Every child deserves to feel safe. Saying it is easy. But building a movement around it takes all of us.
That is what Child Safety Week set out to do in 2019. Seven years later, it has grown from school pledges into a campaign seen on buses, trains, cinema screens and mobile phones across India, with a reach of over 165 million (16.5 crore) in 2025.
Here is how it happened, why the week falls in November, and why its message now centres on one law that protects every child in India.
1. What Is Child Safety Week?
Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) often stays hidden behind silence and stigma. Child Safety Week exists to break that silence.
Arpan initiated Child Safety Week (CSW) in 2019 as an annual collaborative movement, observed from 14 to 20 November, to raise awareness, amplify conversations and encourage collective action against Child Sexual Abuse through public communication, partnerships, conversations and events. For one week every year, a conversation that usually happens behind closed doors moves into public spaces. Anyone can be part of it, whether that means sharing a message, hosting a session or simply starting a conversation at home.
But the week is a starting point, not a finish line. Keeping children safe is an everyday responsibility, and the conversations are meant to be carried all through the year.
2. When Is Child Safety Week in India?
Every year, from 14 to 20 November. Four days that matter for children fall within this week:
- 14 November: Children’s Day in India
- 18 November: World Day for the Prevention of and Healing from Child Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Violence
- 19 November: World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse
- 20 November: World Children’s Day
Together, they link a national celebration of children with a global call to protect them.
3. Seven Years, Seven Editions
Each edition is built on the last. Here is how the week has grown.
2019 | Theme: #iStandForChildSafety | Reach: 700,000+ (7 lakh)
The first edition brought 123 organisations together, with 90,666 pledges and appeals for standing for child safety. Read the 2019 report
2020 | Theme: #ItCanWeCan | Reach: 13 million (1.3 crore)
With the country at home during the pandemic, the week went digital. Its #ItCanWeCan videos carried a simple idea: it can happen to any child, and we can all do our bit to keep children safe. Over 184 organisations and individuals from nine countries took part. Read the 2020 report
2021 | Theme: #NowIsTheTime | Reach: 12.5 million (1.25 crore)
Over 160 organisations and 15 public figures joined in, and 12 states and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands observed the week. Read the 2021 report
2022 | Theme: #NeverTooLate | Reach: 13.7 million (1.37 crore)
Over 170 organisations and 16 well-known personalities took part, with activities across 12 states. Mumbai’s Western and Central Railways carried the message on platforms, and the week was covered 97 times in the news. Read the 2022 report
2023 | Theme: It’s Okay to Say No | Reach: 7.3 million (73 lakh)
The week reminded everyone that children can say ‘No’ and get away from any situation that feels unsafe. Messages travelled on around 1,200 BEST buses in Mumbai. Read the 2023 report
2024 | Theme: #ProtectedByPOCSO | Reach: 69.7 million (6.97 crore)
The first campaign that aimed directly at offenders. Key message: “Child Sexual Abuse is a punishable offence. All children in India are #ProtectedByPOCSO. Stop Right Now or Get Caught.” Read the 2024 report
2025 | Theme: #POCSOPakadLega | Reach: 165 million+ (16.5 crore)
Vidya Balan was the face of the campaign, on screen, on buses and metro trains, on billboards and on newspaper front pages. Key message: “ Child Sexual Abuse is a punishable offence. Every child in India is protected by the POCSO Act.” Read the 2025 report
In seven years, the week has moved from pledges to the law, and from a reach of hundreds of thousands to millions. What has stayed the same is the belief that every adult has a role in keeping children safe.
Why the shift to POCSO in 2024
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act is designed to protect every child in India below 18 years of age since 2012, yet many people did not know it existed. So from 2024, Child Safety Week turned its focus to the law and spoke directly to offenders, with a clear warning: Child Sexual Abuse is a punishable offence, and the law will act. Field research in Mumbai before Child Safety Week 2025 found that only one in five commuters could name the Act, which shows why this message still matters.
Read more about the POCSO Act.
4. What Seven Years Teach About Campaigning for a Social Cause
For anyone planning a child safety awareness campaign in India, or any digital campaign for a social cause, the week offers a few simple lessons:
- Show up every year. A fixed week lets partners plan ahead and lets the message build over time.
- Meet people where they are. Online during the lockdown, on the bus, at the cinema and on their phones.
- Say it simply. Lines like ‘Stop Right Now or Get Caught’ and ‘POCSO Pakad Lega’ are easy to remember and repeat.
- Bring others along. Schools, NGOs, government bodies and transport partners carry the message further than any one voice can.
6. Child Safety Week 2026: Stay Tuned
The eighth edition of Child Safety Week runs from Saturday, 14 November to Friday, 20 November 2026. Stay tuned to the Child Safety Week page for what comes next.
7. How You Can Be Part of It
- Share Child Safety Week messages with your family, friends and colleagues.
- Talk to the children in your life about personal safety. Arpan’s resources for parents and teachers are a good place to start.
- Start a conversation on child safety at your school, workplace or residential society.
- Learn how to keep children safe through Arpan’s online courses on Arpan E-Learn
- If you are worried about a child, or need counselling support, call Arpan’s helpline on 1800 267 2444.
8. Frequently Asked Questions
When is Child Safety Week in India?
Child Safety Week is observed from 14 to 20 November every year. In 2026, it runs from Saturday, 14 November to Friday, 20 November.
Who started Child Safety Week?
Arpan, a Mumbai-based organisation working to prevent Child Sexual Abuse and support healing, started Child Safety Week in 2019. 2026 is its eighth edition.
What was the #ProtectedByPOCSO campaign?
#ProtectedByPOCSO was the theme of Child Safety Week 2024. It was the first campaign to speak directly to offenders, with a clear message: Child Sexual Abuse is a punishable offence under the POCSO Act. Stop Right Now or Get Caught.
When is the World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse?
The World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse is observed on 19 November, which falls within Child Safety Week. The World Day for the Prevention of and Healing from Child Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Violence, on 18 November, also falls within the week.
References
Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, No. 32 of 2012, India (2012).
United Nations General Assembly. (2022). World Day for the Prevention of and Healing from Child Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Violence (A/RES/77/8). https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/n22/684/98/pdf/n2268498.pdf
Women’s World Summit Foundation. (n.d.). World Day – 19 November and 19 Days Campaign: 1–19 November. Retrieved 22 October 2026, from https://www.woman.ch/19-days-campaign-1
