Project: Safeguarding and Empowering Children

The WAVE Network launched the “Safeguarding and Empowering Children” project in 2022 in response to the disrespect of children’s rights in court proceedings and the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on their protection. The project addresses the urgent need to enhance the institutional capacity of key actors responsible for child safeguarding policies.

The project brings together following WAVE members: Autonomous Women’s House Zagreb (Autonomna Ženska Kuća Zagreb) from Croatia, NANE Women’s Rights Association (Nők a Nőkért Együtt az Erőszak Ellen) from Hungary, and the Women’s Rights Foundation (WRF) from Malta. ZIF – Central Information Office of Autonomous Women’s Shelters (Zentrale Informationsstelle Autonomer Frauenhäuser) from Germany was part of the project in 2022 and 2023, along with the consultancy expertise of Hague Mothers, based in the UK in 2023.

Project Goal

The overall goal is to ensure that children are safe and can thrive while their mothers receive support from WSS, enabling them to move on to a new life. The project also raises awareness among stakeholders—such as protection and social services, judiciary, and police—on the importance of children’s safeguarding and its effective implementation.

Project Achievements

In 2022, the project developed a comprehensive child safeguarding framework for women’s specialist services (WSS) titled Guidelines for Safeguarding and Empowering Children. These guidelines, adaptable to various national contexts, explore key international norms on children’s rights and protection, detailing safeguarding areas, procedures, and factors critical to child safety.

Building on this, the project in 2023 focused on international movement-building for child-friendly custody proceedings by creating a Safety as the Best Interest of the Child: Toolkit for victim-friendly judicial practice in child custody, contact and visitation matters. This toolkit offers recommendations and promising practices for more child-centric custody processes across Europe, aiming to improve judicial practices and strengthen the link between domestic violence protection and custody decisions. The toolkit ensures that the best interests of children are at the heart of these decisions.

2024: Toolkit Dissemination and Workshops

In 2024, the focus will be on disseminating the toolkit Safety as the Best Interest of the Child: Toolkit for Victim-Friendly Judicial Practice in Child Custody, Contact, and Visitation Matters. A workshop plan based on the toolkit will be developed, followed by the delivery of workshops and advocacy meetings aimed at NGOs, government officials, and other stakeholders involved in child custody and visitation processes.

For more information on the project, please contact Branislava Arađan, WAVE Project and Youth Ambassador Coordinator branislava.aradjan@wave-network.org

Guidelines for safeguarding and empowering children

Translations

Toolkit for victim-friendly judicial practice in child custody, contact and visitation matters

Translations