Terre des Hommes Netherlands shares international child protection expertise at ISPCAN 2026
At the international ISPCAN Congress in Melbourne, our experts shared insights from research and programmes across Asia, Kenya and the Netherlands.
The International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse & Neglect (ISPCAN) Congress brings together experts, practitioners and advocates from around the world to exchange knowledge and strengthen the protection of children. Eva Notté, Claire Cody and Kathyleen Honculada attended on behalf of Terre des Hommes Netherlands.
They shared insights on a wide range of topics, from child labour and human trafficking to online safety, gender norms, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and access to justice.
Two contributions selected for the Youth Stream
New to this year’s congress was the Youth Stream, a programme developed by young people. The selected presentations demonstrated how children and young people can be meaningfully involved in research, policy and programmes. Of just eleven presentations selected worldwide, two were led by Terre des Hommes Netherlands.
Eva Notté presented how children’s perspectives are being incorporated into a roadmap to eliminate child labour in Asia. She also shared insights from Kenya, where work is being carried out together with child survivors of human trafficking to develop care that better reflects their experiences and takes trauma into account.
From online safety to gender norms
Claire Cody presented research on a topical issue in the Netherlands: potential age restrictions for social media. Rather than simply talking about young people, the research explored adolescents’ own views on such measures and what they believe is needed to better protect children online.
Claire also shared lessons from the She Leads programme in Kenya on changing gender norms that can make children more vulnerable to violence and exploitation. At the Rise Up Policy Forum, she also brought together experiences from the Philippines and Kenya to explore how policies and justice systems can better protect children from sexual exploitation.
Kathyleen Honculada highlighted the role communities themselves can play in preventing exploitation. Community theatre and child-friendly information points, for example, can help make conversations about sexual and reproductive health and rights more accessible.
Working together to strengthen child protection
The congress provided an opportunity to compare experiences from different countries, gain new insights and critically reflect on existing approaches. One recurring theme was the importance of involving children and young people themselves.
By not only researching their perspectives but actively involving them in the development of policies, research and programmes, solutions can better reflect their experiences and needs.
We will continue to apply and share this knowledge and experience, working alongside children, young people, communities and partners towards a world where children are protected from exploitation and violence.
