Every child has the right to live free from violence, exploitation and abuse

Thousands of children in Sierra Leone continue to suffer from abuse, neglect, exploitation, and various forms of violence that severely affect their development. According to the 2018 Sierra Leone Violence Against Children Survey (VACS), many children are exposed to sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. Reports from children between the ages of 13 and 17 indicate that a significant number experience sexual violence, with perpetrators often being neighbours and strangers. Additionally, a large portion of children between 13–17 years report experiencing physical violence, and emotional abuse remains a serious concern for children in Sierra Leone.

Beyond direct acts of violence, harmful practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM), child marriage and widespread violence against gorls and women further undermine children’s safety and well-being. According to the 2019 Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Survey, 83% of women and girls aged 15–49 have undergone FGM, most commonly around puberty, and that 30% of young women (aged 20–24) were first married or in union before their 18th birthday—some 253,600 before age 15. This violence can be inflicted by anyone in a child’s life, including strangers, teachers, peers, parents and neighbours. Keeping children safe, wherever they are, is critical to their physical and mental health, well-being and overall development, and it remains a top priority at ChildFund.

Our Impact

22,200 +

Children participated in child protection programs to keep children safe at home, at school, in the community and online

18,740 +

Caregivers were trained to identify, prevent, and respond to risks of abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

6,000 +

Cocoa and coffee farming families have received support to boost household income, enabling them to better care for and protect their children.

57 +

Communities in Kono, Kenema, and Kailahun Districts are actively participating in a child labour prevention project, uniting to protect children from hazardous and age-inappropriate work.

18 +

New child protection mechanisms were established, and 14 existing ones reactivated to strengthen community-based protection systems.

5 +

Leading child-focused organizations (ChildFund, Plan International, Save the Children and World Vision) launched the Joining Forces Alliance, forming a united front to advance children's rights across the country.

Facts and figures from 2024 data.

How does ChildFund work to protect children?

At ChildFund, we adopt a systems approach to preventing and responding to violence against children by focusing on the interconnectedness of various factors that contribute to child protection. This comprehensive strategy recognizes that effective prevention and response requires collaboration among multiple stakeholders, including families, communities, governments and the private sector. By working with these key actors, we aim to strengthen the protective environment surrounding children, ensuring their safety at home, in school, within the community, and online.

We support families to promote their children’s well-being within safe environments. This means educating caregivers about how to interact with their children in healthy ways, as well as helping bolster families’ socioeconomic stability so they can consistently make choices in their children’s best interests.

We educate communities about children’s need for protection, supporting them to create and sustain child protection committees that know how to respond appropriately to abuse, neglect, exploitation and other forms of violence.

We empower children to understand and embrace their own right to protection, helping them find and raise their voices against violence. We advocate alongside them at the local, national and international levels for policy changes that make protecting children a priority.

We work closely with governments at both the national and county levels to strengthen child protection systems, ensuring that policies and legislation prioritize the safety and well-being of children.

What do children need protection from?

Abuse
It may be harsh, humiliating corporal punishment, female genital mutilation, or online sexual abuse and exploitation (OSEAC). Child, early or forced marriage, a type of gender-based violence, can set the stage for a variety of abuses.
Exploitation
It includes child labor; child trafficking; sexual exploitation, including the production of child sexual abuse materials, child prostitution, early marriage and sex tourism; and, in many countries, recruitment into armed forces.
Neglect
Abandonment and other types of neglect leave children vulnerable to institutionalization, exploitation and other hazards.
Violence
Violence can be physical, sexual, emotional or psychological and can take many forms: bullying, forced displacement and separation, torture, mutilation, physical punishment, rape and other forms of gender-based violence.

How does ChildFund work to protect children?

We support our local partner organizations and communities to build and strengthen existing community-based child protection mechanisms (CBCPM) so that children and community members drive their own protection. We also link them with government systems and services, as well as other parts of the child protection system, so that they don’t operate in isolation but instead coordinate and work effectively together to protect children. Our approach to violence prevention also focuses on addressing harmful practices that can disproportionately affect girls and young women, like early marriage and intimate partner violence.

Learn More:

Children learn best when they feel safe, supported, and connected. That’s why we launched the Education for Protection and Wellbeing (EPW) program, giving children the tools they need to succeed, inside and outside the classroom.
Through EPW, we work closely with the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) to create school environments where children’s physical, emotional, and psychological well-being is prioritized.
We train teachers and caregivers in techniques that help children manage emotions, build relationships, solve problems, and stay safe. Children also develop key life skills such as communication, self-awareness, and decision-making, which enhance learning and boost confidence.
At the heart of this approach is social-emotional learning (SEL), which research shows improves academic outcomes, mental health, and future success. ChildFund is working with communities to create a culturally relevant SEL framework, ensuring these essential skills are embedded in every child's education.
Initially piloted in Koinadugu District, the EPW model demonstrated strong results in improving children's well-being and learning environments. Building on this success, in 2024 ChildFund expanded the model to additional grades within the pilot schools and extended its reach to 3 more districts — Falaba, Bombali and Kailahun.

