In a nutshell
Communities are often at the front line of children's protection, so it is appropriate for them to take non-formal steps to protect children.
For example, community members might help lost children to find their way, rescue children who are at risk of getting swept away by a flood, or encourage children who have dropped out of school to continue their education.
However, communities are often poorly equipped to deal with criminal cases, such as the rape of a child by a stranger. In these cases, they need the support of authorities. In general, government services can help to support children in communities and complement community action.
Community members may also know that the law prohibits certain practices, such as child marriage, but they may continue the practice because it fits with the community norms and system. Such a misalignment between community systems and national laws can enable violations of children's rights.
For these and other reasons, NGOs facilitating a community-led approach should help link communities with the wider child protection system. A simple step is to ask communities who might be able to help them to achieve their self-selected goals in reducing harms to children.
The ensuing discussions frequently identify district or provincial government actors as potentially helpful, thereby opening the door to dialogue and problem solving with those formal systems.
Go Deeper:
How ordinary people and communities help to protect children
We often think of “child protection” as being a formal process involving police or social workers. But in reality, families and communities are usually the ones to deal with threats to a child’s safety—24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The role of mentors in establishing formal links and collaboration
Mentors are a critical part of a community-led process. Mentors are more experienced practitioners who offer support to the facilitator, particularly by helping to broker relationships between communities and formal service providers.
Formal linkages as a criterion for community action
An important part of the planning process is to help the community set criteria for any action to be taken. This is the moment when questions of sustainability and formal linkages can be introduced.
The sustainability question
For a community-led action to be sustainable, links with formal child protection services and government departments are valuable. But other aspects of the process also help to ensure sustainability.
Brokering work between government and communities
There are a number of practical ways that we can help communities collaborate with government child protection services. This includes facilitating a process of dialogue which may culminate in an agreement between the parties.
