Child Protection
Save the Children is uniquely placed to deliver high-quality child protection programming due to long-standing relationships, technical expertise, and global best practice approaches in case management.
Our efforts strengthen child protection systems to help children access vital social services. Save the Children Kenya has made strides in Artificial Intelligence on child protection and other digital innovations such as Maoni Mtaani - a community-based child abuse reporting platform. Data from reported cases is also used to analyse trends and make decisions on interventions.
Save the Children co-leads the National Child Protection Cluster alongside UNICEF and offers technical support to the Child Protection in Emergency technical working group on conducting child protection assessments and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS). During humanitarian crisis, we also provide leadership and coordination for all child protection actors involved in response. Our programming focuses on protecting children from violence, reunifying unaccompanied and separated children with their families, preventing, and addressing gender-based violence, and safeguarding children from sexual exploitation and abuse.
OUR APPROACH
Save the Children focuses on children at heightened risk, including unaccompanied and separated minors, children with disabilities, refugees, girls who are forced into child marriages, or young boys and girls who are forced into dangerous working conditions. To protect these vulnerable children, Save the Children adopts a child-centered social ecological model approach as follows:
• At the child level, working through and with partners, we provide specialised services for children including case management, psychosocial support, resilience building, and alternative care arrangements for unaccompanied and separated children. We also ensure that children with disability are deliberately targeted to receive protection services and assistive aids to facilitate their retention in school. Adolescent girls are also supported with re-enrolment in school, life skills, and others are linked to vocational training centres and later supported with seed capital for business.
• At the family level, we train parents on positive parenting, promote positive social norms to shift mindsets, particularly on gender-based violence, and support foster parents on the provision of alternative care for unaccompanied and separated children.
• At the community level, we work with community networks, groups, and gatekeepers to strengthen community-based child protection mechanisms. For example, working with Child Welfare Committees to report child abuse cases and working with religious leaders to change harmful social norms.
• At the Government and partners level, we build the capacity of Government and partner stakeholders to enhance reporting and referral mechanisms and enhance the capacity of social service workforce. We also support the Ministry in updating guidelines and policies to strengthen the national child protection system. For example, we supported the development of the National Positive Parenting Manual and guidelines which we launched and rolled out in June 2024.
