“Normal” is a setting on a washing machine… Indeed, “normalcy” and social norms can be a challenge for the protection of children’s rights - Social and Behaviour change can provide some tools to address them. 

A workshop organised by the Council of Europe equipped frontline professionals with tools to recognise how social norms and cognitive biases shape their decisions in sensitive child protection cases. The participants were provided with a space to examine how “invisible" forces like social norms and cognitive biases can enter their professional judgements without their awareness and allowed them to work on practical examples.

This initiative is part of the Council of Europe work to improve outcomes of children’s protection against sexual abuse which uses Social and Behaviour Change to build evidence informed professional capacity for social workers, judges, and psychologists. 

The activity was carried out within the Council of Europe Project “Combating Violence against Children in Georgia” implemented in the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Georgia 2024–2027.