Children learn about body boundaries through the Body Safety Traffic Light activity
From May to mid-September, Fr John Lee SJ, Director of the Office for the Protection of Minors and Professional Standards of the Chinese Province of the Society of Jesus, along with a team trained child safeguarding facilitators, travelled to six cities across northern, central, and southern Taiwan to conduct child safeguarding outreach activities and help children learn about personal boundaries, online safety, and emotional warning signs.
The programmes were held at St Francis Pilgrimage Site (Xizhi Catholic Church), Zhudong Catholic Church, Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in the Diocese of Tainan, the Little Angels Camp of the Diocese of Chiayi, Luocuo Catholic Church in Changhua, and a Sunday school summer camp in the Diocese of Kaohsiung.
Altogether, approximately 400 children took part.
The content of each programme was designed according to the children’s ages and local needs, allowing safeguarding concepts to be presented in ways that children could understand and actively engage with. The schedule was also adapted to the format of each parish or camp and to the needs of participants, with individual programmes lasting no more than eight hours.
Through bingo games, stories, everyday-life scenarios, and other interactive activities, child safeguarding facilitators helped children understand what to do when they encounter unwanted physical contact, suspicious messages from strangers, or other potentially unsafe situations. Children practised saying “no,” moving away from the situation, and telling a trusted adult. They also learned that when a friend needs help, they can stay alongside them and seek assistance from an adult.
Another activity, the Body Safety Traffic Light, invited children to place red, yellow, and green stickers on a diagram of the human body. They were encouraged to think for themselves about which parts of the body should be considered “red-light” areas that others should not touch freely, “yellow-light” areas where permission should first be sought, and “green-light” areas where contact may generally feel safe.
The outreach programmes also returned to the heart of the Christian faith by helping children recognise that each of them is unique and precious in the eyes of God. Through biblical stories and situations drawn from everyday life, they were encouraged to see faith as a source of strength when facing temptation, danger, or difficulties.
At Chiayi Little Angels Camp, Perpetual Help High School, older students show children how to seek help
Some parishes also organised sessions for parents and young people. Parents were encouraged to listen to their children, reflect on the differences between care, discipline, and control, and engage with issues surrounding adolescence, online friendships, and interpersonal boundaries.
Young people, meanwhile, reflected on their own life experiences and explored how genuine love must be grounded in respect, consent, boundaries, and responsibility.
One facilitator who took part in the outreach programme reflected:
“Seeing children learn through play to recognise their emotions, protect themselves, and respect others reminded me of Jesus’ words: ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me—Matthew 25:40.’”
Although the inaugural six-stop outreach programme has now come to a close, the journey of safeguarding children continues.
Next year, the Jesuit Child Safeguarding Office will continue visiting churches and parishes across Taiwan, promoting greater awareness of child safety and helping children develop the knowledge and confidence they need to recognise unsafe situations and seek help.
