“Voices of Children” Foundation Joins Effort to Establish Ethical Guidelines for Interacting with War-Affected Children

Author:

Mariia Kucova

The Ombudsman's Office, in cooperation with the "Voices of Children" Charitable Foundation, the NGO "Regional Center for Human Rights", the NGO "Ukrainian Child Rights Network", and a wide range of experts, has developed recommendations for ethical interaction with children affected by the war.

For more than two years, Ukrainian children have been living under the conditions of a large-scale war, enduring traumatic experiences and witnessing Russian atrocities. In light of this, they are frequently engaged in advocacy campaigns and public communications, which can seriously affect their mental health.

When involving children affected by war in public appearances and communications, especially with the media, requires careful consideration of potential consequences. This includes protecting the child's right to personal dignity, inviolability, safety, and privacy, and preventing the possibility of causing psychological trauma or re-traumatization,
— the document states.

Therefore, the key principles during such events should include:

the best interests of the child;
do no harm;
confidentiality;
need assessment;
informed consent of the child.

You can access the full text of the Ethical Guidelines below. The “Voices of Children” Foundation has completed the first section of the document, which was first presented on April 16 at a roundtable in the Child Rights Protection Center.

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