We are dedicated to creating a gender-transformative, inclusive, and accountable system that protects children and adolescents from all forms of violence and exploitation. We focus on prevention, response, and mitigation services across key areas like ending violence against children, combating child labor (including in supply chains), preventing gender-based violence (such as child marriage), ensuring online safety, and providing protection in emergencies and conflicts (including for Rohingya children). We also address the impacts of climate change on children and tackle unsafe migration and trafficking. Our work involves strengthening existing systems, advocating for enhanced child rights, and promoting peacebuilding and social cohesion. We achieve this through core strategies including prevention and awareness raising, service delivery and referrals, research, advocacy and networking, community mobilization, and meaningful child participation.

Our preventative and responsive approach to child protection in Cox’s Bazar District for the Rohingya and host communities is tailored to build awareness in communities and enhance accountability, especially for those children who experienced abuse, neglect, violence, and exploitation or were at risk. We focused on building and embedding awareness within communities by training children, adolescents, parents, and volunteers to support children’s development and well-being, and to develop a protective environment. We continued to strengthen community-based mechanisms, such as parent groups, peer support groups, child clubs, and adolescent clubs, as they fostered a proactive approach and mindset to preventing and responding to child protection concerns and raising awareness. Our collaboration with the Department of Social Services (DSS), Child Welfare Boards, MoWCA, and the Child Affairs desk seeks to enforce these mechanisms in government actions. 

Our comprehensive support for this sector started with advocacy meetings with garment workers to ensure women’s working rights and the continuation of daycare centers as a safe learning space for their children. These centers provide essential care and pre-primary education for children ages 2 to 5. When communities lead awareness raising, they most effectively shape lasting mindsets. With this in mind, we organized dialogues with children’s groups and duty bearers to instill accountability for children’s needs. Our community-driven protection system empowers community leaders to monitor and respond to cases of child labor. These protection services have extended to children facing child labor and marriage issues.