Picture: Children Change Colombia
Through her work on the programme to prevent gender-based violence and sexual exploitation by Children Change Colombia, Jessica Alfaro supports more than 300 children in Cartagena, Colombia. Her commitment to child participation and to strengthening organisational safeguarding systems has had a significant impact on the wellbeing of children in her community.
Jessica was nominated by a colleague for her approach to child safeguarding: viewing it not merely as a response mechanism, but as a means of anticipating risks and for her dual focus: helping children recognise their rights whilst also ensuring that the people and organisations around them are prepared to act effectively.
Regarding her work on incorporating child safeguarding measures into the programme, her colleague highlighted: ‘Jessica Alfaro has helped ensure that child safeguarding, within the Children Change Colombia programme in Cartagena, does not depend on the goodwill or judgement of individuals, but on clear processes that are known and applied by everyone. Her work has helped turn child safeguarding into a system.’
Participation and accessibility as a foundation
One of the most notable aspects of Jessica’s work is her commitment to children’s participation. Through play, drawing, art and group discussions, she has helped children better understand their rights and tackle complex issues in an accessible and understandable way.
‘Jessica ensures that child safeguarding is built together with the children. For her, listening to their voices is an essential part of keeping them safe’, said her colleague.
Through playful activities, children learn that their bodies deserve respect and that talking about a situation of violence is no cause for guilt or shame. They also learn to recognise adults they can turn to.
Jessica also helped develop guides and tools that translate organisational procedures into language accessible to children. Among these materials is a booklet aimed at children aged between five and ten, which helps them identify situations of abuse, recognise trusted adults and understand how to report incidents; all through illustrations and interactive activities.
At the same time, Jessica has worked to ensure that the adults responsible for addressing children’s concerns and reports are prepared to respond appropriately, that they listen without judgement, avoiding making children repeat their experiences unnecessarily, respect their pace and emotions and protect the confidentiality of the information.
She also helps ensure that cases are referred in a timely manner to the relevant health, protection, and justice services and that the necessary follow-up is carried out to facilitate access to care.
This way, her work links children’s participation with organisational procedures designed to guarantee timely, respectful responses centered on the rights of every child.
Creating comprehensive child safeguarding systems
One of the key features of her work is her commitment to developing a robust child-safeguarding system.
Jessica promotes the incorporation of safe practices into programme activities and encourages teams to identify potential risks before an incident occurs. This includes assessing the venues where activities take place, travel arrangements, group supervision, interactions between adults and children, and the handling of images and personal information.
These guidelines ensure that child safeguarding does not depend on individual judgement but is underpinned by established processes.
In this work, Jessica upholds a fundamental principle: the best interests of the child must guide decisions. Their safety, dignity, and wellbeing are fundamental considerations both in the design of activities and in responding to concerns.
A holistic approach
Jessica’s work reflects a holistic understanding of child safeguarding: children need to know their rights, and they also need adults to know how to respect and protect them and for organisations to have effective mechanisms in place to take action.
Thanks to her work, children who would have previously normalised various forms of violence now have more tools to recognise them, reject them and ask for help.
We congratulate Jessica Alfaro on being selected for this award and celebrate her exceptional dedication to promoting systems and communities that protect children and young people from abuse.