It highlights the numerous challenges to quality service provision, along with the organisation’s response to mental health needs, and recommendations for international and regional decision-makers including:
- Advocating and working towards mental health policies that support adequate funding f
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or mental health care and government suppor
- Legislation to protect the rights of people with mental disorders and vulnerable communities
- Advocating for multi-year funding to support the sustainability of MHPSS programs
- Creating capacity building opportunities consistent with the IASC guidelines and supported with continuous supervision
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People on the move – migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and other displaced populations – face extraordinary risks to their lives, safety, dignity, human rights and well-being.
In part this is connected to the core reasons that lead to migrat
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ion and displacement, ranging from violence, persecution, conflict, poverty, political and social issues, as well as disasters and the adverse effects of climate change. In 2021, we are seeing the compounding factors of the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis driving higher numbers of people to migrate, exacerbating risks and vulnerabilities.
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With child-friendly places and offers, spaces and relationship opportunities are created in which children can simply be children again. In the int
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ernational context, the establishment of Child Friendly Spaces in war and crisis regions is firmly established. In high-income countries, however, there is hardly any documentation on how child-friendly places and services can be implemented. The aim of the study is to provide practical insights and experiences with the implementation of child-friendly places and services in different types of refugee accommodation. On the basis of three selected accommodation types, the study shows how aspects of child-friendly places and offers for refugees and migrants in Germany can be implemented
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Infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, can have a significant impact on children’s and their caregivers’
wellbeing beyond the disease itself. In terms of child
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protection, there are three main potential
secondary impacts:
- Neglect and lack of parental care.
- Mental health and Psychosocial distress.
- Increased exposure to violence, including sexual violence, physical and emotional abuse.
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This guidance note aims to ensure continuity of case management service provision as well as appropriate response to cases associated with the disease during the COVID-19 crisis in Myanmar. Outlined
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below are priority areas that Child Protection Case Management agencies should focus on
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UNHCR and its partners implement interventions focusing on adolescent girls and boys, including:
▪ Formation and capacity building of adolescent girls and boys’ clubs as peer groups for awareness raising, and SGBV prevention and response mechanisms.
▪ Community based
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protection activities and training on child protection
▪ Provision of secondary education for secondary school-aged youth and recruitment of female teachers to encourage adolescent girls to continue education
▪ Introduction of community sharing/ parenting sessions and increasing the number of women support networks
▪ Establishing girls’ friendly spaces, which includes information sharing and psycho-social support
▪ Awareness raising campaigns with all members of the community, including community leaders
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KEY MESSAGES
Always talk to a GBV specialist first to understand what GBV services are available in your area. Some services may take the form of hotlines, a mobile app or other remote support.
Be aware of any other available services
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in your area. Identify services provided by humanitarian partners such as health, psychosocial support, shelter and non-food items. Consider services provided by communities such as mosques/ churches, women’s groups and Disability Service Organizations.
Remember your role. Provide a listening ear, free of judgment. Provide accurate, up-to-date information on available services. Let the survivor make their own choices. Know what you can and cannot manage. Even without a GBV actor in your area, there may be other partners, such as a child protection or mental health specialist, who can support survivors that require additional attention and support. Ask the survivor for permission before connecting them to anyone else. Do not force the survivor if s/he says no.
Do not proactively identify or seek out GBV survivors. Be available in case someone asks for support.
Remember your mandate. All humanitarian practitioners are mandated to provide non-judgmental and non-discriminatory support to people in need regardless of: gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability status, age, ethnicity/tribe/race/religion, who perpetrated/committed violence, and the situation in which violence was committed. Use a survivor-centered approach by practicing:
Respect: all actions you take are guided by respect for the survivor’s choices, wishes, rights and dignity.
Safety: the safety of the survivor is the number one priority.
Confidentiality: people have the right to choose to whom they will or will not tell their story. Maintaining confidentiality means not sharing any information to anyone.
Non-discrimination: providing equal and fair treatment to anyone in need of support.
If health services exist, always provide information on what is available. Share what you know, and most importantly explain what you do not. Let the survivor decide if s/he wants to access them. Receiving quality medical care within 72 hours can prevent transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and within 120 hours can prevent unwanted pregnancy.
Provide the opportunity for people with disabilities to communicate to you without the presence of their caregiver, if wished and does not endanger or create tension in that relationship.
If a man or boy is raped it does not mean he is gay or bisexual. Gender-based violence is based on power, not someone’s sexuality.
Sexual and gender minorities are often at increased risk of harm and violence due to their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Actively listen and seek to support all survivors.
Anyone can commit an act of gender-based violence including a spouse, intimate partner, family member, caregiver, in-law, stranger, parent or someone who is exchanging money or goods for a sexual act.
Anyone can be a survivor of gender-based violence – this includes, but isn’t limited to, people who are married, elderly individuals or people who engage in sex work.
Protect the identity and safety of a survivor. Do not write down, take pictures or verbally share any personal/identifying information about a survivor or their experience, including with your supervisor. Put phones and computers away to avoid concern that a survivor’s voice is being recorded.
Personal/identifying information includes the survivor’s name, perpetrator(s) name, date of birth, registration number, home address, work address, location where their children go to school, the exact time and place the incident took place etc.
Share general, non-identifying information
To your team or sector partners in an effort to make your program safer.
