On the 20th and 21st September, 2024, we hosted the first edition of Protect and Serve: The International Conference on Product Safety and Consumer Advocacy. This conference was hosted by Dr. D.Y.Patil Law College, The Safety Chic and Ramakrishna Law Firm and Research Center. The conference featured 4 technical sessions, 3 special guests, several moderators, chairpersons, judges and 7 keynote speakers from the academia, multilateral agencies, government institutions and the private sector. These global speakers came from 7 countries. The technical sessions were categorised around three major areas:
– Guardians of Growth: Advancing Safety Standards for Children’s Products
– Securing the Future: Enhancing Product Safety in the Digital Realm
– Green Guard: Integrating Sustainability with Product Safety
– And a special session on Food supplements safety and regulatory frameworks

The conference also featured brilliant presentations from our participants on variations of these themes and our amazing judges picked the following winners who won cash gifts.
1. First Best Paper: “A Critical Perspective on the Tole of Social Media Influencers in product Safety and Consumer Protection’ by Dr. Thippeswamy, Assistant Professor, Sidhartha law College
2. Second Best Paper: “Assessing the Impact of Microplastics in Food: A Comparative Legal Analysis of India and Global Standards” by Ms. Shivani Dutta, Assistant Professor, Sol Dayananda Sagar University and Mr. Sanjay Utagi, Assistant Professor, Sol Dayananda Sagar University
3. Best Oral Presentation: “Product Safety in E-Commerce: A Consumer Protection Perspective” by Dr. Jehirul Islam, Associate Professor, School of Legal Studies, Central University of Kashmir

After listening to all sessions at this international conference, here are our top resolutions and recommendations.
1. International cooperation and collaboration is critical because consumer protection cannot be done in silos. A worldwide, collaborative effort would allow different countries to share and learn from best practices. To achieve this:
– Product Safety Clauses should be included in Trade Agreements. Embedding product safety requirements into international trade agreements, holds all parties accountable for adhering to stringent safety standards. This will ensure the safety of goods exchanged globally.
– Cross-Border Consumer Protection Networks should be established. Networks of consumer protection agencies should be created across borders to monitor and enforce product safety globally. This will enhance coordination and quick action against unsafe products sold internationally.
– Harmonization of product safety standards and regulations globally will ensure effective consumer protection and safety in a digital world. This ensures that internationally traded goods meet the highest global safety standards. This will facilitate safer global trade and consumer protection.

2. Establishment of a Global Children’s Product Safety Standard and advertising regulations. A globally recognized safety standard for children’s products should be developed, ensuring rigorous testing and certification of products before market entry. This will help prevent unsafe products from reaching vulnerable consumers. There must also be widespread campaigns to educate parents on identifying safe products for their children. These campaigns should focus on clear labeling, potential risks, and informed decision-making. Introduce regulations to prevent targeted advertising of unsafe or unapproved products to minors. Strict measures should be in place to monitor and block inappropriate ads.

3. Consumer rights awareness is crucial. Training of consumers is important across levels starting from schools and expanding it to adults. The media should be a partner and enabler for awareness and feedback

4. Regulation of E-Commerce Platforms for Product Safety. To ensure digital transparency, e-commerce platforms should provide comprehensive and clear safety information for all products, including origin, certification, and test results. This transparency will empower consumers to make safer purchasing decisions. Vetting is also important otherwise, the e-commerce platform can be held accountable for any unsafe products sold through their listings

5. Incorporation of Sustainability into Product Safety and consumer protection. We achieve this through:
– Product safety regulations that include sustainability metrics to ensure products are both safe for consumers and environmentally friendly. This sustainability must be integrated in every stage of a product’s life cycle. This integration will promote long-term consumer and environmental well-being.
– Development of a Green Product Certification System. This will be a certification process for products that meet both safety and environmental sustainability standards. This system will help consumers identify eco-friendly and safe products easily.

6. Amplify product safety guidelines and measures for manufacturers across key areas such as:
– Promoting Circular Economy Practices for Manufacturers. Manufacturers should be encouraged to adopt circular economy practices, where products are designed for reuse, recycling, or composting. This will minimize environmental impact and promote sustainable production.
– Enforcing stricter Penalties for Violations of Safety Standards. There should be significant financial and legal penalties for companies that fail to meet product safety standards, with particular emphasis on repeat offenders. This will deter manufacturers from compromising consumer safety for profit.
– Introducing a Mandatory Safety Pledge for Manufacturers. Manufacturers should be required to sign a binding safety pledge, committing to uphold high safety standards in product development and distribution. Non-compliance with this pledge should carry legal consequences.

