The right to a safe and happy childhood

November 20, 2019
November 20, 2019

Reading Time: 2 minutes

BRAC’s ‘safeguarding for all’ approach is integrated throughout our programmes. With the right initiatives, we can make a difference for children – and help them get the childhood they deserve.

One billion children experience some form of emotional, physical or sexual violence every year, according to United Nations. One child dies from violence every five minutes. Even if we cannot expect these numbers to go down overnight – let alone disappear altogether – we can still make a difference with the right initiatives.

BRAC’s founder, Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, is a staunch advocate of children’s rights and believes that all children deserve a fair chance in life – to grow, and to live. Children undergo positive emotional and social development when their rights are protected.

BRAC’s ‘safeguarding for all’ approach is integrated throughout our programmes. There are guidelines to ensure our stakeholders, partners, donors, employees and volunteers are protected from all forms of misconduct or harassment, and gradually, these guidelines took shape into an overarching safeguarding policy. The child and adolescent protection policy was annexed to it to specifically delineate guidelines intended to preserve the rights of children who participate in our initiatives.

We provide safe environments for children where they are supervised and are always under the care of our female staff – from our schools, community empowerment activities, health centres to the child-friendly spaces at the Rohingya camps.

In the rural communities where we work, we ensure that children can access toilets and tubewells safely. Thus, we set these facilities within household premises so that children do not have to travel too far and remain within safe proximity of their families.

To ensure that children have access to proper care and nurturing during their early years, we have daycare facilities available within the premises of many of our offices and centres.

We believe it is crucial to recognise the fundamental human dignity of all children. Our safeguarding policy is just one of the many ways in which we ensure that children get the childhood they deserve.

 

Rifat Islam Esha is Deputy Manager, Communications, BRAC. Marcia Amin is Communications Executive, Communication, BRAC.

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