CHILD PROTECTION

Supplement
 Acknowledgements

History of the Curriculum

The present publication represents a series of additional resources that can be used as
complementary to the other Aflatoun International materials. This resource has been
built based on a consultation with partners.
All resources have gone through a process involving partners and stakeholders with
expertise in pedagogy and curriculum development as well as thematic technical
expertise in the focus areas.
© 2018 Child Protection Thematic Supplement
This project has been funded by Fondation Botnar and Vitol Foundation

Content Development: Ana Rodrigues

Editing and Proofreading: Gabriela Gutiérrez Gómez, Theresa Salzer, Tian Butler
Layout and Illustrations: Lisbel Gavara
Special Thanks to the members of the advisory group:
Charles (NECY), Fanjaharivola Rakotomaharo (APIMF), Gertrudes Noronha
(Wona Sanana), Ghada Rifai (Mobaderoon), Ibrahima Ba (EDEN-Oceanium),
Lasalette Gumban (NATCCO Philippines), Liliana Rotaru (Children, Communities
and Families Moldova), Ljiljana Vasic (Pomoc Deci), Marcela Gonzalez (Paniamor),
Mariana Zarate (Vision Solidaria/Viva Peru), Nazan Mustafa (SOS Kosovo), Olaf
Erz (Save the Children Ethiopia), Patricia Betancourt (ChildFund Honduras),
Roger Kaffo Fokou (SNAES), Subrat Nayak (MelJol), Zamaradi Said (Room to Read)
Additional Support and Input:
Iwanna Swart, Simon Bailey and Michelle Tjeenk Willink

This work may be reproduced and redistributed, in whole or in part, without alteration
and without prior written permission, solely by partner organisations for non-profit
administrative or educational purposes providing all copies contain the following
statement: Copyright © 2018, Aflatoun International. This work is reproduced
and distributed with the permission of Aflatoun International. No other use is
permitted without the express prior written permission of Aflatoun International.
For permission, contact info@aflatoun.org
2
Table of contents

Acknowledgements..................................1

The Child Protection Supplement........ 4

PART 1: Activities PART 3: Activities with Families

1. RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 1. OUR SESSION

Start: What are rights?.....................................9 Start.................................................................... 42
Learn: Always hand in hand............................9 Learn.................................................................. 42
Reflect: What did we Learn?.........................16 Reflect............................................................... 42

2. DO I FEEL SAFE? 2. OUR CHILDREN

Start: Sharks and fish.....................................19 Start.................................................................... 44
Learn: Where do I feel safe?........................ 20 Learn.................................................................. 44
Reflect: What can we do?.............................21 Reflect............................................................... 44

3. WHOM CAN I TRUST? 3. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR

Start: Tic-Tac-Toe.......................................... 25 PROTECTING OUR CHILDREN?
Learn: Talking about it................................... 26 Start.................................................................... 49
Reflect: Where do we go?............................27 Learn.................................................................. 49
Reflect................................................................51

4. WHAT SHOULD I DO?

Start: Our personal space............................31
Learn: What to do?......................................... 32
Reflect: Is this violence and abuse?........... 34

PART 2: Activities for Families

Implemented by children

1. RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES...........37

2. WHERE DO I FEEL SAFE?......................... 38

3. WHAT DO WE DO?.................................... 39

3
 THE CHILD PROTECTION SUPPLEMENT

Welcome!
Welcome to the Child Protection Thematic Supplement. This supplement was created in response to the
Aflatoun International’s network demand for specific material that focuses on child protection. This material
is based on the vision that children and their communities have important roles in fulfilling child rights, more
importantly, protection rights. Children are at the core of our work, and we need to ensure they can develop
and thrive in a safe environment. This mission involves both children and families, hence the reason for
having activities geared towards children and their families. This supplement aims to lay out basic strategies
for children and their families to cope with potential situations of child abuse.
We hope that this curriculum takes you on a journey that you find stimulating and rewarding.

Background
According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child1, all children have the right to be cared for and
protected. Thus everyone that has contact with children has the responsibility of keeping them safe. Children
also have the right to participate in issues that are related to their wellbeing and play a role in keeping
themselves safe.

“State Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and
educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental
violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or
exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s)
or any other person who has the care of the child.”

Article 19.1 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

This supplement hopes to contribute to the basic understanding of child protection. Additionally, it proposes
basic activities for adults and children to become aware of the importance of protecting children’s rights. To
do so in an effective way, the child protection supplement was designed not only focusing on the content
related to child protection but also considering the 21st century competencies that fall under the four pillars
of learning2. In the case of child protection, the prominent competencies to be developed are:
• Social and cross-cultural skills – “Good social and cross-cultural skills are crucial to successful
functioning both in school and life. These skills allow individuals to interact effectively with others.”3
• Personal responsibility, self-regulation and initiative – “The high level of interaction and teamwork
expected in the twenty-first-century workplace has heightened the importance of personal qualities
among learners. The ability to self-govern is at the heart of twenty-first-century learning.”4
• Seek and value diversity – “It involves respecting and valuing the concerns of people and cultures
different from their own and acquiring the social and cross-cultural skills to seek out the views of
others” (Barrett et al., 2014). It also involves building awareness of and appreciation for differences
among individuals and communities (Pink, 2005).”5

1 United Nations, Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 

2 http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/networks/global-networks/aspnet/about-us/strategy/the-four-pillars-of-learning/
- Please refer to the introductory section of the supplements package for more details.
3 UNESCO 2015, Cynthia Luna Scott , The Futures of Learning 2: What kind of learning for the 21st century? – p.6
4 Ibid, p.6
5 Ibid, p.7

4
 • Intercultural competence – “The ability to understand and communicate with each other across
cultural barriers is a fundamental prerequisite for making societies work. All learners need to acquire
intercultural competence. For this reason, intercultural education, which aims to develop and enhance
this ability, can make an essential contribution to peaceful co-existence and inclusive learning” (Barrett
et al., 2014).” 6

What is Child Protection?

