In a country as vast and populous as India, can communities equipped with skills and tools come together to keep children safe? Discussions in this international journal, written by Kajol Menon and Nicole Rangel, co-founders, Leher focus on the collaborative journey of informal village child protection committees and children’s groups in one of India’s underdeveloped rural districts, Madhubani, in the state of Bihar. It attempts to make a case for the child protection system to move from being top-heavy to bottom-up, driven by community needs and preventive in nature.
Indicators for analysis include democratic, inclusive participation; child protection mandates; awareness, attitude and behavioural change; linkages with formal structures and mechanisms; and collaboration between local stakeholders, including children and community members at large.
To read Leher’s published paper on Community-Led Child Protection, click here.
Reference: “Global Perspectives on Child Protection and Neglect.” Child Welfare vol. 98, no. 6, pp. 203-226. (ISSN 0009-4021)
