Step by Step Towards Child Safer Communities: Resource handbook for working with communities to enhance child protection (A guide for practitioners)

This resource handbook bridges efforts to ensure children’s protection through CBCPMs [Community-Based Child Protection Mechanisms] and the aspirations to empower children to participate fully in both realising their rights and contributing to their own protection as explored in Bamboo Shoots and Sticks and Stones. It seeks to address in a practical way, issues which can be encountered in developing and supporting CBCPMs. 

The handbook is intended to give staff practical tips and ideas based on Plan’s experiences from the Asia Region primarily, together with reviews of other similar initiatives in other locations throughout the world. It is not designed to be prescriptive, nor will it be able to offer definitive actions because of the wide variances in the communities with which Plan works. It is important that, when developing CBCPMs, these are designed specifically for the context in which they will be located and in consultation with community members. While there may be similarities between mechanisms, it is important not to just transport a model from another location. The mechanism needs to fit the context, otherwise it is unlikely to be effective and ownership by the community will be difficult to attain. This, in turn, will pose challenges in both the functioning and sustainability of CBCPMs in the longer run.

While the handbook is primarily intended to be a resource for those working at field level and in Programme Units, it may also be useful for technical specialists engaged at programme level as they plan interventions and activities which are centred on community-based child protection and are expected to extend support to the field level practitioners.