and respond to harm in Plum Village. Our aspiration is that no-one will create, maintain or exploit the psychological or physical vulnerability of another person, regardless of their relationship to that person. We practice to contribute to a deeper collective insight and to build a more compassionate and healthy society for all.
3. Because of the diversity of human experience, we recognise that people have different understandings of both harm and responsibility. These understandings are not fixed but are continually evolving within individuals and cultures. We recognise that when there is a lack of shared understanding and clarity on what counts as harm, and what we are each responsible for, there is a greater risk of harm occurring that could otherwise be prevented or effectively addressed.
4. We therefore recognise the responsibility of the community to draw on the collective wisdom available to develop and share clear guidance on:

a. How the community defines harm;

b. What our individual and collective responsibilities are for preventing, reporting and responding to harm.

5. As a multifold community, this understanding needs to be appropriate to the needs of both monastic and lay practitioners, to the evolving language used to describe harms in modern culture, and to the diverse range of human experiences, identities and capacities of those who visit and stay in Plum Village.
6. The purpose of this document is to provide a summary of the current understanding and approach of the Plum Village Safeguarding Council for defining harm, responsibility and appropriate responses. This document can be amended and improved by the Safeguarding Council over time as our collective insight evolves. It can be made available to all who are interested in a detailed understanding of our approach to these issues. And it can form the basis of much shorter guidance documents for particular groups or audiences (e.g. day visitors, short-term retreatants, lay and monastic long-term residents, dharma teachers, the Bhikshu/Bhikshuni Council, website readers) who do not need the level of detail covered here.

The basis for protecting ourselves and others from harm

7. The basis for protection from harm lies in our understanding of the causes and conditions that lead to harm, our compassionate intention to recognize and address these, and our capacity (skills, energy, and availability) to be able to do so. 
8. Through the sharing of experiences and insights we all contribute to and benefit from the collective wisdom, and we can also draw on the accumulated wisdom in our respective cultures where this helps to shine light on the causes of harm and how it can be recognized, prevented and addressed.
9. The following sections explore some of the fruits of this collective wisdom that help us all to recognise, prevent and respond to harm. 

The importance of understanding vulnerability

10. Different people are vulnerable to harm in different ways. In the context of safeguarding policies, a “vulnerable individual” refers to someone who may be at risk of harm, abuse, neglect, or exploitation due to factors that may impact their ability to protect themselves.
11. Such factors may include age, disability, physical and mental health conditions, position/role in the community (especially junior members), race, national and gender identity, sexual orientation, social class, previous experiences of trauma or discrimination and lack of enough communication and language skills.These and other factors can make it harder for these individuals to protect themselves and also to speak up and share concerns if they experience harm.
12. The community has a particular responsibility to ensure that vulnerable individuals are protected and have safe and clear channels through which they can share about their experiences of harm when necessary.

The importance of understanding power

13. Due to a combination of health, abilities, energy, status, role and experience, some individuals within a community have higher levels of capacity and power than others, and can therefore have a bigger effect on the wellbeing of others, both positively and negatively.
14. If such individuals cause harm, by speaking or acting in ways that lead to harm or will likely lead to harm if continued, it can be more difficult for others to give them feedback or challenge their behaviour. 
15. The community has a particular responsibility to ensure that individuals who hold higher levels of power within the community, particularly those within formal roles, have appropriate levels of competence and ethical responsibility and can be offered feedback and held appropriately accountable for their actions of body or speech. 

What is harm?

16. Not everything that is uncomfortable or unpleasant is harmful, and not everything that is harmful is uncomfortable or unpleasant. While “uncomfortable” and “unpleasant” refer to the quality of a feeling, “harmful” means that an injury to someone’s capacity (physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual) occurs that makes them less resilient or less capable of handling their suffering as a result.
17. When unpleasant or uncomfortable experiences arise that are not causing new harm or injury, practitioners are encouraged to address these experiences through their own practice, the support of friends and mentors, and – in the case of interpersonal difficulties – through compassionate dialogue, including the formal Plum Village practices of Beginning Anew, Shining Light and Deep Listening Sessions.  
18. However, if someone sincerely believes that new harm or injury is arising for them or for another, this should be taken seriously, should not be tolerated or “grown through” or accepted, to keep the “harmony in the sangha” but reported so that help can be given to those involved and harmful practices or harmful speech or bodily action behaviours can be addressed, communicated and stopped for the benefit of all.

