Letters | Child injury case highlights the need for a culture that prevents abuse
- Readers discuss a child safeguarding culture for child-facing institutions, the difference between ‘patriots’ and ‘loyalists’, and South Korea’s geopolitical balancing act
According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, all children have the right to protection from harm. All child-facing institutions are responsible for protecting children from harm and violence and should be safe spaces for children.
Individuals who work at child-facing institutions should understand their duty of care towards children, and should never be a source of harm to any child.
One case is one too many. We urge all child-facing institutions including schools and education centres to uphold a child safeguarding culture across the organisation. Child safeguarding is about making sure that organisational staff, operations and programmes do no harm to children.
This includes developing policies, guidelines and standards that support safe interactions with, and safe environments for, children. Clear behavioural standards support safe and appropriate interactions between children and adults.