According to UNICEF, the term child protection refers to “preventing and responding to violence, exploitation
and abuse against children – including commercial sexual exploitation, trafficking, child labour and harmful
traditional practices, such as female genital mutilation/cutting and child marriage.”7 While most organisations
focus on protecting the rights of certain groups of children that are more affected such as children that live
without parental care, children in conflict with the law, in armed conflict or children with disabilities, every
child can be affected by the violation of the protection of their rights.
To have an effective child protection system in place, certain components are fundamental8:

1. Child Protection laws and policies, compliant with the CRC and other international standards and
good practice
2. Meaningful coordination across government and between sectors at different levels
3. Knowledge and data on child protection issues and good practices
4. Effective regulation, minimum standards, and oversight
5. Preventive and responsive services
6. A skilled child protection workforce
7. Adequate funding
8. Children’s voices and participation
9. An aware and supportive public

Aflatoun International hopes to contribute to the prevention of the violation of child protection and, at the
same time give the opportunity to children to have a voice and participate. This is done through activities
that help children understand the instances when their protection may be in jeopardy, as well as, analyse the
possible support options they may refer to if needed.

Session Structure
The sessions, lasting between 45-6o minutes, will consist of you taking the participants through a variety of
tasks that generally involve the participants in discussions or activities. There is no place in this programme
for lecturing. Sessions will involve interactive learning methods and will require the participants to engage
in an inclusive manner. At the end of each session, participants will reflect on the key messages of that day’s
learnings and/or prepare for the week ahead, building up on the topics of each session.
For easy use, in both formal and non-formal education settings, each topic contains activities for different
age ranges. Throughout this supplement the facilitator will find the stage number clearly marked at the
beginning of the session. In addition to the standard sessions for children, this supplement includes some
activities to be conducted by children or the facilitator.

6-9 years old 12-13 to 14-15 years old all stages

9-12 years old 15 years old and above

6 Ibid, p.8
7 Save the Children, A ‘rough guide’ to child protection systems, p.7, 2009
8 Ibid.

5
6
1.RIGHTS AND
RESPONSIBILITIES 9
Note:This activity is ideally done after children have done activities about Core Element Two of the
Aflatoun programme. The activities can also be done without this background knowledge but will
require the facilitator to provide more information that can be found in the manuals of Aflatoun and
Aflateeen – core element two.

LEARNING COMPETENCES
• To know: Reading or language
• To do: Critical thinking, Problem-solving, Communication and collaboration
• To be: Personal responsibility, self-regulation and initiative
• To live together: Seeks and value diversity, Teamwork and interconnectedness,
Global competence

OVERALL OUTCOME
To understand that every right is connected to a responsibility

SESSION OBJECTIVES
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
1. To distinguish rights from responsibilities
2. To understand the connection between rights and responsibilities
3. To list the different roles of people regarding rights and responsibilities

MATERIALS
• Activity cards for children (printed and cut out) – check the cards for each stage. The images can
also be drawn by the facilitator or by the children
• Flipchart paper or blackboard with KWL chart
• Pens or pencils

METHODOLOGY
• Start: KWL Chart, group discussion
• Learn: Small group work based on activity cards, group discussion
• Reflect: KWL Chart, group discussion

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
KWL Chart, group discussion

9 Activity developed with base on the UNICEF’s Rights and Responsibilities leaflet

7
 DURATION
30 minutes

40 minutes

KEY WORDS
Rights, responsibilities, children, government, adults

INFORMATION FOR THE FACILITATOR

• You will need to prepare the KWL chart and print and cut all the needed activity cards in this
session. If printing is not possible, the facilitator may write the cases presented and draw the
images.
• To become familiarised with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, please see :
https://unicef.org/rightsite/files/rights_leaflet.pdf.

8
START: What are rights?

10 m

(Please adapt the level of difficulty according to the background of children and age range)

1. Stand near a KWL chart (table with three columns where the heading will say: what I already
know, what I want to learn, and at what I learned,as shown below)

2. You will start the session by asking the group what they already know about Rights of the Child.
If they already know, you can try to elicit some of the rights they know and make sure there are
examples of rights related to child protection, for example that children have the right to be
properly cared for, and protected from violence, abuse and neglect by their parents, or anyone
else who looks after them. Ask children if they know what it is to be safe. Allow them some
minutes to answer and say that it is to be Protected! Someone is safe when they are not in
dangerous situations, and when they are not in situations where they can get hurt or harmed.

3. Continue the discussion with the question: what do you want to learn? Make sure you list down
all the answers. Tell the group that you may be able to cover some of these aspects during the
activities, but some may need to be arranged in another time.

4. Leave the last column of ‘what I learned’ for the end of the session.

KWL Chart

What I already Know What I Want to learn What I Learned

LEARN: Always hand in hand

10 m

1. Tell children that they will play a game. Divide the group into smaller groups of four children.

2. Explain that you will distribute several cards with pictures. They will have to lay them on the table
or floor with the images facing up, and they need to make pairs. For example, a pair can be a
drawing of a football and a drawing of a goalkeeper. This pair symbolises that the football should
be caught by the goalkeeper. There must always be a connection between both cards.

3. Distribute the cards already shuffled and ask each group to make pairs according to the example
given. Give the groups a couple of minutes to do this.

9
 4. After groups are done, show them the correct pairing. After doing this relate the logic of
pairing two related images to Rights and Responsibilities. Say that for every right there is a
corresponding responsibility. For example, if children have a right to be protected from conflict,
cruelty, exploitation and neglect, then they also have a responsibility not to bully or harm
each other.

5. Mention some rights based on the facilitator information and ask children to give examples
of responsibilities. For example, the right to education (possible answers from children:
responsibility to study, to share knowledge)

CARDS FOR CHILDREN

Books Bills

Instrument Rooster

School Coins

Music Chicken

10
 10 m

1. Remind the group that every child has the right to be protected, to study, to have access to
health services and other basic needs satisfied. This does not always happen, but adults around
them should do everything they can to make sure the rights of children are provided.

2. Ask if they know what responsibilities are. After children give their feedback, try to put their
words together into a definition of responsibility, for example a responsibility is something you
should do (or a duty) such as treating others with respect, or doing your homework.

3. Do a quick brainstorm of examples of responsibilities. Ask children to mention some examples

(possible answer: I have the responsibility of helping to clean my house). After the brainstorm,
explain that for every right there is a responsibility. The same way that for the savings box we
should have coins; for the right to education, children have the responsibility to study, do their
homework, etc.

4. Tell them that you will distribute cards with a right written on it. They will also receive the
same image but with nothing written on it, where they will have to write an example of a
corresponding responsibility. They can also illustrate the responsibility if time allows. If children
have difficulty in finding matching responsibilities you can help them. Please find some examples
below:
• Right to education – responsibility to attend class, responsibility to do homework
• Right to be protected – responsibility to tell your family your whereabouts, responsibility not
to talk to strangers
• Right to a clean environment – responsibility to recycle, responsibility to not throw garbage
into nature
• Right to relax and play – responsibility to play without hurting your friends, responsibility to
play without damaging the games equipment.
5. Give children time to finish and ask children to share what they created.

