This report draws on 10 case studies to examine child participation experiences related to different forms of violence, spanning initiatives driven by governments, international organizations and civil society. It zooms in on children’s roles, the methods used, the balance between offline and online, and how each initiative has achieved its impact. It identifies common elements that make child participation effective for violence prevention, reporting and awareness, offering concrete recommendations for children’s rights-based organizations.
This analysis of 10 child participation approaches aims to support child rights practitioners in their efforts to promote effective child participation. The ultimate goal is to unleash the positive power of millions of children who want to safeguard their right to a world free from violence.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
SPEECH FOR THE CLOSING CEREMONY
By Rev Dr Felix Chingota, Chairperson of PAC
On 15th November 2019 at Linde Motel, Mponela, Malawi
Faith communities can improve their safeguarding approaches to violence against children by identifying gaps in understanding of child protection policies within their faith institutions. Faith institutions can implement standards and protocols that clarify how to appropriately interact with children, how to foster safe and child-friendly environments, and how to report cases of child abuse to the proper authorities.
This page presents examples and resources that demonstrate how faith actors and communities are working to improve their safeguarding approaches.
In one of their communities, they [religious and traditional leaders] stopped the tradition of FGM/C and they came up with a modern FGM/C whereby, because what they were saying is the girls want that celebration and say, if they grow up and get married without going through that celebration people in the community will say, you are not a real woman. So what they did, they organised the celebration but without the circumcision. All the girls will go there and it works very well, both sides were happy. (UV, working with Christian, Muslim and Traditional communities, Tanzania)
Practice Examples:
Example 1:Creating Safe Environments for Children: A Toolkit for Safeguarding Children & Protecting them from Harm
Organization: VIVA: Together for Children
Project: This toolkit consolidates material developed by VIVA’s worldwide network. The toolkit looks at creating safe environments for children and protecting them from harm, from a Christian perspective.
Results: An example of successful implementation of the program includes CRANE, a partner network of VIVA in Kampala, Uganda. CRANE used the toolkit to build staff capacity, establish a child protection committee, and develop a child protection referral system for their members. Another example is Pastor George Kaniike, who was trained as part of the Keeping Children Safe program and developed a child protection committee within his church in Mukino District, Kampala. He contacted community leaders in neighboring villages and more than 30 villages in the surrounding area established CP committees of their own.
Project: The Good Touch Bad Touch Flip-Chart project was developed by Chab Dai in order to communicate about sexual abuse and exploitation in a creative and child-friendly way to school-aged children in Asia. The story presented through the flip charts teaches children how to protect themselves and report sexual abuse if it occurs.
Results: After the flip chart was developed, it was used in schools and with NGOs. The flipchart also includes a one-day training program that prepares those who will deliver the session to facilitate discussions that follow the flipchart presentation. The evaluations of the flip chart have not yet been published.
Example 3: Mennonite Church Committee Dove’s Nest Program
Organization: Mennonite Church Committee (MCC)
Project: The MCC in the US conducted a survey in order to identify gaps in understanding of child protection practices within MCC institutions. This led to the MCC board approving a child protection framework that requires all MCC institutions to have and comply with policies and procedures and likewise requires the same for all external partners of MCC. The Dove’s Nest program was developed to support congregations to develop policy, write guidelines, and help implement child protection safeguarding measures within their given institutions.
Results: The program included aspects from health and safety in facilities to monitoring staff and volunteers after hire, and reporting issues to authorities. Procedures include topics such as ensuring there are windows in doors so that adults are not alone with youth without visibility, that first aid kits are available, that certain hazardous materials (like cleaning chemicals) are stored safely, that background checks are done, training is provided including how to report issues to authorities, that staff and volunteers are monitored and that children’s responses to adults working with them are observed. While many procedures in other institutions noted background checks as important, the literature on Dove’s Nest highlighted the policy that background checks should be formal (legal) and informal – seeking feedback from informal.
Read more in JLI’s Scoping Study. (Rutledge, K. and Eyber, C. 2019, pg. 28) or visit the Dove’s Nest website here
Faith leaders and communities are leading initiatives to create and support systems that work to protect children on both household and national levels. This page presents examples and provides resources that demonstrate how faith actors can support the formal elements of child protection by working with official systems to influence regulation, policy, and law. Further, this page will examine how faith actors and communities support informal aspects of child protection by addressing values, attitudes, behaviors, and cultural practices surrounding children.
