Strengthening child safeguarding systems within local governments is a critical step toward ensuring children’s rights are protected in everyday public services. In Küçükçekmece district, a comprehensive Child Safeguarding Policy developed through an institutional strengthening process led by Save the Children Türkiye was unanimously approved by the municipal council.
Advancing Institutional Child Protection at Local Level
Küçükçekmece Municipality in Istanbul serves thousands of children daily through preschools, youth centres, sports facilities, libraries and community programmes. While child focused services are implemented strongly, child safeguarding practices varied across different directorates, creating the need for a comprehensive and institution wide framework.
Save the Children Türkiye partnered with the municipality to systematise and align safeguarding practices with international child protection standards. The collaboration focused on transforming existing commitments into a structured, accountable and rights-based safeguarding system.
Technical Leadership and Policy Development
Save the Children Türkiye and Municipality initiated the establishment of a multi-directorate task force, ensuring representation from all departments interacting with children. Through bi-weekly workshops and structured technical guidance, safeguarding standards were reviewed, harmonised and consolidated.
The resulting Child Safeguarding Policy includes:
• Clear codes of conduct and professional boundaries
• Safe physical, emotional and digital interaction standards
• Trauma-informed approaches
• Defined reporting and accountability mechanisms
• Risk mitigation procedures across facilities
This reform process was not limited to drafting a policy document. It strengthened institutional capacity, introduced shared safeguarding language, and embedded systematic risk assessment across municipal services.
The policy’s unanimous approval by the municipal council formalised safeguarding as a political and institutional priority
Sustainable Systems and Replication
Today, staff across municipal services operate under unified safeguarding standards with clearer reporting pathways and stronger accountability mechanisms. This initiative reflects Save the Children Türkiye’s system-strengthening approach: working with public institutions to build sustainable child protection systems that endure beyond project timelines.
A Scalable Model for Türkiye
The Küçükçekmece experience demonstrates how civil society expertise can accelerate institutional child safeguarding reform at local level. By combining technical leadership with municipal ownership, Save the Children Türkiye has contributed to establishing a scalable model for local governments nationwide.
As the Mayor noted:
“A safe city for children is a safe city for everyone.”
Through this partnership, that vision is now anchored in policy and practice.
In addition, the experience in Küçükçekmece has created momentum beyond a single municipality. Building on this model, Save the Children Türkiye is engaging with the Marmara Municipalities Union and other local authorities, including İzmir Municipality, to support the development and strengthening of child safeguarding policies at local level.