11
 CARDS FOR CHILDREN

Right to Right to
EDUCATION EDUCATION

Right to be Right to be
PROTECTED PROTECTED

Right to Right to
A CLEAN A CLEAN
ENVIRONMENT ENVIRONMENT

12
 Right to Right to
RELAX AND RELAX AND
PLAY PLAY

Empty hand for children to write the responsibilities

13
 20 m

1. Remind the group that every child has the right to be protected, to study, to have access to
health services and other basic needs satisfied. This does not always happen, but adults around
them should do everything they can to make sure the rights of children are provided.

2. Ask if they know what responsibilities are and ask them to share examples (possible answer: I
have the responsibility of helping to clean my house). After children explain what a responsibility
is, explain that for every right there is a responsibility. The same way that for the night there is the
day, for the right to education, children have the responsibility to study, do their homework, etc.

3. Divide the group into small groups. Tell everyone that you will distribute one card per group with
a responsibility written on it. You will then read a situation, and they have to shout if the card
they received is the responsibility related to that situation.

4. Read the situations out loud. If the group with the correct responsibility doesn’t shout, give some
chances for new tries from other groups. If no group shouts the correct responsibility, make sure
you mention it before moving to the next situation.

Situation cards Right and responsibility

for the facilitator cards for children

Nina started 7th grade. After the first day 1. Right to education: responsibility to
of class, the teacher asked the students to complete the needed tasks that help to learn,
do homework. for example, doing the homework.

Malek’s father asks him to always tell him
where he is going. He enjoys when Malek plays
at his friends’ place, but he wants to know
where he is.
2. Right to protection: responsibility to tell your
family your whereabouts so that they can help
you if you are in trouble.

Nura always enjoys trying different foods, but

she always forgets to wash her hands before 3. Right to health care: responsibility to
eating. She got a bad stomach virus and maintain hygiene, like for example washing
needed to go to the hospital. Fortunately, she your hands before every meal.
recovered very quickly!

Juan enjoys using online social networks.
He learned how to work in a program that
changes pictures, and he adds funny icons, but
his friends don’t really like when he does this.
Juan’s friends think that he is bullying them.
4. Right to relax and play: responsibility to
respect others and not to bully them when you
are doing relaxing activities, such as navigating
in social networks.

John enjoys following the news on social

media, but he doesn’t pay attention to whom 5. Right to reliable information from the
is giving the news or he doesn’t read the mass media: responsibility to share reliable
whole content. Sometimes he starts spreading information with others.
information that is not true.

Sarah lives in a neighbourhood with people 6. Right to freedom of thought, conscience

from many different places. Her neighbours and religion: responsibility to respect other’s
enjoy cooking different food and follow
thoughts or religious principles.
different religions.

Fatima always passes a place with a lot of

beggars. She dislikes them because they
come from another country and she doesn’t 7. Right to full life: responsibility to lend
help to the most disadvantaged and victims
understand what they say. She also thinks that
of discrimination.
her friends shouldn’t be volunteering to help
these families.

14
 20 m

1. Follow steps 1 to 4 from stage 3.

2. After going through all the stories, ask the participants to write on the back of the card, what the
responsibilities of adults are. Ask them if families or government have the same responsibilities as
children and ask them to write it down on the back of the card.

3. Ask each group to share what they came up with and leave the cards available if children want to
look at them later.

Possible answers
for responsibilities of adults or government

Governments have the responsibility of providing free education and facilities,

and families have the responsibility of allowing children to attend school.

Governments must ensure that children are properly cared for, and protect
them from violence, abuse and neglect by their parents, or anyone else who
looks after them. Families have the responsibility to protect their children
from any harmful situations.

Governments have the responsibility of providing good quality health care to

every child, clean water, nutritious food, and a clean environment. Families
have the responsibility of providing these to the best of their abilities.

Governments must create places where children can enjoy leisure time, like
parks. Families have to make sure children have time to play and relax besides
going to school.

Adults responsible for television, radio,

and newspapers should provide information that children can understand and
should not promote materials that could harm them.

Governments should provide the same conditions and rights to all children,
no matter where they come from, their race, religion or abilities.

Governments must ensure that children survive and develop healthily.

Governments should make sure that children are reunited with their families
and should protect them from huma trafficking.

15
 REFLECT: What did we learn?

10 m

(please adapt the level of difficulty according to the background of children and age range)

1. Stand near a KWL chart that was used at the beginning of the session. Ask children to read
quickly what they have shared previously regarding the first two columns (what I already know,
and what I would like to learn).

2. Focus on the third column, ‘what I learned’ and ask what the children learned with this session.

EXTRA ASSESSMENT OF ALL STAGES

The start and reflect parts provide an opportunity to do a formative assessment with the groups.
Through the input the group gives to the different columns of the KWL chart, you will understand
the level of knowledge of the participants. If their knowledge and skills need to be consolidated,
you can always find additional activities for the things they mentioned they would like to learn and
weren’t addressed in this session.

16
2.DO I FEEL SAFE?
LEARNING COMPETENCES
• To know: Language
• To do: Critical thinking, Communication and collaboration
• To be: Social and Cross-cultural skills, Personal responsibility, Self-regulation and initiative
• To live together: Teamwork and interconnectedness, Intercultural competence

OVERALL OUTCOME
To reflect on the places where they feel safe

SESSION OBJECTIVES
By the end of the session, participants will be able:
1. To list places where they feel safe
2. To explain what they can do when they feel unsafe
3. To understand what can be done to help others feel safe

MATERIALS
• Tape or chalk
• Paper (one per participant)
• Pens or pencils
• Flip chart and markers for small group work

METHODOLOGY
• Start: Active group game
• Learn: Drawing, group discussion, brainstorming
• Reflect: Group discussion

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Group discussion with open questions

DURATION
40 minutes

50 minutes

17
 KEY WORDS
Safe places

INFORMATION FOR THE FACILITATOR

• Make sure you have all needed materials. If paper and pens are not available, you may need to do
this based on what children imagine without using drawing as a strategy.
• Please check if the group has dealt with major traumatic experiences. This activity is not meant to
bring back victimising memories, and this should be taken into consideration when planning the
activity. If needed, ask the support of a child protection specialist or adapt the activity.

18
 START: Sharks and fish

10 m

1. Find an ample space to play a game with your group. If you don’t have enough space, you may
want to limit the way children will play. Find some suggestions in the next steps.

