Connecting the Dots – Program Series to Address Sexual Violence against Children

Hello!

A society’s integrity and worth is not based on whether cases of   sexual  violence against children happen. Instead it is based on the acceptance of the possibilities of  occurrence and proactive steps taken to  both safeguard and respond in a timely and appropriate way to ensure that its children may benefit from its caring and foresight to truly have the right to be safe all the time, everywhere.

Tulir - Center for the Prevention and Healing of Child Sexual Abuse is organizing Connecting the Dots – Program Series to Address Sexual Violence against Children

 between  August 10 – 18, 2012 at Chennai,   and which will be in English. Since limited seats are available, participants will be selected based on their completed  application forms (Please request  the Application form from the email mentioned below) which  will be accepted up to Aug 8. Participants will be informed of their acceptance  within a day of Tulir  receiving the application. Venue particulars   and registration timing will be given   on confirmation of acceptance of participation. 

Participants will have to make their own travel and accommodation arrangements . Refreshments  will be provided during the workshop

Please contact tulircphcsa@yahoo.co.in or call 26192026 (10 am - 6 pm, Monday – Friday) for further details. We will be glad to clarify any other related queries and  encourage you to share this information with others who you think may be interested

 Thanks
 Tulir

S. No	Dates	Topic	Timing
	Aug 10, Fri	Navigating the criminal justice system. How do the number’s add ? – Interpreting the figures on crimes against children and Introduction to POCSO 2012	10am - 5pm
	Aug13 Mon	Understanding the dynamics of child sexual abuse for effective prevention and response.	10am – 5pm
	Aug 14  Tues	Child Sexual Abuse Prevention through Personal Safety Education – an Introduction	9.30am -1pm
	Aug 14 Tues	Using Bible Based Curriculum for Preventing and Healing Child Sexual Abuse	2pm – 5pm
4a	Aug 14 Tues	Understanding issues of digital  safety with children and young people	2pm- 5pm
	Aug16 Thurs	An introduction to   psycho-social interventions	10am – 4.30 pm
	Aug 17th - 18th Fri & Sat	Using the Traumagenic Dynamic Framework to assess  pre- and adolescent girls who have been  sexually abused	10am -4.30pm

 

         

1.With the multi disciplinary team approach increasingly being recognized as most effective in addressing crimes against children, it is important that NGO’s are  also well equipped to work on cases holistically, with other team members integral to  legal redress. Besides,  a better understanding of the various issues related to  engaging with the  labyrinth of  the Criminal Justice System (CJS) in responding to sexual violence,  it  is also critical  to their   effective support of  child victims. Furthermore since many NGO’s are also involved in training various stakeholders, they  need to be familiar with  Navigating the CJS.

Considering the recent trend of  greater reporting of crime against children and  the changing nature of the crimes being reported it is  necessary  to understand the range and extent of violence against children  besides  reviewing the presentation of data being collected.  How do the number’s add ? – Interpreting the figures on crimes against children seeks   to better inform concerned stakeholders on the current  categorization, collation and compilation of crimes against children.

A  presentation on the highlights of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) 2012   which received Presidential assent in June 2012,  will wrap up the seminar which  is in partnership with   the Police Training College, Chennai

2.The orientation  to Understanding  the dynamics of Child Sexual Abuse  and their convergence to form a composite picture,  would lay the foundation on which participants could develop a knowledge base to further work on the subject of child protection either in terms of policy planning, program development or skill enhancement.  The outcome would be an increased awareness which would help with the  appreciation,  that  prevention or responding to child sexual abuse does  not only involve  the child  but  also   the entire community.

3.With the objective of empowering  primary school going age  children to safeguard themselves against CSA, the workshop on CSA prevention through Personal Safety Education  is to provide  participants with an understanding of  age-appropriate  information and   the accompanying   non-threatening methods to convey it while utilizing   a variety of resources developed specifically for this purpose  . 

4. The workshop on Bible-Based Curriculum to Prevent and Heal CSA (using the book co-authored by the facilitator) is an effort to make use of faith-based resources to address the issues of Child Sexual Abuse. It avails of  the usual format of Vacation Bible School with suggested Biblical texts for each lesson, with accompanying verse and activities, which covers a specific topic of the main theme.

4a..Information and  Communication Technology (ICT) offers exciting possibilities for transforming learning, civic engagement, innovation, entrepreneurship and much more. And it is young people everywhere  who are at the forefront of embracing the  potential these opportunities present. However   ensuring the engagement of  young people’s   experiences with new technologies is enjoyable  and their well being protected  is  directly related to their ability to use them safely and effectively.  The presentation, Understanding issues of digital safety of children and young people  will give participants   a broad understanding of the  risks - exposure to age-inappropriate, illegal, and harmful material, being subject to harassment and  intimidation(cyber-bullying),  prone to being tricked into downloading viruses and spyware  etc.. Additionally   considering the urgency the situation warrants, refinement of these threats to children’s rights to protection from violence, abuse and exploitation facilitated by ICT’s  sources will be deliberated..

5.Against the context of the ecological model, socio-cultural  realities  and from a mental heath and therapeutic   perspective, the presentation  on An introduction to   psycho social interventions would give participants  an overview of the concerns  and variables involved,  to address  effects of sexual abuse on the well being of a  child who has been sexually abused  and their family. Discussion would be around case study reviews and  examples of activities related to case presentations.  

6. The  workshop on Using the Traumagenic Dynamic Framework to assess  pre- and adolescent girls who have been  sexually abused  would build on  the understanding acquired, to  further the process of a Healing Plan. Dr. Lois J. Engelbrecht, will lead the workshops . Since founding the nonprofit Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Sexual Abuse in 1993, she has helped create systems of prevention and response in the Philippines, Malaysia, China, India, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam. Read more about Dr Engelbrecht at http://www.waldenu.edu/About- Us/42022.htm