Child Protection Policies within organisations addressing Child Mobility issues. Maputo, 3/09/2011

Schedule Introduction9-10h30 Child protection and Mobility: an institutional perspective 11h-13h Keeping Children Safe: child protection inside our interventions 14h-15h Feed back15h- 15h30

Introductory session Intro

A module about protection, Prevention, Risk etc. There is no risk 0. Deal with your responsability.  what do we accept as a reasonable risk,  what don’t we  how do we prepare ourselves. Intro

Talking about childen? Protection?

Where you work/live,  Childhood / from child to adolescent / Access to adulthood What word do adults use to talk about children? What stages of childhood are celebrated? How? When do children become adults? Legally? Culturally? Are there ceremonies associated with this change/transition from child to adult? What are they Adapting CPP

BABY INFANT CHILD TEENAGER ADOLESCENT YOUTH ADULT TRANSITION  Key moments  Responsabilities  Obligations/expectations WHO TALKS?

How do you see children you are working with? –What influences the way you see the children you are working with? –Is it different from the general opinion of the community? What do your organisation do that keeps children safe? –What are the strenght of children in the community? –What make them more vulnerable to abuse? How do you keep child-focused? –How do you keep motivated? Why me?

What is child protection? Protection

“Physical corrections or humiliations don’t help children to learn. Teachers are telling us that the beating will help us to learn how to succeed in life. For me, I’m going to school with fear, to the point I cannot respond anymore. I’m afraid of the teacher, I cannot learn like that”. Kenyan boy, 17. Protection? What is an abuse?

Abuse? Violence = The voluntary harm, the beating, the thing that hurt the body or the psyche (emotions, cultural/ religious beliefs, …). Abuse = the harm experienced in a relationship where one has authority/power: a trust contract that breaks. Protection?

Types of abuse and violence Protection? PhysicalSexual With physical contacts Without physical contacts EmotionalNeglect

Prevention : No violence or abuse has happened, but XYZ assume there is a risk, Notion of vulnerability XYZ develops actions in order to lower the risk and avoid the problem. Response :XYZ identify the problem. Fixing the problem through specific actions. Protection? Protection : Prevention and response to an identified harm, violence or abuse.

WHO is XYZ? Why is XYZ identifying problems? Protection? Are stakeholders understanding and addressing a problem always in the same way?

Some practices may cause harm ex. Children on the move. What protects children and what puts them at risk? What maintains the practices? Are all the abuses and violences experienced by children external to organizations? Protection?

Child protection and Mobility: an institutional perspective Mobility

Why are children on the move? Why are you working with children on the move? Why me?

Identification and addressing the risk Mobility In the skin of… Explanation of the move RisksWays to address them Child Parent Contact / transporter Tutors/host Employer Police / immigration Social Services EU/US Donor Government Syndicate/labour unions Church/Mosque

Risk and protection, different perspectives ? Mobility

The Decision of Mobility Identifying the values and interests against/for the mobility of Children What is the context/ the reasons  Who is the drive behind the process  How is the move organized  What is in place to protect the child?  What are the risks? Mobility

 Who detect?  Situation of the child  Assessing the (ab)normality of the situation  Drawing conclusions and starting to act  Involving stakeholders Mobility When children on the move are detected

As an organisation, on mobilities :  What is our mandate?  Who gives us our mandate?  What do we promote?  Are our interventions always welcome? Why me?

Mobility 1. What particular children’s rights does your organization take into consideration when deciding what actions to undertake that affect “children on the move”? 2. Do you think any of your organization's activities have been based on the views expressed by children? Have any of your activities been modified on account of views expressed by children? In each case, which activities? And in what way did children’s views affect your organization's activities? 3. Does your organization have any procedure for assessing a child’s best interests (or deciding what course of action is likely to be in the best interests of a child you are in contact with and intend to assist)? 4. How does your organization decide on the course of action when there are disagreements or an apparent contradiction between what a child says she or he wants and what staff in the organization think would be appropriate? 5. Does your organization have any procedure for assessing the risks to which a child is exposed (or would be exposed if you adopted a particular course of action affecting the child, such as reuniting the child with her/his family)?

Our responsability as Child-protection agencies Mobility Best interest of the child:  Consider the best interest of a child.  Aim to make a good decision for the child, decision will change with time, none are mecanical. Child participation  Listen to stakeholders, children and parents Limits of child participation  If the wish of child/parent is not in the best interest of the child: Explain and inform.

Keeping Children Safe: Child protection within our Interventions KCS

Background. Who are standards for? –Is it relevant in our context? –What are the principles underpinning the standards? Advantages of the standards –Children are protected –Agency representatives are protected –The organisation is protected Intro KCS

Children, in every situations are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation by those who are in a position of power, authority and trust! - Setting the Standard Protection in our walls?

In your interventions/ organizations, are children at risk?

What do your organization do positively to protect children? What could you do better? –Recruitement and staff management –Good practices when working with children –Effective management and supervision –Having CPP and procedures for reporting and responding to concern –Staff awareness and access to training –Systems of monitoring and review. Managing risks

How to lower the risk ? Lowering the risk

1. Assess the risks ? Lowering the risk

Are our activities creating risks?  Who is involved in the activities?  Are they sometime alone with children?  Have children access to other people?  When is the activity happening?  Where is it happening?  Open or closed place  Public or private place….  What type of activity?  Are there contacts (physical, verbal, …)  Are children depending on the activity Lowering the risk

Staff that has no direct contacts with children (administration,…) Visitor, donor, journalist, provider of goods… Supervisor, coordinator, team leader, … Social worker, psychologist, teacher, maid, driver, volunteer, cook… Child Lowering the risk

2. Responding to identified risks Lowering the risk 1. Assess the risk

Tools available:  Minimum standards for child care.  Child Protection Policy.  A Code of conduct and rules for children and staff.  Clear procedures to recruit, follow and evaluate staff and volunteers.  System to raise concern and address alleged situations of abuse.  Audit tool for your organization and partners. Lowering the risk

3. Follow the implementation of a child protection policy 2. Responding to identified risks 1. Assessing the risk Lowering the risk

Overview of Standards Standard 1A written policy on keeping children safe Standard 2Putting the policy into practice Standard 3Preventing harm to children Standard 4Written guidelines on behaviour towards children Standard 5Meeting the standards in different locations Standard 6Equal rights of all children to protection Standard 7Communicating the keep children safe message Standard 8Education and training for child protection Standard 9Access to advice and support Standard 10Implementation and monitoring of the standards Standard 11Working with partners to meet the standards Standards

What next? Managing risks