Definitions of specific harms and unacceptable behaviour

19. While it is not possible to give a comprehensive definition of all possible harms, and there is often a subjective element, the following categories of harmful behaviour have been established in law and the community has a particular responsibility to protect its members and visitors from them:

a. Abuse is any action that harms or injures another person that is either intentional or due to a lack of reasonable awareness, attention or care. Abuse can take many forms, physical or verbal, and the harm/injury may be physical, emotional, psychological or material.

b. Bullying is aggressive behaviour that involves unwanted, negative verbal or physical actions that are repeated over time and involve a real or perceived imbalance of power or strength over someone who is perceived as powerless, vulnerable or a passive victim in relation to the person who is bullying.

c. Harassment is unwanted, unjustified and repeated comments or actions that make someone feel uncomfortable, threatened, or intimidated. Harassment can contain Bullying and Bullying can contain Harassment.

d. Sexual harassment is defined as unwanted or unwelcome sexual advances, and these do not have to be repeated to count as harassment. This can include physical touch to sexually sensitive areas of the body or in a sexually suggestive manner, or comments or other behaviour of a sexually suggestive nature that are not welcome.  In a case involving a monastic, any form of sexual advance (in either direction) is not appropriate or acceptable within the community.

e. Discrimination, in the context of safeguarding, is unjust behaviour in favour of or against a person or a group of people based on the group, category, or class to which they belong, such as race, gender and national identity, immigrants or refugees, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and neurodiversity.

f. Exploitation is the unfair or unjust use of someone’s labour, resources or vulnerability for the gain or profit of an individual, group or cause. It involves taking advantage of someone else in an unfair or unethical way, without respect for the integrity, safety, health and rights of that individual.

g. Neglect is a form of abuse that involves the failure to provide adequate attention, care, or support to someone who is dependent on others for aspects of their well-being, and where an individual or community has already accepted responsibility for meeting their dependency needs.

h. Secrecy. No teacher should ever demand secrecy regarding an emotional or physical relationship with another practitioner. Seeking such secrecy is a clear characteristic of an inappropriate situation and abuse of power.

20. In addition to the categories above, there are also more subtle forms of harm that can be hard to detect and can still have very harmful consequences (particularly over time), such as:

a. Gaslighting: a form of psychological manipulation in which a person deliberately seeks to make another person doubt their own experiences, perceptions of reality, memories or even sanity in order to serve a personal agenda or ideology or to conceal unethical conduct. Issues of power abuse may be involved in this situation.

b. Micro-aggressions: subtle, often unintentional, verbal or behavioural actions that communicate derogatory or negative messages to individuals. These may be verbal (e.g. racial slurs, insensitive jokes), environmental (displaying culturally offensive images in public, or failing to represent some groups in public communications or displays), or behavioural (non-verbal actions or behaviours that marginalise or invalidate others, such as ignoring or interrupting someone, nonverbal gestures of disrespect, or purposefully excluding individuals from social activities).

c. Re-traumatisation: this refers to the reactivation or exacerbation of a past traumatic experience or psychological wound when someone is exposed to a stimulus (trigger) that in some way reminds them of the original traumatic event. This can lead to a resurgence of trauma symptoms (e.g. panic, intense emotional reactions, helplessness, fear, despair, intrusive memories) and increase someone’s distress and vulnerability.

All members of the community have responsibilities

21. All individuals within the community have the following responsibilities to themselves and others:

a. To refrain from causing harm (either verbally or physically) to themselves, to others or to the community; 

b. To protect themselves from harm by taking care of their own mental and physical needs and vulnerabilities as best they can, and by communicating their reasonable needs to others in appropriate ways when necessary;

c. To protect others from harm by listening respectfully to their reasonable needs, and by gently enquiring into their welfare if they appear to be suffering harm within the community;

d. To question and challenge potentially harmful behaviour if it is appropriate, safe and within their capacity and skills to do so.

e. To seek help and support as necessary if they experience, witness or hear about actual harm or the risk of harm to themselves or others;

f. To report information or incidents that could be significant for the safety of individuals or groups within the community, or that they believe may require a formal or collective response, to the Safeguarding Response Team.

