The first International Child Safeguarding Standards were launched in 2002 by a coalition of relief and international development agencies that later became known as Keeping Children Safe. The Standards represent a commitment by those working with and for children to ensure that their organisations “do no harm” and that they meet the responsibilities set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to protect children from all forms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence.
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the independent expert for the UN study on violence against children, acknowledged the importance of the KCS standards stating that ‘they offer an excellent opportunity not only for the improvement of the quality and professionalism of those working with children but most importantly, it will help to achieve a greater impact for children.’
Since the standards were first published, tens of thousands of organisations and professionals worldwide have implemented them. The increasing demand for this service reflects growing recognition by organisations that they have a responsibility, in all of their work, to keep children safe.
What are the standards?
The four globally recognised Keeping Children Safe standards are now used widely in all sectors to ensure best practice in child safeguarding, as well as better accountability to those who are using or benefiting from the services of an organisation. Each standard outlines the key elements that should be put in place to keep children safe and lists the requirements needed to meet these standards.