2. Create a middle area (circle or square) with tape, or by drawing it on the ground with chalk. This
will be where the sharks are. All the space around is where the fish will be.

3. Explain the rules of the game:

• Two volunteers will be the sharks, and the remaining children are the fish.
• The sharks need to eat. You will shout ‘eating time’, and the fish need to move around,
including crossing the middle area where the sharks are – the fish cannot stay in the safe
zone!
• Once the fish start moving, the sharks will try to catch them. All the fish that got caught
wait outside the game area.
• You will shout ‘the sharks are full’ and the fish can stop running. All the children that got
tagged become sharks and join the middle area.
• Do another round of ‘eating time’ and continue the same steps until all fish are caught and
become sharks.
• NOTE: If you don’t have enough space, you can ask them to hop, or do it in small jumps to
avoid running around. If you have children that are not able to move due to disability, they
can monitor who gets caught by the sharks.
4. After playing the game, ask the children how they felt when they played the game. Ask them how
it felt to run into the sharks’ area, and how did they feel when they would reach the safe area.

Example of the game area:

FISH

SHARKS

19
 LEARN: Where do I feel safe?

20 m

1. Just like in the game we played, there are areas that make us feel safe. Give paper and pens to
all participants and ask them to draw a place where they feel safe, happy and comfortable. If
the concept of safety is not clear yet, remind them for the earlier discussion about what it is to
be safe. Someone is safe when they are not in dangerous situations, and when they are not in
situations where they can get hurt or harmed.

2. After giving some time to finalise ask if someone would like to share. They are not obliged to
share with others. If some children are willing to do this, ask them to show and explain it in small
groups.

3. Reconvene the big group and ask them why do these places make them feel safe (possible
answers: because there are people there that take good care of me, because there are nice
activities to do there, etc.)

4. Ask children to think for themselves if they have ever felt unsafe and what did they do (possible
answers: I spoke with my parents or my sibling, I went to a place I knew was safe, I couldn’t do
anything and was afraid). As children share, write down their answers on a flipchart/blackboard.

5. Using their list, remind children that there are many options of things they can do when they feel
unsafe. Nobody should make them feel unsafe, and if that happens they should look for help.
Reassure them that you will discuss this further in other sessions.

30 m

1. Ask each participant to think of a place where they feel safe. If the concept of safety is not clear
yet, remind them for the earlier discussion about what it is to be safe. Someone is safe when
they are not in dangerous situations, and when they are not in situations where they can get hurt
or harmed.

2. Form groups of 5 or 6 and ask them to describe, if they’d like, the place they thought of.

3. Distribute a flipchart and markers and ask the group to draw the safe places they thought of. It
can be their houses, or their sports club, in a local shop, in a park, anywhere. They can draw it
according to reality, as if it were a map of safe places.

4. After they are done with drawing the safe places map, ask them to discuss what they would do if
they feel unsafe. They can list their ideas on the backside of the flipchart.

5. Reconvene the group and ask them to present their ideas of a safe places map, and what to do
when they feel unsafe.

6. Conclude this part of the activity by reminding the participants that there are many options of
things they can do when they feel unsafe. Nobody should make them feel unsafe, and if that
happens they should look for help. Reassure them that you will still discuss more on this in
other sessions.

20
 REFLECT: What can we do?

10 m

(Please adapt the level of difficulty according to the background of children and age range)

1. Remind the group that they have discussed responsibilities towards themselves and others.
2. Ask them what they think they can do to support others in feeling safe (possible answers: help
someone in trouble if I feel I have the capacity to do so, or a safe place to take them to; share
information about a place that can help a person; not being aggressive towards others; etc).

EXTRA ASSESSMENT OF ALL STAGES

The reflect part provides an opportunity to do a formative assessment with the groups. By posing
these open questions to the group, you will understand the level of understanding of how to stay
safe and how to support others. If their knowledge and skills need to be consolidated, this can be
addressed in the following activities that are a continuation of this topic.

21
22
3. WHOM CAN I TRUST?
LEARNING COMPETENCES
• To know: Language
• To do: Critical thinking, Communication and collaboration
• To be: Social and cross-cultural skills, Personal responsibility, self-regulation and initiative
• To live together: Intercultural competence

OVERALL OUTCOME
To identify potential trustworthy people and places that can provide safety

SESSION OBJECTIVES
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
1. Identify people they can trust and share difficult situations with
2. Identify places where they can seek support when they have problems
3. Practice basic steps for protecting themselves in case of an abusive situation

MATERIALS
• 9 chairs (or other materials to help to mark 9 spots)
• Small pieces of paper and tape, or post it notes (4 or 5 per participant)
• 2 pieces of paper, one with the word ‘Agree’ and one with the word ‘Disagree’. Optional: paper
with word ‘Undecided’
• Pens

METHODOLOGY
• Start: Active game, group discussion
• Learn: individual reflection, vote with your feet, group discussion
• Reflect: Quick listing

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Quick listing

DURATION
35 minutes

45 minutes

23
 KEY WORDS
Trust, support, difficult topics

INFORMATION FOR THE FACILITATOR

• Make sure you have all needed materials for the activity.
• Create space for the initial game
• Check what organisations or services are available in your community to support children
with child protection issues. In many countries, there are toll-free child helplines that can be
reached through the phone. Make sure you bring a list of these services and share it with the
group in case they ever need it. A website with more information can be found here: www.
childhelplineinternational.org

24
 START: Tic-Tac-Toe

10 m

1. Ask participants if they know the game Tic-Tac-Toe10. Show them the image below to help them
remember, and if they don’t know it, show them how it works.

Before X’s O’s X’s

game first first second
begins move move move

O’s X’s O’s X’s wins on

second third third X’s fourth
move move move move

2. Place 9 chairs in a 3x3 formation like in the image above. If you don’t have chairs, you can mark
it directly on the floor with a rice sac, a pillow or any other material.

3. Divide the group in two. One team will be the X’s, and the other team will be the O’s. No one
can speak to each other during the game and each child should take turns sitting in one of the
nine chairs. The goal is to have your teammates sitting in a row, i.e. filling in three ports vertically,
horizontally or diagonally. If one team achieves this, they win.

4. After playing the game, ask the participants how they felt. Was it easy to play the game without
being able to talk? Would they feel different if they would have been allowed to speak with
each other?

Note: If you have a big group, you can repeat the game with the ones that couldn’t play in the
first round.

