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conclusion
“The only thing necessary for the
triumph of evil is for good [people]
to do nothing.”
– Edmund Burke (British political philosopher) 1
If this study has one underpinning message, it
is that all members and levels of society have
important roles to play in child protection,
but we must act on them. This study has
described examples of children, families,
communities, local government and law
enforcement bodies, civil society groups, NGOs
and International Organisations and funding
partners promoting the right of children to be
protected from exploitation, abuse and neglect.
We must avoid an incomplete commitment
that extends only to principle, not practice.
When we know of the suffering that
accompanies abuse, we cannot shut our eyes,
or block our ears. A course of calculated action
is needed even when that involves “speaking
truth to power”. 2
Building will for change
Approaches that build political will, challenge
negative community attitudes or demonstrate
alternatives are to be encouraged. It is
important to base child protection efforts on a
country’s commitment to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child (CRC). Expressed simply: if
the will is there, action can follow.
Complicating factors such as conflict, poverty,
discrimination and access have been highlighted
in this report as barriers, but models to reduce
their effects have been developed and in many
cases have demonstrated impact. Barriers
experienced have also created opportunities for
research that has led to better understanding of
the dimensions of problems and more effective
advocacy and initiatives for change.
It is said that “the price of liberty is eternal
vigilance”. The freedom of children from
exploitation, abuse and neglect demands our
best efforts to review, research and respond, to
both current and new or emerging issues.
Building capacity for change
Actions and interventions at many levels can
make a difference for children if they are
designed with this as a consideration.
Inclusion of priorities for children is needed
as much in large-scale structural adjustment
programs authored by international financial
organisations as in local community
development efforts. Commitment to child
protection must be built into planning, human
resource development, and action, to ensure
rhetoric becomes reality.
To link the “micro”, “meso” and “macro”
aspects of child protection, promotion of
change at different levels is needed. In most
contexts, the mechanisms that already exist
to respond to issues of child protection do
not work as well as they could or should.
Each of the countries covered by the study
has structures that do or could promote child
protection at national level; these structures
offer opportunities for input and in many
cases can be used or supported more than
they currently are.
Approaches to child protection need to
start with the family, which is or should be
the point of primary support for the child.
The community – local environments and
wider relationships that form a backdrop for
the growing child – also need to be engaged
to play a more supportive role in child
protection. Government agencies and
institutions can become increasingly childfriendly,
such as an education system
incorporating the CRC into staff training and
the general curriculum.
1
2
Quoted in Amnesty International, Campaigning Manual, 1997
“Speak truth to power” was a challenge given to Friends (Quakers) in the 18th century, and became a resounding call during the 1950s civil rights
movement in the USA.
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