Explainer

Rakkaatheri: Preventing and Responding to Violence Against Children

Acting on national plans to protect children and young people from violence, exploitation and abuse

Two girls holding up their painted pictures, their backs to the camera.
UNICEF Maldives/2024/Shaari

Maldives has strong laws and policies in place backed by the Child Rights Protection Act (18/2019) and the Juvenile Justice Act (19/2019) to protect children and young people from violence, exploitation and abuse. In recent years, the country also has developed a National Action Plan on Violence Against Children to accelerate implementation of these laws.

But there is much work to be done to put the laws and plan into action.

The Rakkaatheri flagship initiative was launched to provide support to the government, partners and communities as they enact the national policies and plans and work to protect children and young people.

 

Safe and protected

Rakkaatheri means ‘safe’ or ‘protected’ in Dhivehi. And that is the goal of the flagship initiative: to make sure children and young people are safe and protected.

The flagship focuses on empowering parents, caregivers and children so they recognize violence against children and seek help.

As part of the flagship, UNICEF Maldives works with governments and partners to strengthen the relevant systems and make sure that remote island communities have quality services that protect children and young people. We also continue to advocate for policies and legislation that address harmful social norms and foster safe environments.

Core components of the flagship include:

  1. Empower parents, caregivers, communities and children through communication and awareness campaigns; provide platforms for children and young people to discuss protection issues including domestic abuse, gender-based violence and safe internet use.
  2. Provide quality services with training on child protection for social workers, police officers and local organizations; efforts also include a bullying prevention and response programme, and initiatives aimed toward child-safe tourism.
  3. Coordinate multiple sectors into platforms that address complex child protection and juvenile justice needs and provide guidance on strengthening service providers’ systems.