10 Image – Tic tac Toe – creative commons - Brief introduction to educational implications of Artificial Intelligence - Scientific
Figure on ResearchGate. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/Example-of-a-Tic-Tac-Toe-game_fig6_228763901
[accessed 8 Jul, 2018]

25
 LEARN: Talking about it

15 m

1. Just like in the game we played, sometimes we cannot talk about issues that we are concerned
about, either because we don’t have the opportunity, or simply because some topics are difficult
to discuss. In some cases, talking about some of these difficult topics can hurt us or makes us
sad or angry.

2. Give small pieces of paper (2 or 3 for each participant) and ask them to draw or write topics they
find difficult to talk about.

3. Collect the small pieces of paper and point out to two areas of the room that you have prepared
before the start of the session. One side of the room has a note saying ‘agree’, and the other side
of the room has a note saying ‘disagree’. You can also make two signs, such as thumbs up for
agree and thumbs down for disagree. You can also add an area saying ‘undecided’ in case there
is enough space.

4. Start reading out loud the topics suggested by children in their pieces of paper. You don’t
need to read them all. You can select the ones that are mentioned most, or that you consider
appropriate for the context.

5. Read one topic at a time and ask children to go to the side of the room depending on if they
agree it is a difficult topic or not to discuss with others.

6. Once you are done with the topics, explain they are not the only ones having trouble discussing
certain issues. Ask participants if they know what trust is. Allow a couple of minutes for their
answers, then explain that trust is when we know that person will not get us in trouble, will not
harm us, and will be honest.

7. Distribute additional small pieces of paper (2 per participant) and ask them to write down the
people or places with whom/where they feel safe to talk about difficult topics.

8. Ask if anyone wants to share. If not, they can go and place their papers from step 2 and step 7
on the wall. Point to the papers and say that these are the main problems we have and who can
help us discuss them.
Note: Remind children that there are specialised services with specialised people that can support
them when they have problems. Share a list of services available that they can reach out to.

25 m

1. Follow steps 1 to 6 from stage 1 and 2.

2. Ask the group if they think other communities in the country or in the world have the
same issues.

3. Ask what can happen if we don’t talk about these difficult topics with others.

4. Distribute additional small pieces of paper (2 per participant) and ask them to write down the
people or places with whom/where they feel safe to talk about difficult topics. These are people
they trust. They can also make suggestions based on what they have observed in other people.

26
 5. Ask if anyone wants to share. If not, they can go and place their papers on the wall. Point to the
papers and says that these are the main problems we have and who can help us discuss them.

Note: Remind children that there are specialised services with specialised people that can support
them when they have problems. Share a list of services available that they can reach out to

REFLECT: Where do we go?

10 m

1. Finalise the session by recapping who can be a supportive person and places where participants
feel safe.

2. Shout a topic mentioned by the group and ask one person to shout back who/which entity
could be supportive to discuss the topic. For example, you shout ‘bullying’, and one child may
mention ‘teacher’ and another child may mention ‘parents’.

3. Continue these steps with as many topics as you wish according to the available time.

EXTRA ASSESSMENT OF ALL STAGES

The reflect part provides an opportunity to do a formative assessment with the groups. Through
a quick listing game, you will understand the level of knowledge of the participants regarding the
people they can trust of services they can use if they have an issue.

27
28
4. WHAT SHOULD I DO?
LEARNING COMPETENCES
• To know: Language
• To do: Problem-solving, Communication and collaboration
• To be: Personal responsibility, Self-regulation and initiative
• To live together: Teamwork and interconnectedness

OVERALL OUTCOME
To understand what can be done in a situation of abuse

SESSION OBJECTIVES
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
1. Understand what personal space is
2. Identify what a situation of abuse is
3. Analyse situations of potential abuse and act accordingly to stay safe

MATERIALS
• Chalk to mark game spaces on the floor
• Stories to read to children
• Baskets or boxes (one per each group)
• Cards with cases for children to read for the reflect part

METHODOLOGY
• Start: Active game, group discussion
• Learn: Group discussion about stories
• Reflect: Active game, reading, group discussion

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Observation and group discussion

29
 DURATION
50 minutes

60 minutes

KEY WORDS
Personal space, violence, abuse, No-go-tell

INFORMATION FOR THE FACILITATOR

• Stories are presented in this session. To guarantee the participants’ engagement and the relevance
of the content, feel free to adapt the stories to your context.
• Make sure you prepare all the needed materials, and you have enough space available for the
active games.
• Please read the following definition of violence that includes the different forms of abuse too.
• According to Article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child , violence
11

is “all forms of physical or mental violence, injury and abuse, neglect or negligent treatment,
maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse”.

Psychological/
Physical Sexual Economic
Emotional

This is probably what
most of us think of
when we hear the word
violence. It means using
physical force, such
as hitting, slapping or
pushing. Most societies
have a confusing
approach to physical
violence, being both for it
and against it at different
times (for example,
in some countries it’s
accepted for teachers to
hit their students while
the law says this is not
allowed, or in some
families it is accepted
to punish children with
hitting them even though
it is considered child
abuse).
This is often the This involves Examples of this
most difficult pressuring or type of violence
form of violence forcing someone include denying
to identify; it may to perform sexual a person access
include humiliating, acts (from kissing to money or the
threatening, insulting, to sex) against their means to obtain
pressuring and will or making sexual money; denying
expressing jealousy comments that access to work or
or possessiveness humiliate people school; intentionally
(e.g. by controlling or make them feel withholding
decisions and uncomfortable. It necessities such
activities). Making does not matter if as food, clothing,
people feel bad about the person being shelter, medication,
themselves, making pressured or or personal hygiene
them reliant on you forced to have products; stealing
and making them sex previously from someone;
feel guilty are all consented to sex. forbidding a
forms of emotional More often it is person to maintain
or psychological about demonstrating a personal bank
violence. power. account; etc.

11 Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CRC.aspx

30
START: Our personal space

10 m

1. Make sure this game is done in a place with plenty of space. Say that you will now play a game
and the rules are as follows:
• Ask children to stand and spread in this space. They should not be able to touch others and
should have plenty of space in between.
• When you say start, they must start spinning and getting close to each other.
• The moment that they feel they touched someone is because they are close, and they have
to stop. They can remain frozen until everyone is also frozen.
2. Once they have all finished, sit in a circle and ask how they felt when they touched someone.
Were they comfortable with that space between them? Would they be more comfortable if
they had more space in between like when the game started, or would they be OK with having
less space?

