BY HANNAH WOODS I feel passionately about parents having confidence in the choices they make around keeping their children safe, and parents and young people being able to make informed choices they make to keep their children safe. I’m sharing here tips I’ve trialled both as a parent and a youth worker. I’ve also gathered […]
Tag: life magazine
Time to talk
BY SANTA SYLVIA Viva is actively promoting child protection training in schools in six cities across India. Teachers, counsellors and administrative staff learn how to recognise and respond to child abuse, and attain recognised standards. Children are taught how to protect themselves by taking part in ‘Good Touch, Bad Touch’ workshops. Santa Sylvia (pictured below), […]
App Calls Out Abuse
BY JAIME TERCERO A brand new mobile app has been launched by our partner network Red Viva Nicaragua allowing users to report instances of abuse or bullying to local authorities anonymously, writes Jaime Tercero. Six out of ten children in Nicaragua have experienced domestic violence at home and 75 per cent reported witnessing violence at […]
Paraguay’s fresh approach to foster care
BY ANDREW DUBOCK “Who knows what level of influence our children might have in the future? When a child grows up in a safe and loving family this not only impacts that one child but also a whole generation.” As we talk in her backyard, Veronica tells me with great conviction about her role as […]
Four questions to ask before reaching out to families
Resource cuts in the UK mean there are fewer statutory support services for families going through difficulties. Teachers struggle to know where to signpost families for help, when, for example, they see children turning up to school not having had breakfast. In response, our Oxford-based network, Doorsteps, is piloting H2O (Here to Help Oxford), a […]
Creating a thriving family culture
OPINION: MARK AND LISA SCANDRETTE “You know it’s bad,” a friend said, “when I reach for my phone before I kiss my wife good morning – or when I’m staring at the device in my hand while my kids munch their cereal at the breakfast table.” So many of us live lives of hurry, worry […]
Collective power or impossible dream?
OPINION: DAVID BRIGHT Do you have a favourite TV advert? A memorable one for me is an old UNISON ad. The scene opens with a couple of ants squeaking “excuse me” to a big bear, but he doesn’t hear them. A moment later hundreds of ants shout in unison “get out of the way” and […]
Four tips to encourage your church to work with others
Services for vulnerable families in the UK are being squeezed at a time of unprecedented demand. Churches are particularly well placed to offer meaningful support but there are, of course, significant barriers to growing this work, such as lack of volunteers, finances and in-depth understanding. Both the scale of need in the community and the […]
Out of danger
Justine Demmer describes how grassroots networks are best placed to tackle society’s biggest issues and shares a story from Nepal of one girl saved from the risk of exploitation. Eleven years old: the age when girls in many cultures begin to become more independent and transition from primary to secondary school. The younger years of […]
Breaking the cycle of gender inequality
OPINION: BARONESS CAROLINE COX When inequality is ingrained in society, it becomes a self-perpetuating cycle that is difficult to break. In many countries, there is gender discrimination against girls and women through all stages of life. Before birth, girl foeticide is practised in places including China and India. This is often for financial reasons including […]