Raising Awareness of the Lived Experiences of Child Domestic Workers Through Storytelling

Raising Awareness of the Lived Experiences of Child Domestic Workers Through Storytelling

During the reporting period, DEVATOP implemented the “Voices Behind Closed Doors” storytelling competition, engaging 50 participants who used their social media platforms to raise awareness about the lived experiences of child domestic workers (CDWs). Participants created and shared stories through videos, spoken-word performances, short dramas and poems, highlighting the realities children may experience in domestic work, including maltreatment, the importance of prevention and the need to report abuse. The entries also emphasised that preventing exploitative child domestic work requires collective responsibility and action from families, communities and other stakeholders.

The competition provided a platform for bringing often-hidden experiences of CDWs into public conversations and encouraging wider community awareness of child protection. It contributed to efforts to challenge the silence surrounding maltreatment and reinforce the role individuals and communities can play in preventing exploitation and responding to abuse. The use of participants’ personal social media networks also helped extend these messages beyond direct programme activities.