7. Implement good practice of Annual Public Safety Reporting. Companies should be required to publish annual safety reports, detailing their safety measures, recalls, and compliance with regulations. These reports will foster greater accountability and transparency in product safety practices. Companies that violate safety standards should be required to publicly disclose their failures and outline the corrective actions taken. This will promote transparency and consumer confidence.

8. Regulate AI and IoT Products for Safety. Establish safety regulations for AI and IoT devices, ensuring they undergo rigorous testing for security, privacy, and operational safety. These products should meet high standards to protect consumers from risks.

9. Strengthen Consumer Data Protection Laws to safeguard consumers’ personal information, particularly in the digital economy. Penalties should be imposed for companies that fail to protect user data or misuse it.

10. Promote Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Product Safety. We must encourage businesses to incorporate product safety into their CSR strategies, ensuring consumer protection is a priority. This will help build public trust and long-term brand loyalty.

We look forward to individuals, organizations and institutions integrating these resolutions and recommendations in their work.

The goal of this data story is to highlight the trend of unintentional injuries leading to the deaths of black children in the US. The insights derived from this data can shape the focus of safety education campaigns in predominantly black communities in the US in order to reduce the incidences of deaths. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), accidents, also known as unintentional injury, is the leading cause of death in children below 14. Over the past few years, I have developed safety education products and programs to teach African children how to stay safe from unintentional injuries. Since coming to NYU and doing some research in the US, I have seen that there is a similar trend of unintentional injuries, but the injury mechanism leading to deaths varies by race and sex. Therefore, I decided to use the drill-down type of data story to zoom into the black community and highlight key insights that can guide a safety education campaign in partnership with relevant government agencies.

To generate this data, I wanted to see an overview of deaths arising from unintentional injury in the US across different age groups. The NCHS – Potentially Excess Deaths From the Five Leading Causes of Death provided an initial view of the death rates across different States in the US. In order to zoom into the injuries affecting children across races, I used the NCHS – Injury Mortality: United States dataset. Using a combination of these datasets, I was able to see data for all unintentional injuries across age groups. I was able to drill down to the injuries as they affected Hispanic, non-Hispanic white, and non-Hispanic black children. These datasets also identified the different injury mechanisms and the intent across different sexes. This was valuable information because I could see how a particular injury affected males and females differently.

In the first story point, I used a map to highlight locations, and then I leveraged hue to signify the intensity of deaths across each state. In the bar chart below, I also leveraged hue to depict intensity or lack of it. The bar chart was flipped to the side in accordance with best practices when using a bar chart. The axes were labeled to call attention to the race and numbers involved. In the second story point, bar charts and the same colors were used, however, the size of the two bar charts vary to call attention to the fact that they are not exactly the same even though it’s the same chart type and color. In the bar chart below, there is a filter to see the differences in unintentional injury by sex. For example, while black males experience death by drowning at 650 per 100,000, black females experience death by drowning at 250 per 100,000. Could it be that more black males face peer pressure to swim even though they know they do not have the skill?

Furthermore, the third story point focuses on the top 3 unintentional injuries leading to the deaths of black children. I used a line chart and color to show the top 3 unintentional injuries. The axes are also labeled to call attention to the injury mechanism and the number of deaths associated with it. There is also a color key to differentiate each injury mechanism. In the final story point, I used a line chart and colors to show the trend of these deaths over 15 years. The line charts side by side are used to call attention to the fact that whilst deaths by drowning and fire-related causes are declining, deaths by suffocation keep going up. Color is used to differentiate each injury mechanism.

Based on these data, it is important for relevant US agencies to revisit their strategies for reducing suffocation affecting black children to ensure that the numbers decline over time. Whilst progress has been made in reducing deaths per 100,000 arising from drowning and fire-related causes, there is still more work to be done to bring it down significantly.