3. Tell the group that this is called personal space. This is the space you feel comfortable with
having between yourselves and another person. If someone crosses that space on purpose, then
they are invading your personal space, and you can look for help. Ask them if this is the case with
their family, if they keep a wide personal space or if they don’t need such a wide personal space.
Allow a few minutes for their input. Tell the group that usually our personal space with friends
and family is smaller while with strangers it is bigger. But, regardless of the type of relationship,
they should always remain confident in keeping a distance from a person who tries to invade
their space.
Note: If you don’t have enough space for this activity, you can sing the song ‘head, shoulders,
knees and toes’ to talk about the body parts and then introduce the topic of personal space in
between people.

10 m

1. Make sure you have space to make two lines of children. Divide your group in two and ask
them to stand in two parallel lines. Everyone should pair up with someone in front and tell them
the rules:
• They will start a conversation by telling each other what they wanted to become when they
were younger.
• Tell them to start walking towards each other while they are having the conversation.
• When one child feels uncomfortable, they should say ‘Stop’.
• Once everyone has stopped, they can look around to see the different places where they
stopped.
2. Tell everyone that this is called personal space. Each person feels comfortable with a certain
distance from other people, some closer, some further.

3. If someone crosses that space on purpose, then they are invading their personal space, and they
can look for help. Tell the group that usually our personal space with friends and family is smaller
while with strangers it is bigger. But, regardless of the type of relationship, they should always be
confident in keeping distance from a person who tries to invade their space.

31
 LEARN: What to do?

15 m

1. Ask children to think of situations where someone accidentally invaded their personal space, or
where they invaded someone else’s personal space. Tell them that sometimes, some people may
try to do this intentionally, but there are ways we can end it.

2. Read the following story to children:

Peter was in a big family gathering when he suddenly felt like going to the toilet.
He started to move away from the group and realised the toilet was a bit far, but he
had to go anyway, and since he had already started to walk, he continued. Once he
approached the toilet he started to hear very strange sounds.

3. Ask the group what they think this could be? (possible answers: bad people fighting inside, weird
animals that can be harmful, someone in trouble and need help).

4. Now ask them, based on their ideas, how can this be dangerous for Peter? (Possible answers
following the same order: if people were fighting they may want to fight with Peter when he
enters the toilet, if there are animals they can attack Peter if they are hungry, if Peter thinks
someone is in trouble he may need more people to help the other person because alone he
may not be able to do it or it may be a person that doesn’t need help but wants to be violent or
abuse Peter).

5. If children say there would be no danger, try to bring up some of the ideas mentioned in step
four to make them realise there are potential dangers.

6. Ask what they think would be the best thing to do in this case. (Possible answers: to wait until
the noises are over; to call some of my friends to come with me; to tell my family about this and
ask them to come with me). After they mention their ideas, remind them of activity three about
whom they can trust. They should always talk to someone they trust when they feel something
is wrong.

7. Mention that sometimes, when similar things happen to us or when someone may try to invade
our personal space or harm us there are three steps we should always follow. The steps are:
• NO/STOP
• GO
• TELL
8. Tell children that if Peter would have entered the toilet, someone could have been violent and
abused him. Ask if participants know what violence and abuse are, and allow a couple of minutes
for the group to answer. Finally clarify that violence and abuse is when someone is purposely
treated in the wrong way or violently. There are different kinds of violence and abuse. It can be
physical, for example, if someone hits you, or it can be emotional if someone offends you on
purpose. Ask the group how they think the three steps mentioned previously can work in Peter’s
situation? After children share their ideas explain the three steps:
• The first step is to say NO and STOP when we are not comfortable. We may feel shy or
afraid to do this, but if we don’t the bad situation will continue.
• The second step is to GO away from that situation and find a safe place or a trustworthy
person to help us.
• When you reach a safe place or find a trustworthy person, you have to TELL what happened.
You have done nothing wrong, so don’t feel embarrassed to say what happened.

32
 25 m

1. Ask the group to think of situations where someone accidently invaded their personal space, or
where they invaded someone else’s personal space. Tell them that sometimes, some people may
try to do this intentionally, but there are things we can do about it.

2. Read the following story:

Linda was walking home, and it was raining dogs and cats. A neighbour passed by in
his car and slowed down. He asked if Linda wanted a ride because of the rain.

3. Ask the group what they think could happen? (Possible answers: he wants to be friendly and
shelter her from the rain; he wants to get to know her better and talk to her.

4. Now ask what they think the dangers could be? (Possible answers: he wants to abuse her in
some way and this is a situation where Linda is in risk of this happening).

5. If the group says there would be no danger, try to bring up some of the ideas mentioned in step
two to make them realise there are potential dangers.

6. Ask what they think would be the best thing to do in this case. (Possible answers: check if
there is someone you know and trust in the car, and think if it is safe to take the ride; if no one
trustworthy is in the car, it is better to refuse the ride and just get wet on the way home; if you
own a cell phone, call your family to say that you are on the way home with your neighbour
and tell him that your family is waiting for you). After they mention their ideas, remind them of
activity three about whom they can trust. They should always talk to someone they trust when
they feel something is wrong. If they wouldn’t take the ride, they should share what happened
with a person they trust.

7. Mention that sometimes, when similar things happen to us or when someone may try to invade
our personal space or harm us there are three steps we should always follow. The steps are:
• NO/STOP
• GO
• TELL
8. Tell children that if Linda would have taken the ride in the car, her neighbour could have been
violent and abused her. Ask if participants know what violence and abuse are and allow a couple
of minutes for the group to answer. Finally clarify that violence and abuse is when someone is
treated in the wrong way, with violence, and on purpose. There are different kinds of violence
and abuse. It can be physical, for example, if someone hits you, or it can be emotional if
someone offends you on purpose. Ask the group how they think the three steps mentioned
previously can apply to Linda’s situation.

9. After children share their ideas explain the three steps:

• The first step is to say NO and STOP when we are not comfortable. We may feel shy or
afraid to do this, but if we don’t the bad situation will continue.
• The second step is to GO away of that situation and find a safe place or a trustworthy
person to help us.
• When you reach a safe place or find a trustworthy person, you have to TELL what happened.
You have done nothing wrong, so don’t feel embarrassed to say what happened.

33
 REFLECT: Is this violence and abuse?

25 m

1. Start by consolidating what can be considered violence and abuse. Ask if they remember the
stories in the previous activity and ask what could have happened. By using their examples,
please relate to the different kinds of violence and abuse that Peter or Linda could have suffered.
(Possible answers: Peter could have entered the toilet, and someone could have hit him – the
facilitator says that this is physical violence; Linda could have entered the car and the neighbour
could have started to call her bad names, or start to touch her inappropriately – the facilitator
says that this would be emotional violence or sexual abuse respectively). Don’t forget to use the
definitions given in the facilitator’s information.
Note: There are available activities about types of violence in the Violence Prevention Supplement.
You can use some of these before implementing the Child Protection Supplement.