22. Given the potential for misperceptions and misunderstandings to arise, all individuals are also invited to: 

a. Check that their perceptions of harm are as accurate as possible by asking others what their perceptions are in a given situation;

b. Respect appropriate confidentiality boundaries for all involved, particularly if there are differing or uncertain perceptions of what has taken place, so that additional harm is not caused by the spreading of information that is not certain.  In the case of potentially sensitive or serious harm, the Safeguarding Response Team should be consulted as a first step.

Formal roles come with additional responsibilities

23. Those members of the community who hold a formal role of some kind – e.g. Dharma Teacher, abbot, mentor, work coordinator, those working in the Registration Office who meet the guests when they first arrive, a member of the Safeguarding Response Team and so forth – have been entrusted by the community with some level of power and influence in proportion to that role. They are trusted to use it on behalf of the community and its members. The benefit for them lies in the satisfaction of engaging in meaningful work and service for the community, and the opportunity to grow in their own practice through the role, and not for increasing their personal power or advantage or for advocating their personal views or agendas.
24. The Bhikhu/Bhikshuni Councils are responsible for identifying the formal roles needed within the community; clearly defining the scope of power and responsibility for each role; ensuring that roles are filled by persons with appropriate competence and ethical integrity; and to ensure that training, supervision and open channels of feedback are sufficient to support the people in these roles and those affected by them.

25. Every person who holds a formal role has the responsibility to:

a. Ensure that they are competent to fulfil the role that they have been entrusted with, and to seek guidance and/or change their roles and responsibilities if they find that they are not competent.  

b. Use the power of their role ethically, for the benefit of the community and its members and not for separate personal gain;

c. Develop their understanding of how their formal position may be perceived by others, and particularly how their actions and words could impact more vulnerable members of the community both positively and negatively;

d. Deeply listen to feedback from the community and individuals about their conduct within their role, and accept any supervision or training required by the community to support their fulfilment of their role and growth within it.

26. All community members with a formal role that involves guiding meditation practices have a responsibility to ensure that the practices they offer are appropriate and safe for the participants, and if necessary to offer safe alternatives to those who may experience traumatic responses.

The role of the Safeguarding Council

27. The role of the Safeguarding Council is to:

a. Maintain a clear, documented policy (this document) on how our community defines harm and our individual and collective responsibilities to:

i. protect from harm;
ii. detect harm; 
iii. look deeply into/investigate harm;
iv. respond appropriately to harm;
v. learn from incidents of harm for greater collective safety in the future.
vi. keep confidential records, with appropriately restricted access, and communicate in support of the above aims.

b. Maintain a clear guidance document (the “Safeguarding Protocol”) on the steps that should be taken when a potential harm is reported.

c. Ensure that these documents fulfil any and all legal requirements for safeguarding, are sensitive to the needs of diverse groups and, in particular, take into account specific sensitivities and vulnerabilities that may arise as a consequence of trauma, race, gender, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and neurodiversity.

d. Provide safe and confidential channels for community members to report incidents of potential harm to each hamlet’s Safeguarding Response Team, and ensure that information about these channels is easily accessed.

e. Ensure that the Safeguarding Response Team, chosen by the Bhikshu/Bhikshuni council to receive and respond to reports of harm within the community in accordance with the protocol, has a minimum of 2 monastic members per hamlet. Membership should be as diverse as possible (lay and monastic, male and female bodied). The members should have the capacity and competence to respond to the diverse concerns listed above and have sufficient support, including relevant training, to fulfil their role and offer a variety of ways for people to report concerns (e.g. in person, email, letter, anonymous).

f. Consult and receive feedback from within the community and from external sources of good practice as well as representatives of marginalised or vulnerable groups (e.g. BPOC, LGBTQ+, neurodivergent, disability awareness groups) to ensure that safeguarding practices can be further improved over time.  

g. Develop appropriate and accessible communications to ensure that all community members and visitors have been informed of their responsibilities (as outlined in 21 and 22 above) and can easily access safety-relevant information.

h. Set up and implement a system for keeping confidential records for the Safeguarding Response Team to use.