I firmly believe that there is a lot of ground to cover on unintentional injuries affecting children and their relationship to health and safety in the wider population. This is why safety education is really important to me. Grateful to the New York University (NYU) Wagner Review for publishing my research. Read the research here

In today’s digital age, technology has connected us like never before, allowing for instant communication and sharing of content. However, this interconnectedness has also led to an alarming rise in image-based sexual abuse, commonly known as “revenge porn” or “non-consensual pornography.” This deplorable act involves the distribution or sharing of explicit images or videos without the subject’s consent, leading to severe emotional distress, reputational damage, and violation of privacy.  We will explore the growing issue of image-based sexual abuse, its devastating impact, and essential strategies to prevent and respond to such incidents effectively in this post.

 Image-Based Sexual Abuse-What does it really mean?

Image-based sexual abuse is a form of online harassment and exploitation that unequally affects women and marginalized communities. Perpetrators often seek to humiliate, control, or seek revenge against their victims by leveraging intimate images or videos shared in confidence. Unfortunately, once these explicit materials are online, they can rapidly spread across various platforms and have long-lasting repercussions for the victims.

Prevention Strategies

Education and Awareness: One of the most critical steps in preventing image-based sexual abuse is to educate individuals about the risks and consequences. School curriculums, workshops, and public awareness campaigns should highlight the importance of respecting privacy, consent, and digital boundaries.

Digital Literacy: Encouraging digital literacy and responsible online behavior can empower individuals to protect their personal information and avoid risky online activities that could lead to exploitation.

Stronger Legislation: Governments should enact comprehensive legislation to address image-based sexual abuse and establish clear guidelines for prosecuting offenders. Creating laws that hold platforms accountable for hosting non-consensual pornography can act as a powerful deterrent.

Reporting Mechanisms: Online platforms and social media networks must develop user-friendly reporting mechanisms to promptly address cases of image-based sexual abuse. Encouraging a culture of reporting can help take down explicit content swiftly.

Safeguarding Personal Content: Individuals should be mindful of what they share online and consider using privacy settings on social media platforms. Avoiding sharing explicit content altogether can drastically reduce the risk of it being misused.

How do you respond to Image-Based Sexual Abuse?

Support and Empathy: Victims of image-based sexual abuse, who will be referred to as Survivors in this post, often face emotional trauma and isolation. Building a supportive environment where they feel safe to seek help is crucial. Friends, family, and professionals should offer empathy and understanding.

Legal Assistance: Survivors should be informed about their legal rights and offered assistance in pursuing legal action against the perpetrators. Many countries have laws specifically targeting non-consensual pornography. In Nigeria, we have some laws which seek to protect and seek justice for survivors, but we need much more to ensure perpetrators are discouraged from such acts. Some legal remedies may include restraining orders and compensation for damages.

Online Content Removal: Immediate removal of explicit content from websites and social media platforms is essential. Survivors should report the content to the respective platforms and work with support organizations experienced in content takedown procedures.

Counseling and Mental Health Services: Professional counseling and mental health support can aid Survivors in coping with the emotional aftermath of image-based sexual abuse. Rehabilitation and healing are vital components of the recovery process.

In conclusion, Image-based sexual abuse is a grave violation of privacy and personal dignity that demands collective action. By fostering digital literacy, enforcing stronger legislation, and offering robust support systems, we can work towards preventing these incidents and providing much-needed help to the Survivors. In a world where technology connects us, let us strive to ensure that it never becomes a tool for exploitation and abuse. Let us unite to create a safer and more empathetic digital space for everyone.

Thank you to Techsocietal for inviting us to this informative workshop.

Tickling is a game often played with children, but it can make them feel helpless and out of control. Due to their inability to communicate or breathe properly while being tickled, children may be unable to ask you to stop. Their laughter, which may be mistaken as encouragement, does not necessarily mean they are having fun. Tickling, despite good intentions, can potentially harm a child and should be carefully considered. Tickling may elicit laughter quickly, but it doesn’t guarantee that your child is enjoying it. They may laugh and appear joyful because they can’t control themselves or express their discomfort. Tickling can have lasting effects on children, and they may not associate it with playfulness or a happy experience.

