Media

Around the world, youth organizations reach hundreds of millions of children every year. Effective safeguarding and prevention can have a profound effect. Youth organizations play a central role in our communities and have a unique opportunity to lead for prevention.

Julie Novak, Chief Youth Safety Officer at Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, reflects on the need for all youth organizations – large or small - to act strategically and to act now to protect the safety and well-being of the young people they serve.

All of us, working across policy, practice, and funding, have a responsibility to make the case for prevention. Alongside a growing body of research into perceptions and communications approaches, it is clear we also need concrete action, now.

We are not doing enough, and the potential to transform the impact of perpetration prevention is vast. So, how can we tackle such a big and complex problem? We need to assess the best ways to prevent abuse, at scale. And we need to act with speed.