CHILD PROTECTION: GOING BEYOND PLAY TO ENSURE CHILDREN ARE SAFE
Providing a child with a chance to play is only half the battle – a child cannot play and learn effectively if they do not feel safe. Child protection is a critical part of Right To Play’s work. As the first installment in a series of stories about our child protection efforts around the world, learn how Right To Play China is using innovative ways to help keep kids safe and protected.
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Working in some of the world’s most disadvantaged countries and communities, Right To Play is dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth around the globe through the transformative power of sport and play.
At the core of that mission is the inherent need to ensure that children are safe and protected, both within and beyond Right To Play programs.
“Child protection is a key factor in the main work we do,” says Cheryl Yeam, Technical Support Manager, and Child Protection Focal Person at Right To Play China.
Citing the example of working with street kids in China, Yeam puts the need for proactive child protection policies into context:
“We can try to promote their holistic development through sport and play-based activities, but the fact that street children in China do not have enough basic care, food, shelter, safe working conditions or access to education, and that they face discrimination and exclusion from society, are not things we should ignore.”
Guided by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), Right To Play has placed its Child Protection Policy at the foundation of its ideology, operations and programming organization-wide.
“We have a duty of care to keep the children in our programs safe,” says Laura Wright, the Child Rights and Protection Consultant at Right To Play International.
“Right To Play’s Child Protection Policy is a commitment to the children we work with that they deserve to live in positive, safe environments where their rights and protection are promoted.”
As such, Right To Play has committed to updating its Child Protection Policy every three years to ensure that it is not only a comprehensive document, but a living one.
Photo credit: Sandy Pereira/Mark Zibert
Life for the current generation of children and youth living around the world is infinitely different than it was for people growing up as recently as the 1990s. Not only do today’s youth face the increased challenges of natural disaster and global economic crisis, technology and the Internet have altered reality.
It is about understanding childhood in the twenty-first century and adapting to the demands and challenges of a digital and analogue world – in real time.
This is an opportunity for Right To Play to champion child protection and act as a leader amongst Sport for Development and Peace organizations, says Wright.
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USING INNOVATIVE IDEAS TO ADDRESS CHILD PROTECTION WORLDWIDE
FROM A DRAWING TO A DIFFERENCE: HOW CHILDREN ARE HELPING BUILD PROTECTION POLICIES IN CHINA
As the organization updates its full policy, in the field, Right To Play is striving to make sure when it comes to child protection, some of the loudest voices advocating for children’s rights are the children themselves.
Children have the opportunity to effect change.
Right To Play China, for example, is developing a child-friendly protection policy that children can clearly understand. Not only is the document written in child-friendly language, but Right To Play has asked child focus groups for help to make sure they get it right.
“There is a lot we can learn from children,” says Yeam. “The better we can understand their perspective, the better we will be able to meet and understand their needs.”
Currently in development, Right To Play China has translated an otherwise jargon-filled and technical development document into something the children can read, comprehend, contribute to and take ownership of.
The child-friendly approach to child-centric policies is something that was initiated by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Boiled down to a one-page document, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Child Friendly Language makes rights clear and easy to understand.
For example, instead of the technical, nearly 100-word, duo-point explanation as it exists in the full convention, Article 12 in the child-friendly document simply states: “You have the right to give your opinion, and for adults to listen and take it seriously.”
It is a right that Right To Play China is taking seriously.
“Children have the right to participation and they should have a say in Right To Play China’s policies, systems and procedures where appropriate,” says Yeam. “It’s important for us not to develop the child protection system, strategy or policy in isolation of children.”
Having children involved not only allows Right To Play to develop a policy that addresses contemporary issues facing children, it also helps parents, teachers and children themselves identify what their rights are and how to protect them.
During a focus group on child protection with the migrant children program in Beijing, Right To Play asked participants to draw pictures or write down how they can protect themselves. Where some children listed things like “learn Kung-fu,” “do not talk to strangers,” “protect ourselves from bullying,” and “take care of each other,” one young child drew a gun, a knife, a big stick and a brick. At the top of the card he wrote “Protecting Myself.”
This information is very valuable when we are thinking about program design and key learnings that we want to promote, says Yeam. When children share their feelings about being hit, or tell us what makes them feel threatened, it raises our awareness and can help us promote behaviour change among adults. It also helps educate children on positive ways that they can protect themselves and their peers.
Child focus group participant's drawing in response to question "How do I protect myself?"
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Yeam says the next step for the child-friendly policy is to conduct further focus groups with older children to generate more feedback on the breadth and understanding of the policy itself, specifically.
The child-friendly policy is only one development in a long list of initiatives taken by Right To Play China to strengthen its child protection resources and operations.
For example, in 2008 Right To Play China developed a child protection and safety picture booklet for children, which will be updated and improved this year.
In 2009, a children’s urban encyclopedia picture book was developed to promote migrant children’s inclusion into mainstream society and to educate them on their right to access public services in the community. In addition, that same year Right To Play China developed a training for parents on child protection and alternative, non-violent forms of discipline.
Right To Play China has also spearheaded the development of a child rights and UNCRC-focused activity manual, developing 20 rights education activities for the resource so far this year.
But child protection extends beyond educating children, and has become a core principle in Right To Play’s staff and partner qualifications.
All Right To Play China staff have been trained in child protection, including Right To Play’s policy and procedures, risk analysis and the current child protection mechanism in China. Furthermore, all contracts and agreements involving Right To Play as of 2011, contain the Child Protection Policy and other child protection conditions; the Human Resources system has been revised to include child protection in all stages of recruitment and hiring; and all media, communications and photo guidelines now strictly adhere to child protection regulations.
As the process evolves, it is also important that Right To Play’s more than 20 partner organizations in China also adhere to child protection policies and expectations.
This year due diligence criteria for working with local partners is being developed and implemented, as well as child protection training for local partners. A child protection handbook is even being developed to provide guidance to other organizations on how make themselves child safe.
As a living document, Right To Play China’s Child Protection Policy will be continuously evolving so it can respond to the needs of the country’s young – with their help, of course.
Yeam says she considers the increase in child participation in Right To Play China’s organizational growth and process a real success.
“Children should know their rights and be enabled to protect those rights.”
Want to learn more about how Right To Play is keeping children around the world safe and protected? Watch our website (www.righttoplay.com) and future Red Ball Reports for new stories about unique, innovative and effective child protection measures from our international programs.