Every year, millions of children across the world experience violence, often in places where they should feel safest: at home, at school, and in their communities. Safe in Town is an initiative dedicated to tackling this urgent issue by supporting the development and implementation of comprehensive, city-level child safeguarding policies.

The project works with selected municipalities in Italy, Greece, Cyprus, and Portugal to create safer, inclusive, and child-friendly environments. It promotes a coordinated, multi-disciplinary approach, bringing together local authorities, service providers, communities, and children themselves to prevent violence, strengthen protection systems, and ensure effective responses when risks arise.

Following the EU Recommendation on integrated child protection systems, SAFE IN TOWN fosters innovative policies, procedures, and practices, including child- and gender-sensitive referral mechanisms and evidence-based strategies. By building local capacities and a strong culture of safeguarding, the initiative aims to reduce risks, protect children, and empower them to thrive safely in their communities.

Focusing on four medium-sized European cities with populations between 100.000 and 200.000, the project leverages the subsidiarity of local governments to pilot innovative approaches to prevention, early identification, and timely intervention. These cities provide ideal environments to test new safeguarding tools, protocols, and collaborative practices.

Implementation will be carried out in close partnership with local authorities, external stakeholders, and children themselves. This collaborative approach will result in tailor-made City Child Safeguarding Policies (CCSPs), strengthening the connections between municipal authorities, children, civil society, and local communities, and laying the groundwork for safer, child-centered urban environments.