Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Behavioural Change Among Security and Defense Forces: Experiences and Lessons from East, West and Central Africa

This 89-page report discusses the experience and impact of working with security and defence force personnel to build capacity around child protection, with specific focus on insights gained from trainings conducted by Save the Children in East, West, and Central Africa. A key question posed for the research was whether the training resulted in behaviour change during field operations to enhance the protection and well-being of children living through wars or in post-conflict situations. The research found that the capacity building activities had considerable impact on individual knowledge, attitudes, and intended behaviours, but that there are still a lot of challenges for application in the field.

"Save the Children Sweden's programme provided peacekeeping personnel with training to increase their capacities in protecting vulnerable children, to provide support for those suffering from violations, and to prevent recruitment of young people into armed groups." The report was developed based primarily on studies and evaluations conducted by Save the Children regarding these child protection training activities, as well as reports by other agencies such as the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF). Researchers also conducted surveys and focus group discussion with participants and trainers who had been part of these activities.

The report provides an overview of the structure and accomplishments of child protection training with defense forces, conducted by Save the Children, the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations, UNICEF, the International Bureau for Children's Rights (IBCR), and Peacekeeping Training Centres. It then discusses programme delivery, focusing on topics, organisation, and teaching methodologies.

The review found that training is often provided through partnerships between military and humanitarian organisations, usually as part of broader training activities rather than standalone, focused sessions. Training generally focuses on child development, legal protections, sexual abuse and exploitation, recruitment of children into armed groups, child labour, and children separated from their families. In terms of methodologies, Save the Children emphasises varied, interactive approaches that include lectures, small group discussions, case studies, group presentations, and question and answer (Q&A) sessions. On the other hand, UN missions and Peacekeeping Training Centres reported relying mostly on PowerPoint presentations and videos. Save the Children, UNICEF, and the DPKO all employ a training of trainers approach.

The report discusses the impact, focusing on Save the Children, of the training, in terms practical application in the field:

• New perspectives: "65% of those who have taken a training course on Child Rights and Protection indicated that it changed their understanding and attitudes on child protection. Furthermore, 91% of those interviewed credited the course with providing new skills that are useful in child protection fieldwork. Virtually 100% said that the course had given them new perspectives and information on the circumstances of children in conflict situations."
• Attitude change: "78% of course participants credit the training with improving their behaviour and attitudes towards children, in both their professional and family lives."
• Respect, sensitivity, and patience skills: "While, values such as respect, sensitivity and patience are viewed as integral to training on child protection and rights, over 70% of training materials used by defence institutions did not define nor build these skills and attitudes. Yet, these skills are needed in order to adopt child-friendly peacekeeping theory and practices. Most training materials were therefore solely focused on the transmission of knowledge."
• Practical skills: "Whilst the general trend on subject matter indicated that child protection subject matter was well transmitted, variety of skills required by peacekeepers to effectively handle children in armed conflict were yet to be acquired and internalized by trainees in different platforms in West and East Africa. For example, the scores for skills training in direct contact with children are quite low, with 18% saying the training was poor and 19.7% giving it an 'adequate' rating."
• Practical application: "72% confirmed that their organisation made child protection work a bigger priority following the training. At the same time, an almost equal percentage (69%) indicated that many of their co-workers did not share their commitment to this work.

In terms of lessons for future implementation, the report suggests that quality assurance mechanisms be put in place, which include a list of core competencies for both general child protection and specific sectors. It also suggests that Save the Children should establish a database for its child protection training programmes, as well as enhance training evaluations. In terms of training materials, there is a need to make links between overall background issues (e.g., definition of a child, childhood development) and conflict situations so that soldiers are better equipped to actually relate to children in the field. In addition, sector-based child protection training materials should be developed and teaching materials should be refined to include more gender analysis and references to international instruments. These learning materials need to be updated regularly, and possibly hosted on an online portal that would include resources and updates.

Click here to download a summary of the report in PDF format.