Every day, in every country, children are abused, beaten, raped, and more. Too often, the abuser is someone the child knows and trusts. They may even work for an organisation that's meant to help children, but they abuse their power and the child's trust. Tragically, it's children in already desperate situations who are most at risk.
As recent reports have shown, no sector is immune; children have been abused by NGO workers, by peacekeeping personnel, teachers, sports coaches, religious leaders, and staff in the corporate sector. All organisations have a responsibility to protect children from harm and this includes corporates.
For corporates building digital products or child-facing platforms, that responsibility now extends beyond offline policy. It includes stronger online safety practice, platform controls for young users, and responsible AI governance for products that affect children.
Consideration of child safeguarding should be central to any corporate social responsibility strategy and the Committee on the Rights of the Child General Comment No. 16 (2013) states that all businesses must meet their responsibilities regarding children's rights, and states must ensure they do so.
Here are five main reasons why corporate organisations should consider child safeguarding:
- It demonstrates their commitment to the rights and protection of children.
- It ensures they are doing all they can to be certain that their staff, operations, and partners do no harm to children.
- If abuse does occur, it ensures that reporting and response mechanisms are of the highest possible quality.
- It minimises the risk to an organisation's reputation, particularly when staff are on placements, or are volunteering.
- It ensures the protection and safety of children is at the heart of business activities and programmes.
This is especially urgent when businesses shape children's digital experiences through AI, messaging, content ranking, or platform design. The same governance mindset discussed in our articles on children and chatbots and AI-generated abuse imagery applies here too.