Social workers play a crucial role in child protection, often overlooked by the public. This blog emphasizes the positive impact of social workers who support families and advocate for children's welfare globally and calls for investment in preventative and responsive child protection services to ensure every child thrives ahead of the Ministerial Conference to End Violence Against Children.
When was the last time you read about a social worker in the news? I bet it was a while ago. Now an even harder question, when was the last time you read something positive about a social worker in the news?
Child protection features in the news when a child dies, not when a social worker helps parents to access the services and support they need to care for their children. When I tell people I'm a social worker, people either believe I am a saint, somehow volunteering all my time to make the world a better place; or a horrible person who comes and takes children away from their parents. Neither of these realities are true.
I am a professional with a unique technical skillset that is globally undervalued. I am a fierce advocate for children, but I equally want parents to thrive, and I know that there is no better protective environment for a young child than a safe and nurturing family. The social service workforce consists of government employees, civil society or community workers, who are based in schools, communities, hospitals, courts, and after-school centres.
Together with the National Council for Further Education (NCFE), one of the largest technical and vocational awarding organisations in the United Kingdom, Save the Children created COMPAQT, an international competency-based accreditation scheme which sets an industry standard of what it means to be a child protection professional, whether that be at a practice or policy level – or anywhere in between. (For a video case study on COMPAQT click here)
According to Amina Longok, a parasocial worker in Napak District, Uganda:
“In my community, I have been given a new name ‘the mother of children’ this is because, whenever there are child related issues in the community, they look for me for support. The district has also recognized me and assigned me the task of providing psychosocial support to children undergoing mandatory boarding school (for children returned from Kampala streets) in Lokodiokodoi Primary school as a social worker. This is due to the identification and training I received as a PSW [parasocial worker] for my village."
Currently running child protection programmes in 54 countries around the world, our staff and partners are incredible. They support governments to strengthen their laws and policies to end violence, they train social workers and paraprofessionals, run evidence-based parenting programmes, and establish safe places for children to learn and play - which allow them to be children again. We are not afraid to challenge social and gender norms which make children more at risk of violence and discrimination.
Arif speaks to, and plays with, Umut* as part of his mental health and psychosocial support in Türkiye.
Featured in the 2024 State of the Social Service Workforce Report, my colleague, Rendiansyah (Rendi) Dinata, with a Masters of Social Welfare, worked as a case worker before becoming a campaigns manager for Save the Children Indonesia (Learn more about Rendi here). Rendi says:
“I feel passionate about this work, [especially] when the government and policy makers develop policy and regulations, mobilize budgets or other resources, and develop programmes and activities for children to survive, learn and be protected.”
We work in humanitarian emergencies as much as we work in middle-income countries. Our teams reunite children who have been separated with their parents, some of whom have grown up and now assist others facing similar realities.
“When I arrived at the camp, I lived with 10 other unaccompanied children in the same shelter. Following the assessment done by caseworkers, Save the Children realized that it was risky for us to live alone, so they placed us in foster families. Because of Save the Children’s support to me, I am now volunteering with humanitarian organizations to provide my contribution to the community in the tracing and reunification of children separated from their parents due to the war.” Jean Claude Dusabamahoro, 22-year-old from Maham Refugee Camp, Rwanda.
As part of the INSPIRE Working Group, and hosted by Red por la Infancia, I was recently able to attend a National Senate briefing in Argentina where Judge Agustina Díaz Cordero, the Vice President of the Council of Judiciary said
“We don’t need any more laws named after children. We need a comprehensive bill to protect children.”
While Save the Children, UNICEF and many other agencies take a wide definition of child protection to include both prevention and response to violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect of children, many governments continue to define child protection much more narrowly – only focusing on responsive services once a child has been harmed.
In every country and every culture across the world, children are experiencing violence, and the consequences can be passed on from generation to generation. Breaking the cycle of violence means acting early and investing in integrated services and support before it’s too late.
Filsan*, 28. Volunteer, plays with children at the Child Friendly space, Bari region, Somalia. Mustafa Saeed / Save The Children
The cost-of-living crisis is real with governments all over the world having to do more with less, what often gets cut is prevention – services that don’t make headlines, but prevent headlines from happening: parenting programming, after school activities, mental health and psychosocial support, respite care - but what is the true cost of inaction?
One billion children experience violence, with an economic impact estimated at $7 trillion. The cost of juvenile justice, residential care, services for those in acute mental health crisis or battling addiction, are much more expensive than prevention. Just like in health care, the focus should not be on how to make surgeons cheaper, but rather on providing a continuity of services that ultimately reduce the number of children that need surgery.
According to Rurabo*, a 17-year-old mother in Mahama Refugee Camp in Rwanda, those results are tangible and long lasting. She said:
“When my parents learned that I was pregnant, they were angry and embarrassed. I was treated harshly because they said I misbehaved. Because of the caseworker’s counselling and psychosocial support, my parents have learned to accept my condition, and they treat me as their daughter once again. They are supporting me to raise my child and pursue my studies”
As we enter Social Service Workforce week, it is time to celebrate our diverse workforce, not because a child has died, but because they have worked to set children and families up to succeed, equipping them with confidence, skills, and support they need to reach their full potential. We cannot achieve any of the sustainable development goals without investing in child protection, and ultimately the workforce that makes child protection happen.
In the lead up to the Ministerial Conference to End Violence Against Children, Save the Children is calling on governments to invest in preventative and responsive child protection systems and services; to train, accredit and celebrate their diverse workforce; to meaningfully engage children and communities in decisions and actions to eliminate violence against children; and to enhance government data systems and use the data collected to improve planning, programming and policies.
In a world full of negative headlines, it’s important to take the time to recognise those that decrease the impact of those headlines on children and those that prevent the headlines from happening in the first place. To read more about some of our incredible people, please click here.
*Names changed to protect identity
