To implement the anti-human trafficking programme ‘Swaraksha’ in India, Jerome Conilleau, Consultant of the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF) trained 25 staff on child protection, child safeguarding and Protection from Sexual Exploitation & Abuse Protection (PSEA) at Lucknow on August 29-30, 2018.

Prior to the workshop, Jerome surveyed all the three partners to observer the child protection and child safeguarding in the programme implementation.

“How to identify a child when he or she is abused”, asked Jerome to the participants, “Most of the time children do not tell if they are abused, it is we who are working with children need to be more sensitive and identify through their behavior”, added Jerome.

Highlighting the importance of Child Safeguarding and protection in the organsiation, Jerome said: “Child Safeguarding is an organization’s continuous internal effort and responsibility to ensure that the staff through the programme activities do not harm children or put them in any form of danger.”

“We can cause harm to children through our activities and program and even the people who are working with children can abuse them. There are different ways in which children can be abused like physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and neglect. The organization needs to take measures and have mechanisms in place at organizational level to safeguard children”, said Jerome.

However, child protection focuses on external mechanism in place to protect children, to make sure that children are not abused by the community members or by any one. Mr. Jerome explained that organization should follow the international standard to safeguard children to protection them. The job responsibilities of every person in the organization was explained in relation to child safeguarding and protection with they are from human resource, media/communication, finance, IT, or the management itself. They need to work in collaboration to ensure child safeguarding and protection within the organization.

The Organization needs to make policy and norms for child safeguarding and have code of conduct in place for the staff.

Jerome asked the programme staff to identify the cases from the field and asked partners to share the risk. Through a brainstorming session all the participants reflected on the activities in the field and identify the risk. They also shared the solutions to mitigate those risk.

“I had attended many workshops to develop child protection policy but this workshop was different as it explained not only about the child protection policy but to look at the internal systems and mechanisms with regard to current project which can harm children if not taken proper measures”, shared Fr. Jaison, Asst. Director of Purvanchal Seva Samiti, Gorakhpur one of the participants of the workshop.

Mr. Hassan one of the participants said that now we are more aware and will take measures so that through our interventions we do not harm children. All the three organisations committed to look at their own policies and revise it. It was felt by the participants to have a child safeguarding focal person in the organization.

Jerome also looked at the staff safety and security. Caritas India has been committed to the wellbeing of her staff and will look at developing staff safety and security policy.

It was a great learning for the participants and internalize the learning in the ‘Swaraksha’ anti-human trafficking programme. The observations made by the consultant will be taken into consideration to promote child protection and safeguarding within Caritas India and her partners.