i. Develop specific guidance for the community where the council sees that this will further protect individuals and the community from harm (e.g. the safe and appropriate boundaries for monastic consultations, or factors that support the practice environment to be safer for individuals carrying different kinds of trauma or suffering from different kinds of discrimination). 

j. Regularly (at least once per year) review with the Response teams all safeguarding incidents that have taken place since the last review to identify any changes or actions that are needed to this policy to better support the community, its members and visitors for the future.

k. Arrange for education and training sessions within the community (both residents and volunteers) to raise and maintain the collective awareness of safeguarding needs and vulnerabilities, together with the different forms of harm and how to identify them, as judged most useful and appropriate by the council.

l. Report a summary of its activity to the Plum Village Assembly once per year.

28. The Inter-Hamlet Safeguarding Council should be composed of a minimum of 2 Bhikshu/Bhikshuni members per hamlet, each entrusted and supported by their respective Bhikshu/Bhikshuni Councils. The council should also include one board member. Ideally, the council would be drawn from a diverse group. The council should be supported by a secretary, who takes responsibility for scheduling meetings, establishing the agenda for discussion, and recording notes. As part of the monastery structure, the composition of the council should be entirely monastic, although the council may – at its discretion – draw on the support of invited lay-friends to contribute to discussion where needed or to fulfil the secretarial role.

The role of the Safeguarding Response Team

29. The role of the Safeguarding Response Team is to:

a. Support individuals who may have suffered harm to take care of their immediate safety and wellbeing needs, and clarify if they have specific requests for support or action in reporting this incident; 

b. Formally gather information about the alleged incident, consulting all relevant involved people and taking into account differing perceptions that may exist in order to come to the clearest view possible;

c. Recommend appropriate steps to restore or improve safety for those involved and for the community as a whole based on the information gathered;

d. Maintain accurate records of incidents reported, information gathered and steps taken in response. These should be stored confidentially and according to a process that ensures they are accessed only when necessary, and by the minimum number of people necessary and in compliance with relevant Data Protection laws. 

e. Communicate in writing to the person who shared the initial concern how their concern has been dealt with.

f. Share an annual anonymised summary of what has taken place with the Safeguarding Council.

g. In the case where an incident involves a monastic, and the safeguarding team suspect the breach of one of the Degradation or Sangha Restoration Offences, the team should ensure that this is communicated to the Bhikshu/Bhikshuni Council in order for them to address this aspect.

30. The Safeguarding Response Team should understand that people’s feelings and experiences are shaped by their culture, past, and personal history, which can differ greatly. They must respect these differences and avoid dismissing or questioning someone’s feelings, especially in a way that makes them doubt themselves (called “gaslighting”). The team should encourage collaboration to understand what happened, ensuring safety and harmony within the community. If agreement isn’t possible, the team must make the best decision and clearly explain the reasons for it. This explanation should show that everyone’s needs and perspectives were considered thoughtfully. Records will be kept whatever the outcome.
31. In coming to a view on any reported harm, the team should give consideration to issues of power, vulnerability, perceived levels of harm, balance of intention and ignorance in the harm caused, and whether the harm may be indicative of a wider pattern either in the conduct of an individual or within the life of the community that should be addressed to safeguard against future harms.
32. The response team should act with impartiality.  If, in a given case, a member of the team has a potential conflict of interest (e.g. close friendship with someone involved in a report), this potential conflict should be declared.  If they, or other members of the response team, believe that this conflict could affect, or be perceived to affect, their ability to act impartially, they should step back from involvement in this particular case.

The protection of children

33. Children are welcome in Plum Village when accompanied by a parent or caregiver, and the parent/caregiver retains the primary responsibility for the wellbeing of the child.  The appropriate way to interact with children varies by culture, and adults who have experienced past abuse may also be particularly vigilant about appropriate boundaries with children.  To protect the safety of children and also to guard against misperceptions, community members should:

a. Not be alone with children without a second adult present;

b. Check that any interactions with the child are with the consent of the child and with the knowledge and approval of the parent/caregiver.  This applies in particular to physical touch and to the offering of food or drink to the child.

c. Refrain from any action likely to compromise the physical, emotional, intellectual and social development of minors, as well as their health and safety.

