As Senior Manager for Data & Research at Child Helpline International, I work with aggregated data from our global network of child helplines. The insights they provide help us identify emerging trends, better understand the risks children and young people are facing, and strengthen our advocacy at national, regional and international levels.
Behind every data point is a real child. The information we collect reflects the voices of children and young people reaching out for help — often at some of the most vulnerable moments in their lives. Each entry in a dataset represents a child or young person who chose to speak, share something personal and trust that someone would listen. That trust fundamentally shapes how we approach data governance.
This is why the launch of the Better Deal for Data (BD4D) by Tech Matters is both relevant and timely. BD4D offers a practical, values-based data governance standard for the social sector, built around seven simple commitments organizations make to the people whose data they collect. Rather than serving as a technical checklist, it sets out clear promises about transparency, responsible use and ethical stewardship of data. It is an approach that we believe would resonate strongly with child helplines.
Why This Matters
Our members operate in one of the most sensitive data environments imaginable. Children and young people disclose experiences of violence, sexual abuse, mental health distress, family conflict and, increasingly, online harms. Compliance with data protection laws is essential, but legal frameworks alone do not build trust. As we strengthen collaboration across our network, including moving toward sharing and analyzing raw data, the need for clear and shared ethical commitments becomes even more pressing.
Ultimately, what matters is whether children and young people would recognize our data practices as fair and respectful. BD4D shifts the conversation from “Are we compliant?” to a more important question: “Are we clear and accountable to the people behind the data?” This aligns with our child rights-based approach and our commitment to ensuring that the information children share is used solely to support their rights and wellbeing.
BD4D encourages us to think carefully about how we explain data use in child-friendly language, how we ensure information is used solely for social benefit, and how we hold partners and service providers to the same standards of care. As more children seek support through webchat, messaging platforms and other digital channels, strong and ethical data stewardship becomes even more critical.
Engaging with BD4D offers an opportunity to strengthen trust across the global child helpline movement and to make responsible, rights-based data governance a shared standard across our network.
Senior Manager – Data & Research