2. Tell the group that we should not be violent or abuse anyone around us. The same way we saw
that Peter and Linda could have been at risk, we should never put anyone at risk of suffering
violence and abuse

3. Make sure you have space to play this game. Divide the group in smaller groups of five or six
participants. You need to draw a line and each small group stays behind it. See the image that
illustrates the game below:
Group 1

Basket
Group 2

Basket
Group 3

Basket

34
 4. Distribute one set of cards per each small group and explain the rules of the game:
• They must read the cards and select what they think is child abuse.
• They must stand behind a line that you have drawn.
• Each participant should hold one card only and take turns in putting the card in the basket
placed on the other side of the room. The next participant can only start heading to the
basket once the previous participant has returned. The other participants from the group will
follow the same steps until they finish putting all the cards with cases of abuse in the basket.
5. Take the cards from each basket and read aloud. Ask the big group if they agree with the cases of
abuse selected.

6. Ask them to mention the three steps of NO-GO-TELL that they learned previously.

Cases for children to read for the game:

My auntie that
takes care of me,
always asks me for
a hug before I leave
for school.
My uncle is very
playful and nice. One
A boy in my class is
day he asked me to
always touching my
go to his room and
legs during the break,
asked me to sit on
and it makes me feel
his legs and play that
uncomfortable.
we were a couple by
kissing in the mouth.

I like making fun of

There is a school
my best friend, and
janitor that says that My father asks
we call each other
I am ugly every day. me to carry the
funny names. Some
More than once he shopping bags
people say it sounds
tried hitting me with whenever he does
rude, but we have
a ruler to tell me to grocery shopping.
a lot of fun with
leave the playground.
each other.

Note: For Stage 1 you can also use cards with pictures to make it more visual.

EXTRA ASSESSMENT OF ALL STAGES

The reflect game provides an opportunity to do a formative assessment with the groups. Through
the game, you can observe if the group understood what abuse is , and what they can do to act
upon it. If their knowledge and skills need to be consolidated, you can always repeat this activity
using different cases.

35
 ACTIVITIES FOR FAMILIES:
IMPLEMENTED BY CHILDREN

This activity may not be feasible for all participants in the

programme, as some may not be in contact with their
families. Be mindful of this and provide an alternative activity.
Additionally, this kind of activity might be triggering for some
participants, therefore it is important to be available for students
who may need some emotional support and guidance. Be sure
to have a phone number on-hand for any kind of psychological
assistance in your community.

36
1. RIGHTS AND

BY CHILDREN
ACTIVITIES IMPLEMENTED
RESPONSIBILITIES
MATERIALS
No materials are needed

DURATION
5 minutes

INFORMATION FOR THE FACILITATOR

This activity can be done after Activity 1 for children “Rights and responsibilities”.

1. Explain to children that it is really important to spread the word about things we learn
in our group. One idea is to bring some activities, questions, or topics for discussions to
our family.

2. Ask the group if they usually share the activities they do in the group with their families.
If they do, encourage them to continue doing so, and if not, say that this is a great
opportunity to start.

3. They will bring one simple activity home. Tell the participants to take note of the activity:
• Ask at least one family member if they know about the Convention on the Rights of
the Child. If they don’t know, you can explain this is a document almost every country
signed to make sure children have what they need to grow well and healthy. If they
already know, ask them to mention some of the child rights they are aware of.
• Now ask if they know that besides rights, children and adults also have responsibilities
regarding the children rights. Give one example:

Governments and families must

Right to protection.
ensure that children are properly
Responsibility to tell your family your
cared for, and protect them from
whereabouts so that they can help
violence, abuse and neglect by
you if you are in trouble.
anyone who looks after them.

4. Ask if your family member can give other examples by mentioning some of the rights.
5. Tell the participants that in one of the next sessions, they will be invited to share what they
discussed with their families. For this reason, they can take notes after the discussion, make
a drawing, or ask the family members to write something too.

37
 2. WHERE DO I FEEL SAFE?
MATERIALS
Pen and paper

DURATION
5 minutes

INFORMATION FOR THE FACILITATOR

This activity should be done after Activity 2.

1. Tell the group that they will do an activity with one or more family members and
they will need a pen and paper.

2. They will ask their family member to draw a place where they feel safe and
comfortable. They should also write or explain why this place is so special and safe.
If the child is comfortable, they can also share what their safe place is.

3. Discuss with your family member how your family and your house can become a
safe place for the family. For example, you can agree that you make time for each
other to speak about topics that concern you.

4. Tell the participants that in one of the next sessions, they will be invited to share
what they discussed with their families. For this reason, they can take notes after the
discussion, make a drawing, or ask the family members to write something too.

38
 BY CHILDREN
ACTIVITIES IMPLEMENTED
3. WHAT DO WE DO?
MATERIALS
No materials needed

DURATION
5 minutes

INFORMATION FOR THE FACILITATOR

Recommendation: this activity should be done after Activity 4.

1. Ask participants if they have ever discussed at home what they should do when they
have a problem. Tell them that they can share the steps they learned in this session.

2. The child will go home and discuss with their family members what are certain
things they can do when they don’t feel safe or when they have a problem.

3. They should invite the family members to give other suggestions or share their
own experiences. Maybe the child will find out additional options to deal with
their problems.

4. Tell the participants that in one of the next sessions, they will be invited to share
what they discussed with their families. For this reason, they can take notes after the
discussion, make a drawing, or ask the family members to write something too.

39
 ACTIVITIES WITH FAMILIES

These activities are to be done by the facilitators directly

with families. The facilitator may request the support of a
co-facilitator if needed.

40
 ACTIVITIES WITH FAMILIES
1. OUR SESSION

OVERALL OUTCOME
To understand the aim of the session.

MATERIALS
Post-it notes of 2 different colours or small papers and tape

DURATION
20 minutes

INFORMATION FOR THE FACILITATOR

Prepare the needed materials for this activity

41
 START

1. Introduce yourself by saying your name, your role, and what you were dreaming of becoming
5m when you were a child.

2. Ask each family member to do the same (name, occupation, and what they wanted to become
when they were a child).

3. After each family member introduces themselves, say that what we all want is for our
children to succeed and have the best in life. For this reason, these workshops are organised
so that together we can all support our children and make sure they develop in the best
environment possible.