Reporting to competent authorities (local law and proportionality) 

34. Where the Safeguarding Response Team becomes aware of conduct that may constitute a criminal offence or otherwise presents a serious safeguarding risk, the Team will:

a. Prioritise immediate safety. If there is an emergency or an imminent risk of serious harm, contact the relevant emergency services without delay (see Section C below).

b. Assess legal duties under applicable local law. There is no general duty to report every offence. However, in France, the law may require action in specific situations (for example: assistance in case of immediate danger; and specific obligations relating to crimes or offences involving a child or a vulnerable person).

c. Respect confidentiality boundaries. The Team will consider whether any person involved is bound by professional secrecy (secret professionnel). Where professional secrecy applies, external disclosure must be assessed carefully, and may be permitted only within the legal exceptions.

d. Support the affected person. Where the law does not require a report to authorities, the Team will, as a general rule, respect the wishes of the affected person and support them to report (or not), including by signposting, accompaniment and practical support.

e. Report without consent only in narrow cases. The Team may notify the competent authorities without the affected person’s consent only where this is required by law (ie : children abuse..), or where there is an imminent and serious risk to the safety of others and such reporting is necessary and proportionate to prevent further harm.

f. Document and minimise. In all cases, the Team will document the reasons for decisions taken and will share externally only what is strictly necessary on a need-to-know basis.

The safe limits and boundaries of the community

35. As a centre for spiritual practice and community living, Plum Village does not have the capacity, appropriate conditions or necessary training to provide a comprehensive therapeutic or medical service to attendees. Spiritual practice and community life are not a substitute for avoiding the importance of addressing the immediate physical or mental health needs with appropriate professional support. For attendees to benefit from their stay in Plum Village, they need to have the capacity to engage with the schedule and practices of the community and to flow in harmony with other members of the community, and that also includes short term retreatants without needing significant ongoing support from within the community to do so.
36. If an individual is not able to refrain from causing harm to themselves or others, it may be appropriate and necessary to require them to leave Plum Village or to refuse them entry. Unless there is an unmanageable and immediate risk to safety, this should only occur as a last resort, and after efforts have been made to understand the suffering of the individual, any potential role that the community has played in this, and explore ways to adapt the practice to their situation. Where possible, these individuals should also be referred to alternative sources of support (medical, psychotherapeutic) that may be of help to them.
37. In such a case it is the responsibility of the Safeguarding Response Team to recommend the best course of action, with the final decision to be made by the abbot or, if not available, a designated deputy. This should be done through dialogue with all affected individuals whenever possible and with a clear written explanation for any decision taken.
38. If the Safeguarding Response Team is informed of harmful conduct toward a monastic, a lay resident, or a retreat participant, and if this conduct may constitute a criminal offence under local law, any report to the appropriate authorities will be carefully considered in accordance with §34 (local law, proportionality, confidentiality, and professional confidentiality).
39. This document should be reviewed on an annual basis by the Inter-Hamlet Safeguarding Council to confirm that it is relevant to the evolving needs of the community and adequately reflects the collective wisdom of the community. The result of this review should be communicated to and noted by the Plum Village Assembly. 

40. The next review for this document is due on 1st January 2027

France – emergency contacts and child protection (to add in the Policy as an Annex or a boxed section)

41. France – emergency contacts (public reception and retreats)

a. 112: European emergency number (ambulance / fire brigade / police)

b. 15: medical emergency (SAMU)

c. 17: police emergency

d. 18: fire brigade (pompiers)

e. 114: emergency number by SMS/fax for hearing or speech impaired persons

f. 116 006: victim support (France Victimes)

42. France – child protection

a. If a child may be in danger or at risk, contact 119 (Allo Enfance en danger) for guidance and reporting. In an emergency or immediate danger, call the emergency services first.

1. Inter-Hamlet Safeguarding and the council will be responsible for commissioning the setup and implementation of an appropriate record keeping system and defining the appropriate restrictions on access. ↩︎
2.  Poster, paper and electronic, as well as appropriate mentions in orientation and pre-retreat information, and in multiple languages. ↩︎

PV Inter-Hamlet Safeguarding — Policy (Version 1, 21.01.2026)