International child protection standards aim to ensure that non‐governmental organisations ‘do no harm’ but the current approach to reporting abuse may actually leave children unprotected and, in some cases, expose them to greater risk. This discussion paper gives voice to concerns raised by local practitioners in Africa and places them within the context of available research in order to stimulate a debate aimed at enhancing the impact of current safeguards. Drawing on systems theory and the work of Pierre Bourdieu, the article illustrates how the current model of reporting often fails to take into account the significant disconnect between formal and informal protection mechanisms, as well as the unpredictability of individual decision‐making. Examples from research and practitioner experience illustrate how reporting procedures may provide a route to protection which is impractical and undesirable to local people, and may ultimately be unhelpful to local practitioners. The article calls for further research to inform changes to the current approach and for a review of funding requirements in order that local organisations have greater scope to engage communities in the co‐creation of procedures, thereby indigenising responses to ensure that they are realistic and genuinely respond to the specificities of children's lives. ‘The current approach to reporting abuse may actually leave children unprotected’ Key Practitioner Messages Formal reporting procedures may actually offer routes to protection that are inaccessible or unacceptable to local people. Reporting procedures should be developed with a much greater participation of local people. There is a need for investment in piloting and implementing locally led approaches to capacity building. The engagement of donors is critical in order to develop a new approach to evaluating ‘child safe’ organisations. ‘Procedures should be developed with a much greater participation of local people’