Child Protection

Introduction:

Child Protection is a new programme recently launched by Lodhran Pilot Project (LPP) as a response to mega flood disaster 2010. Initially a project is launched in district Layyah with the assistance of UNICEF. The project is focusing five most affected union councils of Tehsil Layyah. The project is started on 30^th October 2010 and will be ended on 29^th April 2011.

Background:

In recent flood disaster, over 14 million girls, boys, women and other adults have been affected in Punjab according to the figures released by national and provincial Disaster Management Authorities. Displacement of thousands of families due to flood 2010 has made children and women at great risks of abuse, negligence and violence. Hundreds of children have separated from their families or lost during displacement of their houses. Children in temporary shelters are more prone to be abused and exploited. Destruction of houses, crops and properties, separation of loved ones have resulted in psychosocial problems among the whole community. Schools were not available or were located at a distance from their houses and children were left uneducated. In this situation families have completely exhausted their coping and protection mechanisms leaving children at extreme vulnerability and risk. The families and communities are unable to provide adequate protection to their children and vulnerable family members. There is a dire need to address Child Protection issues and facilitate the children and families to adopt positive coping strategies aiming at preventing violation of child rights like early marriages, child labour, trafficking, GBV, further separation of children etc.

To provide relief to children in affected communities, LPP has engaged itself in an agreement with UNICEF. The project is designed on the basis of the situation of children and other vulnerable people living in temporary shelters and other temporary settlements as well as the situation of those who returned to their villages where communities have adopted negative coping strategies that might lead them towards long term negative consequences like abuse, early marriages, child labour, trafficking, etc. For most of these families it is difficult to understand what happened to them where they lost their life assets and savings leaving children vulnerable to be engaged in beggary and labour. There is a strong need of enhancing their level of awareness on key protection issues and to enhance knowledge on services and the ways to deal with protection issues. A strong feeling exists to provide psychosocial support to these people and particularly children to enhance their level of resilience and coping positively.

Overview of the Project:

The project is primarily designed to provide immediate relief and to save the vulnerable population namely women and specifically children from situations where they can fall victim of abuse, exploitation and neglect. The immediate relief will be followed by establishing mechanism whereby vulnerable children and their families are identified and prevented from being exploited, abused and neglected; integrating the preventive mechanism with protective and promotional interventions.

This project has been designed at the stage where Internally Displaced Populations (IDPs) are mostly gone to their places of origin. The project covers six months duration of relief and early recovery. The project is intended to address the issues of child rights and child abuse prevention in five most affected union councils of Layyah. Names and population of these union councils are following.

Project Approach:

The project approach is to form Child Friendly Spaces and Child Clubs in areas where flood affected population is living. These are the platforms for flood affected children where they can participate and express them without fear and may remain safe from neglect, abuse, exploitation and discrimination. The project is also providing services which include registration of children with specific focus on separated, unaccompanied and missing children, documentation of child protection concerns and referral of cases, monitoring of children protection issues and provision of recreational activities and basic literacy through Child Protection Facilitators. Alongside, registration, psychosocial support is also being provided to women and children in the form of individual and group guidance and counselling and emotional support. Awareness among the flood affectees on key child protection issues / concerns is being carried out targeting communities in general and caregivers specifically.

In the project, key messages will also be communicated through awareness raising tools like banners, posters, and leaflets and later on through seminars, workshops, electronic and print media, as well as through initiatives like child clubs, child protection committees etc.

The assessment at the onset of the project is being conducted to map the services available through a survey and assessment of the awareness levels of the communities with specific reference to child protection issues and needs assessment of children will be done through focus group discussions with the stakeholders.

Capacity building will be done at two levels in this project, the community (including community elders/notables, women, and men) and staff members of Community Based Organizations (CBOs) / Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) on child protection issues and their prevention.