Insights from Research and Historical Perspectives
Tickling has a historical association with torture. For instance, during China’s Han Dynasty, tickling was used as a method of tormenting nobility due to its lack of visible marks and relatively quick recovery for the victim. In Japan, a specific term, “kusuguri-zeme,” meaning “merciless tickling,” was even coined for it. Research conducted by Vernon R. Wiehe from the University of Kentucky involved studying
150 adults who experienced sibling abuse during their childhoods. Many of the participants described tickling as a form of physical abuse. The study concluded that tickling can trigger severe physiological reactions, such as vomiting and loss of consciousness, due to the victim’s inability to breathe.

Patty Wipfler, a parenting expert and founder/director of the Hand in Hand organization, asserts that tickling during childhood is often a cause of emotional challenges that can persist into adulthood. She states, “In my many years of listening to adults talk about the emotional challenges of their lives as children, tickling comes up again and again as an experience that has been hurtful.” The resulting trauma may lead affected individuals to struggle with relaxation when others are nearby, feel insecure even when sleeping next to a trusted partner, and remain internally guarded during any non-casual physical contact with loved ones.
Here are a few reasons why assuming your child likes being tickled may be
problematic:

1. Involuntary laughter: Children may giggle helplessly, even if they dislike being tickled. They cannot control their laughter, and it is not the same as laughing at a funny joke.
2. Potential humiliation: Tickling can cause a loss of self-control, preventing children from expressing their desires or regaining control. This lack of agency can be humiliating for them, despite your good intentions.
3. Medical complications: Continuous tickling can lead to uncontrollable laughter, difficulty speaking, and breathing problems for children. In severe cases, they may even lose consciousness. As they cannot communicate their distress, you may not realize they are in trouble.
4. Trust issues: Tickling a child against their will, especially if they dislike it, can create long-lasting trust issues. They may associate tickling with physical abuse as they grow older, develop mistrust towards physical contact, and avoid crowded places due to fear of being touched.

The “Dos” of tickling:

1. Stop when they say “no” or “stop it” or if they push you away.
2. Ask for their consent beforehand, using phrases like “here come the tickles,” and
   only proceed if they respond positively.
3. Tickle them lightly without applying excessive pressure.

Reference: Momjunction
Further reference: Momjunction Brightside

1. We started out in January working on the game app idea courtesy of the Tony Elumelu Foundation and Women Entrepreneurship for Africa accelerator partnership.
2. Some of our parents joined the safety advocacy campaign by sharing their #ChildSafetyExperience in short videos on Instagram.
3. We worked with the Safe Schools Movement, Ford Foundation, and other stakeholders to step down safety training for stakeholders in Abuja so they could take it to schools in their community.

4. The IOSH Magazine featured our insights among other female safety professionals worldwide for the International Women’s Day edition on “Break The Bias.”

5. We held the sixth edition of the annual School Safety Summit with the theme “Child Safety: Incorporating a Systematic Safety Education”. We thank our Keynote speaker, Dr. Ulrike Bollman, the DG of Lagos Safety Commission, Mr. Lanre Mojola, and our panelists: Dr. Bisi Esuruoso, Rotimi Eyitayo, Alpha Djalon, Abiola Sanusi and Abdoulaye Diallo. You can read the REPORT.

6. We launched our child safety game app, The Adventures of Muna, on android and iOS amidst many challenges. We believe this will be helpful to so many children hence the push despite all. Feel free to download it for your device.

7. In partnership with our nonprofit, UGIP Foundation and Dolly Children Foundation, we implemented a pilot program on safety education in the Magboro community. The results of the Research and a Video summary are available online.

8. We also released our child safety storybook in a special edition 3-in-1 version. Now, you get all 3 books in one location. It is available on Amazon if you are outside Nigeria and on the Website if you are in Nigeria.

9. We were invited by the Directorate General of Occupational Safety and Health (DGOSH) of the Republic of Türkiye in collaboration with ENETOSH to contribute to strategies for mainstreaming OSH into Education. The report is available online.

10. We were invited to contribute our insights at the International Product Safety Week hosted by the European Commission and UNCTAD. You can read about it here.

11. We spoke at many other safety education events to train children, teenagers, parents, and educators on safety.

During the three-day event, professionals from global institutions, private sectors, academia, and civil service organizations shared concerns, data, and best practices across child safety, product safety, e-commerce, online market surveillance boosting safety consciousness, social media strategy, gender lens product design, and legislation. For more details, here is a recap of Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, the young Ambassadors workshop, and a report from UNCTAD.

