Child Protection and Safeguarding Specialist at Plan International Ghana, Abubakari Adamu, has urged journalists to place child safety above the race to break news.

Speaking to JoyNews at Plan International Ghana’s Media Training in Koforidua, he expressed concern about the growing tendency to publish images and videos involving children without adequate protection.

“Children have rights and journalists must respect those rights at all times,” he highlighted.

He warned that in the rush to be first, some reporters expose children to danger by revealing their identities or locations.

To illustrate the risk, he recounted an incident where a journalist visited a farming community but did not meet the adults, who had gone to their farms. Instead, the journalist encountered children who were alone in the compound and excited to see the visitors.

“The journalist captured their excitement and posted it online,” he recalled.

“When I saw it, I quickly asked that it be taken down because it could send a signal to bad people that the children were alone at that moment,” he shared.

According to him, such content may appear harmless but can expose children to exploitation, abuse or community backlash.

Mr. Adamu explained that safeguarding refers to internal efforts to keep children and programme participants safe.

It means behaving appropriately towards children, never abusing positions of trust, assessing and reducing risks in all operations, and reporting and responding properly to abuse.

He noted that children in Ghana continue to face serious protection risks, including teenage pregnancy, child labour, trafficking, streetism and sexual and gender based violence. Other concerns include female genital mutilation, corporal punishment, unsafe migration and poor sanitation-related health challenges.

He also cautioned about online dangers.

“With over ten million internet users in Ghana, children are increasingly exposed to cyber violence, explicit content and online exploitation,” he mentioned.

While Ghana has several protective laws, including the 1992 Constitution, the Human Trafficking Act and the Domestic Violence Act, he stressed that legislation alone is not enough without ethical journalism.

Beyond children, he urged journalists to show empathy when reporting on victims of tragedy.
Referencing footage from a recent plane crash, he questioned how families would feel seeing such videos circulated widely.

“Just because you have the footage does not mean it must be published,” he said.

In relation to this discussion, some journalists at the session acknowledged that although they understand ethical standards, competition from bloggers and pressure from editors sometimes influence newsroom decisions.

“ Some of us know the rules, a journalist said. But when we return from an assignment, our editors or bosses may see certain footage circulating from bloggers and question why we were on the ground yet could not get that same image. Meanwhile, bloggers already have it out there. Therefore, we overlook the rule,” the journalist revealed.

Abu responded that safeguarding is a shared responsibility across newsrooms.

“Professional journalism is guided by ethics. The code protects not only journalists but the people we report on,” he stated.

He reminded journalists that childhood experiences shape adult life and that harmful exposure can leave lasting scars.

“Story value must never outweigh the well-being of a child,” he emphasised.

He ended with a simple but firm reminder to the media: “Do no harm.”