Two child welfare organisations have joined forces to promote preventive education during April, which is Child Abuse Prevention Month.

The Coalition for the Protection of Children and Saving Children and Revealing Secrets reminded the public of the importance of making sure every child remains safe.

Both non-profit organisations provide free programmes that focus on prevention information and strategies to help protect young people.

Scars has trained 14,000 adults in tools that will help them prevent, recognise, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse.

The CPC educates and empowers children through its school-based programme, Safety Matters.

More than 3,200 students have been trained in the five safety rules that incorporate all forms of child abuse, including bullying, cyberbullying and digital dangers, presented to students in a developmentally appropriate way.

Throughout both programmes, the underlying message is that it is an adult’s responsibility to keep children safe.

The organisations said that the message has reached more than a quarter of the population, putting Bermuda in a position to be an example to other jurisdictions.

Kelly Hunt, the executive director of the CPC, said: “This 360 approach to child protection can make a significant difference in the life of a child and there is no better strategy than by working together.

“Teaching safety rules means that children know how to spot red flags, not feel blamed or shamed if something has already happened, and that they should talk to a safe adult who follows these rules as a standard practice.

“Through preventive education, two outcomes can be realised; there is a streamlined message throughout the community that we will not tolerate child abuse and most importantly there is a positive impact on a child’s life that they will carry throughout their adulthood.”

Debi Ray-Rivers, the executive director of Scars, added: “When we empower adults to protect children, we save lives, and when we empower children to speak up, we save lives.

“Protecting children takes all of us, and with the 360 approach to child protection, we are creating a safer world for children.”

• For more information on what you can do as an adult to protect your child, visitscarsbermuda.com/virtual-community-training. For more information on how you can empower children, visitcoalition.bm/our-work