Social protection a study of child protection in Winneba township

Abstract

The challenges facing children in the 21st century are as immense as challenges facing adults. Social protection of children is therefore important for the overall wellbeing of children. Despite the existence of child rights laws and institutions, social protection of children in Winneba Township remains inadequate, necessitating an exploration of the implementation gaps and challenges to inform effective solutions and as such, this study seeks to bridge this gap. The purpose of the study was to explore the social protection measures in place for children in the Winneba Township. The interpretivist paradigm was adopted for the study. The research approach was qualitative while the descriptive case study design was adopted. The study sampled 30 participants using purposive and convenience sampling procedures. Data were collected using semi-structured interview guide and a focus group discussion guide. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. The results showed that social protection of children was perceived by the participants as involving identifying and intervening to end abuse of children, and protection of children’s rights. It was also revealed that the social protection measures available in Winneba involved rescuing abused children and putting them in recovery, providing child maintenance and support for parents, and educating the public on child rights. Further, the study showed that social protection measures were deployed in Winneba through mechanisms such as investigation and mediation, collaboration and public sensitisation. Additionally, it was found that the main challenges hindering the social protection of children were finance, tradition or culture, institutional politics and knowledge of child rights. Finally, the study revealed that community awareness and sensitization, collaboration, funding and provision of resources, and education of stakeholders were factors which can enhance the social protection of children in Winneba. It was recommended that clubs should be formed by schools to ensure children learn about their rights and responsibilities, effective collaboration between actors should be encouraged and an improved budgetary allocation for child protection actors. This can help the agencies get the funding and resources needed to sufficiently ensure the social protection of children.