PNG project rolling out safe spaces for kids

Children of the Andai tribe in Kaiam village in the remote East Sepik Province. (file image) Photo: AFP PHOTO/Torsten BLACKWOOD

A program supporting safe spaces for children has been rolled out in Papua New Guinea.

The Child-Friendly Spaces Toolkit supports setting up and managing safe community spaces, and has a focus on embedding protection into existing community structures, from churches and schools to ward offices and aid posts.

It was rolled out during a training workshop in Port Moresby, where 18 organisations gathered to learn how to establish and manage child-friendly spaces in their own communities.

HIV/AIDS charity Links of Hope national operations manager Seruma Numa said children in local communities face a lot of physical and emotional abuse.

"We see how stigma silences them. Many can't speak up about what's happening in their homes," she said.

"A child-friendly space gives them a voice, a space to talk, to feel safe, and to be heard."

The spaces also serve as entry points for access to legal, medical, and counselling services.

Unicef said up to 80 percent of children in Papua New Guinea experience physical or emotional violence and widespread neglect.

Numa said by working through trusted community spaces, help can be there when a child on the street is ready to reach out.

"Children are on the streets. We see it every day," she said.

"By working through trusted community spaces, we can be there when a child is finally ready to reach out. The support must be there, waiting."

CARE International's peace project Manager Benoni Masalo said child negligence is everywhere in PNG.

"Parents often do not realise the importance of emotional and educational support.

"A child-friendly space offers something simple but powerful: safety."

Masalo emphasised how trained facilitators use creative methods, like storytelling, drawing, and play, as bridges to healing.

"Children express their pain through play. When you create that environment, it helps them open up.

"And it also helps communities see that healing starts with connection. That's when referral systems and community support become essential."

Masalo said they've had policies and awareness campaigns "but very little that reaches the grassroots in a practical way".

"This toolkit changes that."

The Child-Friendly Spaces Toolkit has been developed with the National Office of Child and Family Services and UNICEF, in partnership with several other organisations.