Child Protection and Safety

Put the children first, and our path forward becomes clear.

All children should grow up in a beautiful home with two loving parents giving them all the love and attention they deserve. Every child deserves a safe, stable and permanent family.

It's the responsibility of every adult to create an environment for children and youth to succeed without experience of any trauma because they are our future leaders.

They will be wanted, cared for and well fed.

There will be no drugs, violence, neglect, and sexual abuse.

With around 40% of all girls and 15% of boys sexually abused before the age of 18 this is a massive problem.

It is worldwide - and this does not matter how rich or poor the country - the sexual abuse is the same.

Unfortunately child labour in Zambia has continued unabated due to inadequate enforcement of legislation. This places Zambia lowly in terms of addressing the incidence of child labour.

In Zambia it's been observed that early marriages are a result of hunger and long distance to schools.

Child safety is very important and must be seriously be implemented to stop and prevent child abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, child marriage, harassment, trafficking, labour, prostitution, pregnancies and gang involvement.

Other vices children need to be protected from are: alcohol and substance abuse, negative impact of some traditional culture and initiation ceremonies. Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal enterprise on the planet, with millions of child victims stuck in its clutches.

There's  need to protect and serve also the mother less, disabled and hungry children.

Child abuse and neglect disrupts children's lives, resulting in dislocation, broken attachments, and long term health impacts.

This is why it is so important for the children to learn that it is their body and they have the right to say no. Working with child abusers in the USA a social worker asked them what they would do if a child said No, they said they would look for another child that did not say No.

They don’t want too much trouble. They prey on the innocent.

It is an an important job to educate both adults and children about abuse prevention.

Parents and caregivers  have many questions especially about how to approach teenagers, they have issues with teens who can't open up or talk to them, they want help to regain trust from children.

In many countries, it is a legal requirement for those working with children,...to attain a police or equivalent clearance from a government entity.

If you love working with children it is  necessary to have legal clearance in order to support laid down policies and advocate against any form of abuse.

Recommendations

Child protection sensitisation should start in schools because it's the best place to create awareness since homes have not been. Awareness is the key in ridding our communities of child molestation.

Look at any small organisations where you have access to parents and their children. Put up notices, speak to your friends, newspaper articles, radio stations and anything where you can get publicity. We need to get people talking about child abuse prevention.

Within your communities, schools, radio stations and community meetings you can educate children and their parents about child abuse.

Gender clubs was proposed in schools where students can sit and discuss issues of abuse to cultivate the action of advocating and being there for each other.

Parents and adults need to know that they are part of the solution to end child abuse in our society.

It has since been learnt from a psychologist that the major work of parenting is done by the time the child is 13 years old, even though they only become confident enough to show their true character much later. One needs to be extra vigilant and engage children like never before not in arguments but from a place of knowledge about repercussions of certain actions. Equip them enough to be able to answer any question friends may ask in a bid to sway them or bend them to do their bidding.

This is can actually be done in a teenage sensitization called 'catch them young'. Children need to be taught good grounding rules from an early age - by the time they are teenagers - their minds have already formed. Raising children needs to be looked at as one would be building a house. If children are not given good solid foundations they have nothing to fall back on when things go wrong. Good education from an early age - by good parenting and schooling is imperative for a strong society.

To impact our homes we need the next generation parents to be more enlightened about child protection so that they are ready to teach their children. To bury child abuse The parent should listen to their children and talk about it.

One of the most effective ways of sensitisation has been the use of 'My Body is My Body' project. It's an easy positive way to engage with children especially those that do not open up.

The MBIMB program can be implemented by you looking for other organisation with existing legal back up and may be a physical office to implement with them, or even a school.

Child protection programmes like: know your rights campaign, adolescent health sensitisation, quality and accessible eduaction for all need to be fully implemented.

In the fight against child abuse organisations or religious institutions are advised to desist from hiding perpetrators or cover up sex abuse. For example, Pope Francis said priests who abuse children should surrender "to human justice, and prepare for divine justice."

Unite to end violence against children especially girls. Whatever you do don't keep quiet speak out.

The government of Zambia has been advised to raise the legal age for marriage from 18 to 21 to avoid early child marriages.

There are certain factors however that increase the risk of abuse and neglect, as well as protective factors that reduce the risk.

Risk factors:

• Age
• Special needs
• Negative economic factors
• Lack of education
• Substance use

Protective factors:

• Strong family support
• Strong social networks
• Employment
• Education
• Caring individuals outside of the family.

We can learn something from a girl child activist from India. He says stop the campaign of save the girl, but simply explain to the boy child the evil of abuse to a girl child.