The Five Safe Fingers innovation was created in response to the serious and lasting physical and emotional harm caused by child sexual abuse. In Vietnam and many Global South contexts, many children experience abuse at an early age, yet cultural taboos, fear, and power imbalances often prevent them from speaking out. This silence deepens trauma, delays support, and allows abuse to remain hidden within families and communities. Although legal frameworks exist, they usually intervene only after harm has occurred. Five Safe Fingers is grounded in the belief that education can catalyse societal change by acting earlier and shifting child protection from a reactive legal response to a shared social responsibility. Schools and families are central to this transformation, yet many lack accessible tools to teach children about personal boundaries, safe and unsafe situations, and how to seek help. The project was therefore designed as a preventive, education-based approach that empowers children with age-appropriate knowledge and practical self-protection skills, while equipping educators and parents to address sensitive topics respectfully. By breaking the silence around abuse, the innovation challenges harmful social norms and promotes open dialogue. Through a global network of educators and online platforms, Five Safe Fingers makes child protection education accessible, inclusive, and free, positioning children as agents of change who contribute to safer communities.
In practice, Five Safe Fingers is implemented as a preventive, school-based educational programme designed to address the serious physical and mental consequences of child sexual abuse. While laws exist to deal with such cases, they often take effect only after harm has occurred. This innovation therefore focuses on early prevention by engaging schools and families to actively promote sexual abuse prevention education for children. The project brings together more than 100 volunteer teachers from over 30 schools in Vietnam and other countries, supported by a dedicated website where educators can register, access shared resources, and connect with ambassadors and experts. The programme is typically completed over five weeks, with different themes and requirements introduced each week. During this process, students gradually acquire knowledge, develop practical self-protection skills, and learn about personal boundaries and the limits of healthy affection. Learning is demonstrated through student-created products, reports, presentations, and reflections. A key element of the practice is exchange and sharing, as students present their work and discuss their learning with peers from other schools through online platforms such as Skype. This structure ensures that learning moves beyond awareness toward real skill-building, open dialogue, and confidence, while remaining flexible and scalable across diverse educational contexts.
Five Safe Fingers has been spreading organically through growing awareness of the serious physical and mental consequences of child sexual abuse and the shared belief that prevention should begin before legal intervention is required. Educators and schools, recognizing this urgent need, have played a central role in expanding the project by actively promoting sexual abuse prevention education within their own communities. From its initial implementation, the project attracted strong interest, leading to the voluntary registration of more than 100 teachers from over 30 schools in Vietnam and other countries. The innovation spreads primarily through peer-to-peer educator networks, where teachers who have implemented the programme introduce it to colleagues and partner schools. To support this growth, a dedicated website enables new participants to join, access shared resources, and connect with the wider network. The structured five-week programme further supports replication, allowing schools to adopt and adapt the model with clear weekly requirements. Through teacher collaboration, cross-school exchange, and online sharing, the project continues to expand across regions and countries while maintaining a consistent focus on prevention, education, and child protection.
Over time, Five Safe Fingers has been continuously refined and expanded based on feedback from educators, students, and school communities. The content has been adapted to better reflect different age groups, cultural contexts, and school environments, ensuring that discussions around safety and boundaries remain appropriate and respectful. Additional learning materials, practical activities, and guidance for teachers have been developed to support facilitation and encourage open dialogue in classrooms. The innovation has also been strengthened through the creation of a dedicated website, which serves as a central hub for registration, resource sharing, and collaboration among educators globally. To enhance accessibility and scalability, online platforms have been integrated, enabling ambassadors and experts to connect with classrooms remotely and allowing cross-school exchanges to take place without geographic barriers. These modifications have helped the project move from a locally implemented initiative to a more flexible, inclusive, and globally connected model, while maintaining its core focus on prevention, child empowerment, and education for societal change.
Schools or educators interested in trying Five Safe Fingers can begin by recognizing the importance of early prevention in addressing the serious physical and mental consequences of child sexual abuse. Rather than relying solely on legal processes after harm has occurred, the project encourages schools and families to take proactive educational action. Interested teachers can register through the project website, where they gain access to guidance materials, weekly activity outlines, and practical resources. The programme is designed to be easy to adopt, typically implemented over five weeks with clear requirements for each stage. Educators are supported by a global community of peers and ambassadors who share experiences, offer advice, and provide online support when needed. Schools can start on a small scale, adapt activities to their local context, and gradually expand participation. This flexible approach allows the innovation to be integrated into different school settings while maintaining a strong focus on prevention, child protection, and education for societal change.
