A Common Responsibility - The role of community-based child protection groups in protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation

Protecting children from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation is everybody’s responsibility. Families, communities, governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) together play a vital role in realising children’s rights to protection. Children can also play an important role in protecting themselves from abuse and exploitation, in accordance with their evolving capacities.

Community involvement in child protection is vital, even when adequate protection services and structures exist and are operating effectively. Adults and children in a community are best placed to identify local protection issues and to develop the most appropriate solutions in cooperation with service providers.The attitude and behaviour of communities towards children can also lie at the heart of protection violations – for example, through their attitudes towards the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. In order to fulfil children’s rights to protection, an effective child protection system must engage and transform
such community perspectives, working with the community itself.

Community-based child protection groups are therefore at the forefront of efforts to address child protection in many places, and they are increasingly recognised by governments and NGOs as vital in the establishment of an effective and comprehensive national child protection system.

This discussion paper aims to:
• share Save the Children’s experience of how community-based child protection groups can be effective in preventing and responding to sexual exploitation and abuse of children
• highlight the challenges we have encountered in supporting this approach in a range
of contexts
• suggest ways in which such groups can be supported to increase their effectiveness, impact and sustainability.