Detail of Major Activities of the Project:

Establishment of Child Clubs and Child Friendly Spaces (including Registration of Children & Psychosocial Support etc.):

To work with flood affected children, the project has established 10 Mobile Child Friendly Spaces (MCFS) and 5 Static Child Friendly Spaces (SCFS) i.e., 2 MFCS and 1 SFCS in each union council. Both the girls and boys in Child Friendly Spaces are being facilitated by Child Facilitators as there is a facilitator available at each CFS to cater to and interact with the children. Recreational services as well as Basic Literacy are being provided through Child Friendly Spaces which are equipped with recreational kits, white boards, basic literacy items, play materials, drawing and painting materials, IEC materials and plastic mats.

The women and children are being engaged in Child Friendly Spaces and are being provided with psychosocial guidance and counselling as well as emotional support. Extreme cases of trauma or in need of assistance will be sought to be referred to government hospital at district level.

The project will also form 20 Child & Youth Clubs (2 in each union council including one for male children and one for female children) who will be provided with training on how to protect themselves against a number of risks. These Child & Youth Clubs will also work to raise awareness among other children, especially those who are victims of child labour.

Awareness regarding rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) will be provided to the CYCs. These include the right to protection from harmful and exploitive work, the right to education and the right to have their opinions heard. These CYCs will also facilitate the identification of children that have problems and the platform will give young people the opportunity to get together to address the problems they face as well as be empowered through extracurricular activities such as team building, competitions, quiz programmes etc.

Communication for Development & Awareness Raising:

Information, Education and Communication material (IEC) will be developed and key messages will be communicated through various means in order to create widespread awareness of child protection issues. Child Friendly Spaces, Child Protection Committees as well as Peer Support Groups will be formed in order to achieve awareness among various stakeholders. Additionally, a number of events like seminars, workshops and community meetings will be organized to spread the message and local media will be used to spread messages about child protection issues to create awareness among the widespread communities of district Layyah.

10 Child Protection Committees (CPC) (comprising 15 male & 15 female members; each committee consisting of 30 members) are formed at the union council level. After training, these Child Protection Committees will be equipped with knowledge pertaining to Child Protection issues and play the role of watch dogs to monitor the violation of child protection & rights. The CPCs will also be focal points to develop community action plans and its implementation through participation and linkages development with service providers. It will also be responsible for identification, registration and reunification, birth registration etc.

Establishing and Providing Referral Assistance:

The project has maintained and is promoting the referral of cases for specialized social and legal services as well as abuse, neglect and exploitation cases to the Department of Social Welfare, help lines and Child Protection Centres etc. Such cases are being reported to the Child Protection Sub Cluster and Protection Cluster meetings. Furthermore, the Child Protection Monitors are the key informants for children and their families about decisions and response important to their situation monitor the care of separated children in extended families and also in a sensitive manner to strengthening Child Protection Committees within the local communities.

Assessments:

Currently, three assessments are being carried out by the project and these will provide input for addressing key Child Protection issues as well as provide input for future interventions;

1. The Child Protection Monitors will conduct 20 Focus group discussions; engaging 600 individuals (400 male and 200 female) with Child Protection Committees and other community members and 300 (150 boys and 150 girls) with Child & Youth Clubs to highlight prevailing Child Protection issues and necessary preventive mechanisms and services available to respond to those issues.
2. Child Protection Sub Cluster will conduct vulnerability assessment and LPP will provide volunteers for the survey
3. A survey of services available and gaps within District Layyah has already been conducted.

Capacity Building:

Capacity of all stakeholders will be enhanced to facilitate effective communication and dissemination of IEC material and to enhance awareness of child protection issues and response among the stakeholders. The following trainings will be conducted;

i. Training of core project staff on CPiE and project orientation (3 days)

ii. Training of 20 Child Protection Monitors in Effective monitoring, reporting and responding to the CP issues in District Layyah (two days training)

iii. Training of 4 CYC Facilitators and 25 CFS Facilitators on Psychosocial Support, social services and referral systems (two days training)

iv. Trainings of 10 CPC on Child Protection issues and community mobilization, Committees structure, terms of reference, functions and responsibilities (three days training)

v. Capacity building of 500 adolescents from 20 Child & Youth Clubs

Addendum till December 2011:

An addendum for extension of the project till December 2011 is currently under process. On finalisation of this process, more activities will be listed on this page.