(T)hey [religious leaders] are doing great works in faith communities where they are working but they need more capacity, as most of them are doing it from their experience…(t)hey will refer to the Bible, this is what it says, but they also need to know that there are cases they need to refer to other stakeholders…to know their countries laws about child abuse and neglect. They can do their bit… Most of the victims they can be willing to open up to the faith leaders because of trust and they cannot open up to others like the police or other stakeholders (UV, working with Christian, Traditional and Muslim communities, Tanzania)
Practice Examples:
Example 1: Child Protection and Buddhist Religious Leaders
Organization: UNICEF Cambodia with the Ministry of Cults and Religion
Timeline: Ongoing
The Project: UNICEF Cambodia’s child protection program aims to free children from violence and exploitation in their homes, schools, communities, institutions, and in humanitarian situations by 2023. The project works towards this goal on individual, community, institutional, and policy levels. UNICEF Cambodia is collaborating with the Ministry of Cults and Religion to promote the role of religious leaders in protecting children from violence and spread child protection messaging in Buddhist education systems and pagodas across the country.
Results: The project resulted in widespread engagement with religious leaders. Tools to aid religious leaders in communicating key child protection messages were developed and incorporated into primary and secondary Buddhist Education programs. It was reported that the Cambodian government was increasingly convinced to engage religious leaders on child protection issues. Further, challenges that arose from the project led to strengthened strategies for how to better engage religious leaders in the future.
Example 2: From Traditional to Holistic: How FBOs in Africa are Transforming Early Childhood Care
Organization: Catholic Relief Services (CRS)
Timeline: From 2014 to 2017
Project: In order to address limited training in early childhood development (ECD) and pre-existing childcare methods practiced by 48 congregations of three faith-based organizations in Kenya, Malawi, and Zambia, Catholic Relief Services carried out a capacity-building project which aimed to help caregivers adopt a more holistic approach to ECD.
Results: The results of a 40-day summative evaluation found that caregivers, after completing training on holistic ECD, changed their approach to the way they cared for children. An interviewee from Zambia reported the impact of the training in her statement that she: “…used to beat young children, thinking they would learn discipline and attentively follow academic lessons. But now, after the training, I know that children can be disciplined in a nonviolent way through guidance, listening, and teaching through role modeling. We now have a child protection policy in our school and, as a result, one caregiver was fired for beating children in her classroom” (Tadesse 2016). The report also found that faith-based actors, once equipped with strengthened capacity in ECD, can play an important role in increasing the quality of early childhood in the wider community. After receiving training on resource management, networking, monitoring and evaluation, documentation, and proposal writing, trained caregivers were able to spread information on ECD and highlight the negative effects of violence against children to their surrounding community.
Find the full report here for more detailed results
Example 3: The Mary Barreda Association’s coordination with the Nicaraguan Police Force
Organization: The Mary Barreda Association (Asociación Proyecto Mujer Mary Barreda)
Timeline: Ongoing
Project: In Leon, Nicaragua many girls leave home and increase their risk of abuse, exploitation, and prostitution. Therefore, The Mary Barreda Association closely works with police to strengthen the protection of girls in León.
Results: The association organizes gatherings where police meet directly with vulnerable groups and lead six training sessions per year within different levels of the police force.
Read more in JLI’s Scoping Study (Rutledge, K. and Eyber, C. 2019, pg. 29) or learn more The Mary Barreda Association’s work here.
The WCC and UNICEF formed a partnership, and they have agreed to work very hard to create ideas to help make churches welcoming, safe, and fun places for children all over the world to be. These ideas needed to explain what churches could do to make them better places, and then, very importantly, would encourage all the churches worldwide to use the ideas.
“We can no longer be silent as we are called to uphold human dignity for all creation” Faith Communities Respond to Gender-Based Violence
Our Southern Africa region is struggling with the epidemic of gender-based violence. It is perpetrated in our homes, institutions of learning, faith communities, workplaces and public places. Women and girls are violated, and increasingly men and boys too. Intimate relationships that we usually associate with love, care and security have become platforms for abuse and insecurity. The consequences of gender-based violence to the health and well-being of survivors and their loved ones are profound. As people of faith, we are taking a stand to address gender-based violence.
The Action Plan details the steps to take on promoting child care and well-being in Niger from January to December 2020. The topics include health, education, child protection, child nutrition and hygiene and clean environment for children.
En Francais: ARGUMENTAIRE RELIGIEUX HARMNISE RELATIVE A LA PROMOTION DES DROITS L’ENFANT (FILLE ET GARCON) AU BIEN-ETRE
This religious document relating to the Rights of the child (Girl and Boy) and their well-being, is the result of a commitment by religious leaders (Muslims and Christians) and traditional leaders under the leadership of the Ministry ofCultural Renaissance, Arts and Social Modernization in collaboration with the Islamic Association FAOUZIYYA, the Islamic Council of Niger and other Ministries (Promotion of women and protection, interior administration, public security,decentralization, Customary and Religious Affairs and Population) with the support of UNICEF and the participation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Participants based on their religious affiliation will be inspired to educate our populations and especially young people and adolescents on responsible parenting in Niger.