LEARN

1. Distribute two small pieces of paper to each participant.

5m
2. Ask them to write one thing they hope to learn during these sessions and one thing they are
apprehensive about. We call this our hopes and fears.

3. Give them a couple of minutes to write and ask them to post it on the wall in two different
columns (Hopes and Fears).

REFLECT
1. Read out loud some examples and let the participants know that you appreciate their hopes and
5m
will do your best to achieve them. Additionally, mention that you will try to minimise any of the
fears mentioned and make this a successful workshop.

42
 ACTIVITIES WITH FAMILIES
2. OUR CHILDREN

OVERALL OUTCOME
To understand the importance of our children and how to keep them safe

MATERIALS
Pictures or illustrations of children in different situations. Harmful situations and striving
situations. Make sure these are hanging on the wall or laying on a table or floor

DURATION
15 minutes

INFORMATION FOR THE FACILITATOR

Make sure the images you choose reflect the community you work with. Additionally,
make sure the pictures don’t bring out any sensitivities that are not to be handled
in this session

43
 START

1. Tell participants that this session will focus on discussing who the children in our community are.
5m
2. Ask each participant to choose one picture from the several pictures you have made available
in the room. They should not take too long and should just choose a picture that draws
their attention.

3. Once each person has chosen a picture, ask them to think:

• Why did they choose this image?
• How do they feel about the image?

LEARN

1. Ask people to make pairs or trios and discuss the images they chose. They will have around 10
5m minutes. They can use the following questions to stimulate the discussion:
• Why did you choose this image?
• How do you feel about it?
• Why do you like it or dislike it?
• How does the child look in this picture?
• Does the child seem happy or is he/she being abused?
2. After the groups are done, ask them to present the main points of their discussion.

REFLECT
1. Summarize some of the points mentioned during the discussion, and analyse if groups gave
5m
similar answers or not. Most families probably focus on the good things they want their children
to have. That is the most important goal for families, but each family has different beliefs and
ways to do this.

2. Ask participants to share any reflections they have about this session. Are there any new
thoughts that came to them during this session?

3. Conclude by saying that the goal is that we treat our children in the best way possible that
doesn’t harm our children’s health, emotional wellbeing, and their future.

44
 Examples of pictures12

ACTIVITIES WITH FAMILIES

12 Image sources: https://www.pexels.com, https://pixabay.com, https://unsplash.com

45
46
ACTIVITIES WITH FAMILIES

47
 3. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE
FOR PROTECTING
OUR CHILDREN?

OVERALL OUTCOME
To understand the different roles of every person in guaranteeing child rights.
Recommendation: Make sure you know the context of where the families are coming from. If
needed, adapt this activity in order to avoid brining out any sensitivities in the community that
may harm children. You can implement this session at once, or divide it into different sub-sessions
depending on the availability of parents.

MATERIALS
• Flipchart paper and markers – one per small group
• Prepare a drawing with the rings of responsibility for child protection

DURATION
55 minutes

48
 ACTIVITIES WITH FAMILIES
START

1. Divide the group into smaller groups and give each a sheet of flipchart paper
15 m and markers.

2. Ask them to draw a child in the middle of the paper.

3. Distribute the leaflet of UNICEF with the Rights of the Child13 and ask them to read
for a few minutes. After they look at the leaflet explain that this is an agreement
signed by governments all over the world. The government and all adults should do
everything they can to provide the rights mentioned in the leaflet.

4. Allow time for questions the participants may have but reassure them that they will
get to know more about protecting children’s rights in this session.

LEARN

1. After they finish, ask them to write around the child whom they think is responsible
20-30 m for protecting this child.

2. After the groups are done, show them the following image (you can draw it in
advance on a flipchart). Related the answers they gave with the image below.

In te rna t i ona l

National

Institutions

Community

Fami ly

il d
Ch

13 https://unicef.org/rightsite/files/rights_leaflet.pdf.

49
 3. Explain that, there are several groups of people in charge of the protection of the child. Ask them
to help Reading the text below or read it yourself to the group.

• The child – should adopt healthy behaviours and assess when they may be in a dangerous
situation to look for help
• The family – this is the circle immediately close to the child. They are responsible to make sure
the child receives all the basic care and emotional support the child needs. They should also
check if the child is developing accordingly to their age, and make sure they look for help in
case their child needs additional support.
• The community – the community should participate in making sure the environment is safe for
children. The community has a big role, as they may hinder the fulfilment of children’s rights
if they follow believes that discriminate children. For example, if the community believes that
girls should only stay home and help in the household or get married early to start their life
independently in a new family, they are hindering the basic universal right of the girl child to
receive education. They are also contributing to the exposure of the child to potential abuses
by the extended new family, as the girl child may be still under age.
• The institutions – if the family and community fail to protect the child, other institutions like
NGOs or others will support the child and give the care the child needs.
• National and International Institutions – In order to make sure children are protected and
have their rights fulfilled, national and international institutions may provide different forms of
supports to deliver care to the child and family. This is specially truth in cases where families are
migrating to other places and it may be necessary to involve international organisations, like for
example, UNICEF.

4. Ask the groups to go back to their initial groups and assign them one of the groups of the
different rings of responsibility. Ask them to discuss the following:
• How can this group support the protection of the rights of children?
• How can this group hinder the protection of the rights of children?
• In case the rights of children are violated what can this or another group do to help. Ask
them to give concrete examples.
5. Ask each group to present. They can present this with drawings or written. Give about 5 to 7
minutes each.

6. Conclude this part of the session by emphasizing that everyone has a responsibility of protecting
children’s rights. Families and other adults have better access to information and services,
helping them to be better equipped to care for children and their wellbeing.

50
 ACTIVITIES WITH FAMILIES
REFLECT
1. Ask participants to close their eyes and think of the following:
10 m • One new thing that they have learned today.
• One thing they would like to start doing to support their and other children in fulfilling
their rights
2. Ask if someone wants to share what their thoughts are regarding the two questions.
3. Conclude by saying that we should be able to support our children in developing the best way
possible. By being vigilant about their rights and their wellbeing, we can make a difference in
their lives, and this has a great positive impact.

51
Stichting Aflatoun International

Overschiestraat 184
1062 XK Amsterdam | The Netherlands
tel: +31 20 626 20 25 | fx: +31 20 626 21 18
info@aflatoun.org | www.aflatoun.org | www.aflateen.org