Safeguarding
Centering the Safety and Meaningful Participation of Adolescents and Youth at WD2026
Women Deliver commits to creating a safe, inclusive space at WD2026 — especially for adolescents and young people, including persons with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ youth, and others.
Use this page as your go-to resource for all things related to child and youth safeguarding. Whether you’re designing an event or attending the Conference, we want to help you:
- Understand the safety and wellness measures available
- Plan your WD2026 activities with participant safety in mind
- Protect your own safety and well-being during the Conference
Safeguarding at WD2026
Women Deliver enforces a zero-tolerance policy for all forms of abuse — physical, emotional, sexual, and online. You can find more details in our Child and Young Person Safeguarding Policy.
If someone abuses, exploits, harms, or neglects you during the Conference, prioritize your immediate safety. Once you are safe, and if you feel comfortable, report the incident right away.
You can report:
- Online by emailing safeguarding@womendeliver.org. Women Deliver staff monitor this inbox regularly.
- In-person by visiting the Safety and Mental Health Space at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. We will share exact location details closer to the event.
What Counts as Abuse, Exploitation, Harm, or Neglect?
- Abuse includes any behavior that causes actual or potential harm to a child or young person’s health, wellbeing, survival, development, or dignity. This abuse can be emotional, physical, sexual, economic, or online.
- Exploitation occurs when someone uses their power or status to take advantage of another person for personal or financial gain.
- Harm results from any negative effect on someone’s physical, psychological, or emotional wellbeing.
- Neglect happens when someone consistently fails to meet a person’s basic physical or psychological needs, leading to actual or potential harm to their health, wellbeing, survival, development, or dignity.
Wellness Resources at WD2026
We are preparing additional wellness resources to support your physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing throughout the Conference. We will update this page with more information as it becomes available.
Key Resources
Women Deliver and our partners have created resources to prioritize safety and well-being — especially for adolescents and young people — at WD2026:
Duty of Care
Women Deliver puts systems in place to make sure you feel safe, supported, and respected during WD2026. You can find all safety-related information on this page.
As we uphold our duty of care, we also invite every participant to share in the responsibility for collective safety. Protect yourself, look out for others, and use the dedicated reporting channels if you witness or experience any harm.
Together, we can create a Conference that is safe, inclusive, and transformative for everyone.