To your support network when seeking self-care and encouragement.
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Child protection in emergencies
The prevention of and response to
abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence
against children
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in emergencies. An
emergency is defined as threatening
condition that requires urgent action.
Emergencies often have devastating
effects on children’s lives. They result in
girls and boys being killed or injured,
becoming orphaned, separated from their
families, being recruited into armed
forces or groups, being sexually abused,
becoming children with disabilities, being
trafficked or, worse, experiencing several
of these at the same time (CPMS).
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Children in every country, every culture and at every social level face various forms of abuse,
neglect, exploitation and violence1. The abuse takes place at home, in school,
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in institutions,
at work, in the community, in armed conflict and natural disasters. Much violence against
children, such as corporal punishment and sexual abuse, remains legal and socially approved
in many countries. Growing up with violence and abuse seriously affects a child’s development,
dignity, and physical and psychological integrity. Save the Children works to prevent
abuse and neglect from happening, ensure the victims of violence are supported and that
justice is ensured.
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Women and girls have specific needs that are often ignored during crisis. While on the run or while living in shelters, women and girls continue to become pregnant, but they often lack access to bas
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ic sexual and reproduc-tive health care. Without assistance by midwifes or access to contraceptives, women and girls are at increased risk of unsafe sex, unwanted pregnancy and unsafe delivery, and are at a higher risk of infection by HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. In addition, displaced women have virtually no access to protection, security, justice, and other services related to gender-based violence (GBV). For these reasons, the delivery of sexual and reproduc-tive health and rights (SRHR) as well as GBV services to conflict-affected communities – most of whom are living in protracted displacement – is a key part of UNFPA’s Women and Girls First Programme (WGF). The initia-tive is a commitment to prevent and respond to violence perpetrated against women and girls in Myanmar, and to realize their sexual and reproductive health and rights.
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One booklet is called "Heart-to-Heart with My Child." Published for Rohingya adults and children, it conveys key child protection messages
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in accessible terms in both Rohingya and in English. The messages are illustrated with embroideries made by Rohingya female artists, engaged with IOM's Rohingya Cultural Memory Centre (RCMC).
During focus group discussions and one-on-one interviews with IOM's protection team, refugees often share stories of harassment and physical abuse. The team encountered several protection risks in the camps, which the staff has been gradually mitigating.
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War and natural disaster result in millions of families and children witnessing or being victims
of unthinkable atrocities. Save the Children is working to minimize the harm children
experience during and after an emergency. It is working to ensur
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e children are protected
from participating in armed forces or groups, stay together with their families and are not
subject to exploitation and sexual abuse.
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Since fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in mid-April, an estimated 6.3 million people have fled their homes, taking refuge inside and outside the country, with children representing about hal
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f of the people displaced. Sudan is now the country with the largest number of displaced people in the world as prior to the fighting there were 3.7 million people internally displaced in Sudan. It is also now the country with the largest child displacement crisis in the world. ACLED estimates that more than 10,400 people have been killed since the fighting broke out in April, of which about 1,300 killings happened between 30 September and 27 October.
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This brief provides a snapshot of child protection interventions by UNHCR and its partners during the pandemic, covering community engagement, case management, alternative care and capacity building
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. In addition to working with children and communities, UNHCR also engages with authorities through policy advocacy in the context of COVID-19, such as to end immigration detention of children.
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UNICEF Syria’s series of think pieces. Every day counts. An outlook on child protection for the most vulnerable children in Syria.To navigate the
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complex and continuously changing context and attain sustainable results for children, UNICEF – along with other UN agencies - seeks to make a shift in its programming towards early recovery while maintaining the delivery of humanitarian assistance based on needs on the ground. This will help strengthen the linkages between the needs-based emergency response and essential service restoration, socioeconomic resilience, and social cohesion.
more
UNICEF Syria’s series of think pieces. Every day counts. An outlook on child protection for the most vulnerable children in Syria.To navigate the
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complex and continuously changing context and attain sustainable results for children, UNICEF – along with other UN agencies - seeks to make a shift in its programming towards early recovery while maintaining the delivery of humanitarian assistance based on needs on the ground. This will help strengthen the linkages between the needs-based emergency response and essential service restoration, socioeconomic resilience, and social cohesion.
more
UNICEF Syria’s series of think pieces. Every day counts. An outlook on child protection for the most vulnerable children in Syria.To navigate the
...
complex and continuously changing context and attain sustainable results for children, UNICEF – along with other UN agencies - seeks to make a shift in its programming towards early recovery while maintaining the delivery of humanitarian assistance based on needs on the ground. This will help strengthen the linkages between the needs-based emergency response and essential service restoration, socioeconomic resilience, and social cohesion.
more
Now entering its sixth year, the conflict in Syria continues to take a drastic toll on the lives of the Syrian people and to drive an unprecedented humanitarian and protection
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crisis: some 13.5 million people are now in need of humanitarian assistance and protection, including 6 million children. Half of the country’s pre-crisis population has been forced from their homes, with around one third of the remaining population now displaced within Syria and over 4.8 seeking refuge in neighbouring countries and beyond.
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Protect yourself from the bad effects of haze of smoke: Information flyer about how to protect yourself from the haze of smoke in Indonesia
Access : 26.4.2017