Leading child protection and safeguarding charity Safeguarding Children is announcing Child Safeguarding Week 2022 from 4-10 September.

The theme of Child Safeguarding Week 2022 is “How Safe?”. It is a call to action empowering all of us to play our part in protecting children from abuse. We will be shining a light on the safety and wellbeing of children and young people in the places they go. So, the question to ask of all organisations that provide services for children is, “How safe are my/our children when they’re with you?”.

Safeguarding Children is a registered charity and a leading provider of safeguarding and child protection education and guidance in New Zealand.

With its vision that the children and young people of Aotearoa New Zealand are safe from abuse and neglect, Safeguarding Children works with a wide range of public and private organisations and businesses to create a child-safe culture. Safeguarding Children work across every sector, including government agencies and ministries, NGO’s and any organisation that provides services for children.

To date, the organisation has delivered child protection training to over 33,000 New Zealanders, teaching them how to recognise and respond to child abuse and neglect and helping to build child safeguarding, child protection and child wellbeing into their core values and culture.

Willow Duffy, Safeguarding Children CEO, says that Child Safeguarding Week is an opportunity for people around New Zealand to focus on the safety of children and young people in Aotearoa. “Almost weekly, I read about people in positions of trust abusing children or failing to protect them. Unfortunately, I only have to listen to the testimonies of the survivors of abuse in institutions to know that the people we trust with our children do not always have their best interest at heart.”

“We have made some progress for our country’s children, but the voices of victims and survivors of abuse within organisations tell us there is so much more to do,” said Willow.

New Zealand ranks 35th out of 41 developed countries for child wellbeing outcomes and has the seventh-highest rate of child homicide in the OECD (UNICEF). In the year to June 2020, the Salvation Army recorded 7,298 violent offences against children under the age of 15.

Children and young people thrive when they grow up safe, connected and supported by their families, but what happens when you are not with them? The trust we put in the places and people who work or volunteer with our children depends on our belief they are doing all they can to keep our children safe. But are they? Are the places your children go doing all they can to reduce the risk of abuse?

Questions to ask organisations about your child's safety

• Are your staff & volunteers police vetted and safety checked?
• Do you have a child protection policy?
• Do you have a Code of Conduct for your staff and volunteers?
• Do you get children’s input about their safety?
• How do parents and children make a complaint about a staff member or volunteer?
• Are your staff and volunteers trained in child protection and safeguarding?

Willow will be using the week as an opportunity to speak publicly about child safeguarding through the media and online and to advocate for changes to the Children’s Act 2014 that strengthen its legislative powers to safeguard and protect children.

“The Children’s Act 2014 falls very short when it comes to providing a robust legislative framework for child safety. There are no consequences for those who do not comply with the Children’s Act. Even if you have a child protection policy in place, there is no compulsory quality auditing, so it can become a box-ticking exercise. Children deserve better than this.”

We will be putting out a call to action by encouraging people to sign our petition to demand changes to The Children’s Act 2014 to ensure your children are safe in the places they go.

Link to the petition:

https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/petitions/document/PET_115624/petition-of-safeguarding-children-amend-the-children-s

Child Safeguarding Week 2022 will be launched through the Child Safeguarding Week website, Facebook and Instagram pages.

http://www.childsafeguardingweek.org.nz/

There will be downloadable resources on the website, social media competitions and activities.

#childsafeguardingweek2022

#safeguardingchildrenworks

#childsafeguardingweek

#howsafe?

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