Protecting Childhood

Organised by Koleinu SA

Empowering communities through education, support and safeguarding.

Keynote Leadership

Wendy Hendler

Co-Founder and Director

Rozanne Sack

Co-Founder and Director

Strengthen prevention

Explore school-based education, safeguarding and age-appropriate conversations about safety.

Understand risk and respond

Consider grooming, online exploitation, neurodivergent safeguarding needs and supportive responses to disclosure.

Support survivors with care

Hear lived experience and explore trauma-informed support, court preparation and pathways towards healing.

Build accountable communities

Examine institutional responses, cultural sensitivity and the responsibilities of organisations and leaders.

Take a break, reflect and rejoin for the afternoon sessions.

Midday break and reflection.

Wendy Hendler

Co-Founder and Director, Koleinu SA

Wendy Hendler is Co-Founder and Director of Koleinu SA. Her work focuses on survivor support, abuse prevention, community education and institutional safeguarding. She works with schools, rabbis, educators, healthcare professionals and community leaders, and has helped develop SchoolSafe and ShulSafe to strengthen safeguarding in schools and synagogues.

Rozanne Sack

Co-Founder and Director, Koleinu SA

Rozanne Sack is Co-Founder and Director of Koleinu SA. She leads survivor support, prevention education, advocacy and safeguarding initiatives, working with local and international child protection professionals. Her work includes education for schools, parents, faith leaders and professionals, alongside efforts to strengthen institutional accountability and responses to abuse.

Claudine Shiels

Survivor, author and advocate

Claudine Shiels is a survivor, author and advocate for survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Her memoir, Walking Through Front Doors, shares her journey towards justice and accountability. At the summit, she reflects on disclosure, the impact of abuse and the importance of ensuring survivors’ voices are heard.

Dr Shaheda Omar

Clinical Director, Teddy Bear Foundation

Dr Shaheda Omar is Clinical Director of the Teddy Bear Foundation and a child protection specialist with extensive experience in trauma care, forensic assessment and advocacy. Her work includes multidisciplinary services for children affected by abuse, professional training, expert testimony and the development of diversion programmes for children displaying harmful sexual behaviours.

Top Dogs

Canine-assisted support

Top Dogs presents the canine-assisted support component of Finding Courage. The session explores the role of therapy dogs in helping children manage anxiety, find comfort and build confidence during disclosure and participation in the court process.

Shana Aaronson

Executive Director, Magen for Jewish Communities

Shana Aaronson is Executive Director of Magen for Jewish Communities. Her work spans survivor advocacy, abuse prevention education and community safeguarding. She collaborates with legal, therapeutic, educational and rabbinic professionals to strengthen responses to abuse and deliver training and awareness programmes within Jewish communities.

Rabbi Zvi Gluck

CEO, Amudim

Rabbi Zvi Gluck is CEO of Amudim. At the summit, he joins Rabbi Avi Landa to examine school-based child sexual abuse prevention programmes, with a focus on age-appropriate safety education and the roles of schools, families and staff.

Rabbi Avi Landa

Director of Education, Amudim

Rabbi Avi Landa is Director of Education at Amudim. His work includes training on safety, healthy boundaries and supporting young people. At the summit, he joins Rabbi Zvi Gluck to explore the role and effectiveness of school-based child sexual abuse prevention programmes.

Rabbi Elimelech Gartner

Head of The Space; family and educational counsellor

Rabbi Elimelech Gartner is a family and educational counsellor and Head of The Space, an integrated centre for education and therapy in Johannesburg. He supports children, adolescents and families facing emotional and behavioural challenges, and teaches a compassionate, relationship-based approach to parenting, education and community support.

Martin Pelders

Founder, MatrixMen; author and survivor advocate

Martin Pelders is a South African author, speaker, survivor advocate and founder of MatrixMen, an organisation supporting male survivors of sexual abuse and trauma. Drawing on lived experience, he speaks about childhood trauma, shame, masculinity, mental health and healing. He is the author of the memoir The Pumpkin Van.

Sarah Hoffman

Attorney and Co-Founder, Klikd

Sarah Hoffman is an admitted attorney and Co-Founder of Klikd. She specialises in digital wellbeing, online safety, digital citizenship and digital parenting. Her work helps schools, families and young people navigate social media, cyberbullying and digital risk, bringing together legal insight and practical education.

Pam Tudin

Clinical and forensic psychologist; digital safety educator

Pam Tudin is a clinical and forensic psychologist and digital safety educator. Her summit session explores young people’s exposure to pornography and its implications for developing understandings of relationships, consent, body image and intimacy.

Luke Lamprecht

Child Protection and Development Specialist

Luke Lamprecht is a Child Protection and Development Specialist whose work brings together safeguarding, trauma, child development and advocacy. He leads community-based initiatives for vulnerable children and contributes to multidisciplinary child protection practice, professional training and policy development. His summit session focuses on accountability and rehabilitation for children displaying harmful sexual behaviour.

Dr Shira Berkovits

President and CEO, Sacred Spaces

Dr Shira Berkovits is a behavioural psychologist, attorney, and President and CEO of Sacred Spaces. She works with Jewish organisations to strengthen safeguarding policies, training and accountability. Her expertise includes institutional risk assessment, organisational culture, trauma-informed practice and the prevention of abuse and boundary violations.

Anne Munch

Attorney, former prosecutor and educator

Anne Munch is an attorney, former prosecutor, educator and founder of Anne Munch Consulting. She trains and advises criminal justice professionals, universities, military leaders and other organisations on trauma-informed investigations, victim-centred responses and offender accountability. Her experience spans sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse.

Dayan Rabbi Yona Reiss

Av Beth Din, Chicago Rabbinical Council

Dayan Rabbi Yona Reiss is a rabbinical judge, attorney, Torah scholar and educator. He serves as Av Beth Din of the Chicago Rabbinical Council and teaches at Yeshiva University. His work encompasses Jewish law, rabbinical court practice, mediation and communal leadership.