The Safe Places are easy to find thanks to this logo indicating their location

In Ghana, 666 cases of Violence Against Children have already been reported this year (between January and June). A large portion of those victims live in the Hohoe municipality in Volta region, located along the eastern border of Ghana.  Seeking to assist these children, Plan and partners created the first safe places for children who are victims of violence and abuse to help them seek aid and support.  These “Safe Places” are provided by the community and Plan Ghana as refuges for children where they can report cases of abuse against themselves or their friends and also seek help from counselors and relevant state agencies. The project was organized by Rights of the Child (ROC) children and Carenet Volta Program Area ROC (local NGO) to promote child protection and stop child violence.

“Our protection is important for our survival and development and Safe Place project will help us achieve this,”- said Cynthia, a 12-year-old student from Hohoe.

Implementing Safe Place project

The Safe Place project currently runs in 10 communities across the Hohoe area. In some communities, free rooms are provided to accommodate children and their counselors. Children have been engaged from the outset in choosing the spaces and even counselors who are selected because they are trustworthy, approachable and available. Following selection, Plan Ghana provides the counselors more specific professional training in how to help child victims of violence.

The Safe Places are easy to find thanks to the logo indicating their location. This unique Safe Place logo has been designed by children and selected through a competition which was attended by 500 participants and supervised by a panel of children, Carenet field staff and some ROC club patrons.

Voices to be heard

Children learn about the Safe Place project from friends and also on the radio. Every Saturday morning at 11 am, on Lorlornyo FM, a 30 minute programme hosted by children focuses on protection issues important to them, including the Safe Place project.

"This is our programme and we are working together as a team to ensure that our communities are safe places to grow up”- said Christian Amevor, a 14-year-old Child Ambassador from Kpeve Tornu.

Safe Place project is part of the larger Plan “Learn Without Fear” campaign to stop child violence in schools.