In Bogotá, Colombia, on 7-8 November 2024, government and civil society leaders and advocates, survivors of violence and young people came together at the first Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children. During the conference the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance and UNICEF co-hosted a parallel session which focused on the pivotal role of the social service workforce in preventing and addressing violence against children. Through powerful testimonials and country-specific examples, the session underscored the need for urgent, sustained support for social service workers worldwide.
Kirsten Di Martino, UNICEF Senior Advisor Child Protection, opened the session by underscoring the importance of the social service workforce as the cornerstone of effective child protection systems, describing the workforce as “the heart of every effective and inclusive child protection system.” She noted that a strong social service workforce “ignites the system and makes it come to life.” Di Martino emphasized that social service workers’ ability to perform and the impact of their work depends on the workforce receiving the proper political, human and financial support. She highlighted UNICEF’s commitment to strengthening this workforce across over 150 countries.
Hugh Salmon, Director, Global Social Service Workforce Alliance, further detailed the range of key roles and functions of the social service workforce in ending violence against children. He explained that the workforce, in which social work is the core profession, includes a wide range of roles, with very different job titles in different countries. It includes professionals, para professionals and community volunteers, who work on multiple levels, and in preventive, responsive and promotive roles. At the national or macro level, social service workers develop and monitor policy and practice, raise awareness and advocate for those in need and at risk. At the mezzo level they work with the whole community, coordinating and improving services, but also in preventive work such as addressing social norms and promoting positive parenting. The micro level is when they work on individual cases, through home visits, and working within schools, hospitals, and other community settings to identify risks early, assess needs, develop and implement case plans and coordinate referrals to other services. Salmon emphasized that well-targeted and sustained investments, combined with careful planning, developing and supporting of the social service workforce, significantly increases the effectiveness of child protection systems.
Global Insights: Country-Level Progress
The panel portion of the session included the sharing of a range of key experiences and achievements in workforce strengthening from government colleagues across three continents, from Jordan to Zambia and Viet Nam, but starting with a first-hand account of social work at community level from Colombia.
- Colombia: Social worker María Isabel Ruiz Fajardo highlighted the on-the-ground impact of social service workers in preventing and addressing violence against children. She noted how social workers work with communities to create plans and policies that respect diverse cultural contexts and address local needs, promoting dignity and improved quality of life. She also emphasized how their interdisciplinary work with other professions helps social workers identify and address a wide range of individual needs and ensure quality access to state services.
- Jordan: Dr. Ahmed Abuhaidar, Assistant Secretary General from the Ministry of Social Development highlighted in his remarks on the panel how Jordan has made substantial strides in strengthening its social service workforce to combat violence against children. Grounded in principles of “do no harm” and “leave no one behind,” Jordan’s recent initiatives include a comprehensive legal and policy framework for the workforce—including the Child Rights Law (2022), Social Development Law (2024) and a by-law on social work professionalization—that set professional standards and regulatory oversight for the workforce. A well-structured case management system also promotes inter-agency collaboration, enabling efficient coordination across ministries and child protection agencies. Additionally, Jordan has invested in capacity-building through specialized training programs, partnerships with universities, and new curricula to equip future social workers with essential skills. These reforms position Jordan’s social service workforce to better protect children and foster long-term resilience in the child protection system.
- Viet Nam: Dang Hoa Nam, Director General of the Department of Children’s Affairs, explained how over the past 15 years, Viet Nam has rapidly advanced its social service workforce, beginning with the National Program on Social Work Development (2010–2020) which established social work as a profession. Building on this, Vietnam has enacted policies across social welfare, health and education sectors, including the 2016 Law on Children, which identifies social workers as essential to child protection. Most recently, the country’s recent enactment of a landmark decree on social work underscores its commitment to professionalizing the field and protecting vulnerable populations. The decree defines social work standards, promotes comprehensive training and mandates licensing to ensure a qualified workforce, making social workers pivotal to Viet Nam’s child protection system. “This decree is an historic milestone,” Hoa Ham said, “[that] establishes a stronger legal framework for social work professionalization and practice in Viet Nam.”
- Zambia: Susan Musonda, Principal Planner from Zambia’s Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, highlighted the economic cost of violence against children in the country and the need for an expanded social service workforce. The government’s recent investment case analysis, which included mapping and then costing the social service workforce, also assessed the ‘cost of inaction’. It revealed that violence against children currently costs Zambia nearly 9.12% of its GDP. Zambia also faces significant staffing shortages, with only 17.5 social workers per 100,000 children, a workforce ratio that is far below regional and global averages. To address these gaps, Zambia’s government is using the results of the workforce mapping and costing to estimate the resources required to reach a sufficient workforce to population ratio. It is now exploring a strategy to expand and support the social service, with the aim to reduce the impact of violence against children by over half, yielding significant social, economic and financial benefits.
Laura Rawlings, World Bank Lead Economist, Gender Group, closed the panel with remarks on the importance of linking the social service workforce to broader social protection goals, including gender-based violence prevention. “Social protection and the social service workforce can serve as the ‘connector’ between vulnerable families and social services and income support, and between demand from families and the supply of services,” she noted. Rawlings also stressed that supporting the social service workforce through better training, fair compensation, and technology-based resources will build resilience and address violence against children more effectively.
The key takeaway from the session was clear: there is an urgent need to mobilize resources and ensure more sustained investment, government commitment, donor support and civil society engagement in the social service workforce to truly combat violence against children.