In a blog post for REJUVENATE I highlighted the need to address safeguarding for youth activism. Over the past year Children Unite has started to address this gap. We have been commissioned by the Global Fund for Women, UN Women and, most recently, Oak Foundation, to explore safeguarding and protection of child and youth activists who are advocating for their rights.
This has resulted in approaches to safeguarding that are co-created with children and young people. For those with lived experience of sexual violence (survivors) we have called this approach 'survivor-informed safeguarding' which is informed by trauma theory (trauma-informed) and by survivors themselves. This will result in advocacy with survivors that is safe (recognising but managing the risks involved for survivors), that incorporates self-care practices, and that is empowering - contributing to the healing process for survivors.