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ChildFund leverages rigorous data, strategic partnerships and targeted advocacy to influence legislation, strengthen enforcement and deliver measurable improvements in child protection.
In recent times, cases of sexual abuse and other acts of violence against children have been on the rise in Sierra Leone. To fight this vice, Her Excellency Mrs Fatima Bio, First Lady of Sierra Leone, initiated the Hands Off Our Girls Campaign, which seeks to end rape, sexual abuse and early marriage, alongside the full spectrum of gender-based violence facing girls and women. ChildFund provided critical financial support and stood with government and community leaders at the campaign’s launch, ensuring the movement began with both visibility and genuine community engagement, prioritizing local voices to shape activities and drive sustainable change.

To ensure children are actively and meaningfully involved in all matters affecting their well-being, we:
Engage children in thematic surveys and forums where they can share insights on issues that impact them and make recommendations to inform decision-making.

Champion and invest in children’s participation in critical advocacy efforts at national, regional and global levels, ensuring their voices shape policies that affect their protection. Learn more.

Promote child rights clubs in schools, enabling students to practice advocacy skills, deepen their understanding of their rights and connect with peers across generations.

Partner in intergenerational dialogue platforms, bringing children, caregivers, educators and community leaders together to build mutual understanding, trust and joint solutions to child protection challenges.

Child protection systems function best when their individual components strengthen and reinforce each other. Our interventions focus on how and where we can complement work already underway by government, institutional donors, the private sector, our local partners and communities to strengthen those systems. Collaborations include community-based child protection mechanisms, public awareness campaigns, data collection and research, advocating for improved laws and policies.
By partnering with these key actors, we aim to strengthen the protective environments surrounding children, ensuring their safety at home, in school, within their communities, and online.

Our online child protection work is grounded in a rights-based, trauma-informed and survivor-centered approach, with safeguarding at its core. We intervene on two complementary fronts:
At the individual level, we design prevention and response programs that amplify children’s and young people’s voices, equipping them with the knowledge, skills and safe channels they need to protect themselves online.

At the community and school level, we partner with local leaders, educators and child-protection committees to bolster both formal and informal systems, ensuring that every school, community group and family has the capacity to identify risks, respond to incidents and sustain a protective environment for children

ChildFund consistently spearheads advocacy initiatives focused on championing children's rights. As an active member of networks like the Joining Forces Alliance, ChildFund collaborates with other organizations to promote the enforcement of child protection legislation and policies and amplify our advocacy efforts. These efforts extend through ChildFund’s implementing partners at local levels, supporting child-led advocacy to ensure children actively and meaningfully engage with decision-makers at all levels.

What do children need protection from?

Abuse
It may be harsh, humiliating corporal punishment, female genital mutilation, or online sexual abuse and exploitation (OSEAC). Child, early or forced marriage, a type of gender-based violence, can set the stage for a variety of abuses.
Exploitation
It includes child labor; child trafficking; sexual exploitation, including the production of child sexual abuse materials, child prostitution, early marriage and sex tourism; and, in many countries, recruitment into armed forces.
Neglect
Abandonment and other types of neglect leave children vulnerable to institutionalization, exploitation and other hazards.
Violence
Violence can be physical, sexual, emotional or psychological and can take many forms: bullying, forced displacement and separation, torture, mutilation, physical punishment, rape and other forms of gender-based violence.

Featured Project

ChildFund, Plan, Save the Children, SOS Children’s Villages, and World Vision launch Joining Forces Alliance to advance child rights in Sierra Leone

On February 1, 204, ChildFund, World Vision International Sierra Leone, Plan International, Save the Children, and SOS Children’s Villages Sierra Leone launched the Joining Forces Alliance Sierra Leone Chapter. Under the theme ‘United to end violence against all children and secure the rights of every child’, the five organisations pledge to work together to promote children’s issues and rights.
Just like all the Joining Forces chapters around the world, we are dedicated to accelerating positive change for children by actively engaging in resource acquisition that empowers and uplifts the lives of our youngest generation. Through fundraising initiatives and collaborative efforts, we aim to secure resources such as education, healthcare, and support systems, ensuring that every child receives the care and opportunities they deserve.