Image Credit: Simon Pugh Photography

The Keynote Speaker at the Summit, Dr Ulrike Bollman, Head of International Cooperation, DGUV, Germany shared the strategic plan of the European Network of Education and Training in Occupational Health and Safety (ENETOSH) toward achieving the aim of integrating safety education for children. Dr. Bollman highlighted three fields of action for making safety an integral part of schools: school development, teaching development, and organizational development. She concluded her session with six factors and three principles for a strategic approach. The six factors are language, goals, cooperation, multi-level approach, participation, and resources. Competence Orientation, School Development Approach, and Holistic Prevention are the three principles upon which strategic implementation of safety should be done in schools.

The Summit featured an enlightened panel session with speakers such as Rotimi Eyitayo, Dr Abdoulaye Diallo, Abiola Sanusi, Dr Bisi Esuruoso, and Alpha Djalon. The panelists shared very practical tips and resources with the audience such as the National Policy on Safety, Security and Violence Free Schools and  Minimum Standards of Safe Schools.

See pictures from the Summit.

With such statistics, why are we not passing on safety education to children in a more systematic manner? You might say that accidents are “accidents”, they are not preventable. Or you might say, “but we are doing something about it, there are existing policies, strategies, and child injury prevention programs”. First, accidents can be prevented. Second, policies, strategies, and programs are not enough if they cannot be integrated into the normal daily life of children. If we do not take intentional and systematic steps to incorporate safety education into the daily life of children, the number of children involved in these “accidents” will keep rising. But we can stem this tide by including safety education in and outside the classroom.

In my opinion, safety education is the deliberate and intentional dissemination of safety knowledge in a way the selected target audience will understand. This ensures that the audience is empowered to make better safety choices in different scenarios that may arise. Every school day across the country, children are learning an aspect of English and Mathematics. What if they also learned an aspect of safety at least once a week considering that this is something that has the potential to save their life? For example, if fire safety is taught this week, road safety follows next, bullying prevention and other safety topics are spread out across the entire academic term, the children will learn in a more intentional manner. Imagine safety education topics adapted to the age and class of the child across their entire academic journey, wouldn’t that be a child empowered to prevent accidents?

A practical example is a story of Chloe Woods reported in 2016 by the Washington Post She helped her blind grandmother escape from a burning house. She knew what to do because in her words, “that’s what they taught us”. According to the story, her class had visited a fire station. Just imagine if such trips were not just one-off but a part of a comprehensive child safety education curriculum all children go through in school. Note again that for her age and class, a field trip was more appropriate. When teaching children about safety, it is important to state that the complexity of the safety topic chosen must take their age into consideration. For example, when I visit primary schools in Nigeria and Ghana to teach about child safety, I just use my child safety storybook because safety concepts have been storified to foster understanding. On the other hand, when I visit to teach teenagers in high school, I use a different method because they are older and can grasp some other concepts better. All children in school need to experience a systematic method of learning how to stay safe throughout their academic journey and not just as a temporary program.

Outside the classroom, safety education can be incorporated through movies, games, cartoons, and even family bonding moments. One might say, let fun times be devoid of training for relaxation purposes. But entertainment methods are a great way to integrate important information in a way that is rarely forgotten. In 2017, Jacob O’Connor pulled out his younger brother who had fallen into the family swimming pool, and went on to administer CPR. When asked how he knew what to do, he said, “I saw it in a movie”. I am certain that when Dwayne Johnson, The Rock was acting that scene in the movie, San Andreas, he never knew it would equip a boy with the lifesaving skill to save his brother. This right here is the power of entertainment methods to etch safety education in the minds of our children outside the classroom. In my work in raising safety consciousness in Africa, I have seen how movies, games, cartoons, and family bonding moments make safety knowledge memorable to children. Every parent should use this hack. A quick tip for parents who want to incorporate this, pick a topic on safety and teach it to your children during your weekly family bonding moments. Make it fun, make it easy and they will never forget. The day they find themselves in a safety scenario, they will make the safe choice.

Are children not too young for this? No, they are not. Chloe Woods was 5 and Jacob O’Connor was 10 but when a situation came up, they sprang to action because they had been empowered. No matter how much we love our children, we may not be with them all day for a variety of reasons. However, if we equip them, they can act, and this will reduce the statistics of children dying due to unintentional injuries.
Let’s intentionally build a safety conscious generation.