Imagine sending your child to school, a sports club, or a place of worship believing they are safe – only to discover that those institutions have failed to protect them. Tragically, this is the reality for many children.

While abuse often occurs within families, it also happens in settings that should provide protection. Last year, for example, Australia faced national outrage following revelations of child sexual abuse in multiple childcare centres, prompting renewed scrutiny of regulatory oversight and staff vetting.

Across the world, numerous inquiries have exposed systemic failures – from ignoring warning signs to active cover-ups. They show that abuse is rarely the work of one ‘bad apple’ but occurs when organisational cultures and systems allow it to continue.

This is why the concept of ‘child safeguarding’ has become so crucial.

What is 'child safeguarding'?

Child safeguarding refers to proactive steps organisations take to keep children safe from abuse. It requires organisations to:

• identify and reduce risks before harm occurs;
• respond appropriately to concerns; and
• report suspected abuse to the relevant authorities.

Child safeguarding may be understood as a subset of child protection. Child protection is the broader system – social workers, police, courts, laws, and community services – that prevent and respond to child abuse and neglect. Safeguarding focuses on creating safe organisational environments.

The duty of governments to protect children from harm

International law provides a strong framework for child safeguarding. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child require governments to protect children from harm in all settings, including those run by non-state entities such as NGOs, religious groups, and businesses.

Although international human rights law focuses on states, governments also have a duty to ensure that non-state entities respect human rights. This means that governments must set and enforce standards for organisations working with children, monitor compliance, and investigate and respond when a child is at risk or experiences harm.

A clear example comes from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s inquiry into child abuse in residential care institutions in Chile. Although many centres were run by NGOs or unregistered entities, the Committee held the government responsible for rights violations across the entire system. States cannot delegate responsibility for children’s rights.

Organisations should take several key steps to fulfil their responsibility to respect children’s rights. These include adopting policies outlining commitments to child safety, how they will create safe environments, and how they will address safety concerns, including reporting suspected abuse. They also include screening staff and volunteers and barring people with known abuse histories from child-facing roles. Organisations should provide regular training so that personnel understand relevant policies and standards and are equipped to foster safe and positive environments for children in their care. They must also establish accessible ways for children to report concerns and ensure timely and child-centred responses.

The barriers we still face

Despite growing awareness, several structural challenges continue to weaken child safeguarding in practice.

• The ‘tick-box’ problem: Some organisations adopt policies for compliance but fail to enforce them or cultivate a culture prioritising children’s rights.
• Misunderstanding the nature of sexual abuse: While one-off incidents by strangers do occur, abuse is often far more calculated. Perpetrators groom children, families, and even organisations to gain trust and lower the chances that a child will speak out – or be believed.
• Gaps in legislative and regulatory frameworks: Some countries have child safeguarding laws, while others regulate only certain sectors or lack standards entirely. Mandatory reporting laws can help break the ‘culture of silence’ around abuse, including organisational cover-ups, but these also vary widely across jurisdictions, creating inconsistencies and gaps.
• Weak child protection systems: Even when organisations report concerns, children may remain at risk if police, courts, or social services lack capacity or resources. This makes child safeguarding particularly challenging in countries affected by conflict or disaster.

Moving towards long-term, meaningful change

Efforts to advance child safeguarding have historically been reactive, often driven by scandals. To foster a stronger, more consistent global approachsafeguarding , child safeguarding should be recognied as a legal obligation grounded in international children’s rights law. This offers an opportunity to move from reactive to proactive measures that are monitored over time. Linked to this, human rights treaty bodies can play a critical role, setting standards, monitoring state compliance, and providing authoritative guidance.

While child safeguarding necessarily focuses on organisational change, there is a need for continued investment in strong child protection systems that reach children at risk and respond effectively to concerns. Without this, even the best organisational policies and reporting mechanisms will fail to protect children in practice.

Finally, the next generation of responses must place children’s rights and voices at the centre of safeguarding practice. Child safeguarding requires a fundamental shift in how we value and respond to children’s voices and rights. The goal is not just to prevent harm, but to build environments where children feel safe, respected, and empowered.

The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of any organisation.