Creating protective environments for children and adolescents
Rio Quito, Colombia
Best practice - Child protection
Rio Quito’s programme on creating protective environments for children and adolescents was born out of an effort to protect children from the many challenges they were facing in their communities: substance abuse, early pregnancies and violence, which are often linked to the activities of different criminal groups.
The programme focuses on the creation of safe public spaces for children and young people in the community. The programme started with consultations with children, young people and different community groups to understand the impact of violence on the local community. This was followed by a land planning mapping from a child rights and gender perspective, and the creation of different protective environments across the municipality through the offering of sports, play, recreation and cultural activities.
Efforts were also made to define institutional roadmaps for care and prevention of, and immediate response to, cases of violence against children across local government sectors. Capacity building of local government actors, parents and other community stakeholders has also taken place.
