From concept to application: a critical reflection on child safeguarding from a children’s rights perspective

Abstract

Tragically, the abuse and exploitation of children persist across time and geographies. While this often occurs within families, it also takes place in organisational settings that are meant to be protective, such as schools and faith-based organisations. The concept of ‘child safeguarding’ has emerged in response to systemic failures exposed by numerous cases and government inquiries into child abuse and exploitation in institutional and organisational settings. ‘Child safeguarding’ can be understood as a specific subset of ‘child protection’, a broader field encompassing efforts to prevent and respond to violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect of children. It focuses on the responsibilities of organisations to proactively identify and reduce risks to children, to respond appropriately to concerns, and to report suspected abuse to relevant authorities. This study offers a unique analysis aimed at promoting an approach to child safeguarding grounded in international children’s rights law. It aims to answer how international children’s rights law, particularly the norms and standards established by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and relevant regional standards such as the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, can be used or developed to improve child safeguarding in organisational settings.