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Volume 4:
HOW DO WE PROTECT CHILDREN FROM VIOLENCE?
A Report on the Programs, Policies, and People Making an Impact
Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP
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Dear APCCA Supporters,
This edition of the newsletter highlights one of the most critical and challenging issues facing child advocates today: Protecting Children from Violence. This is a key pillar of the APCCA strategy and one we tackle with an unrelenting sense of urgency and tenacity. Though keeping children safe is a herculean task, we’ve seen real progress thanks to the extraordinary efforts our partners put forth every day. If one child is helped or protected as a result of our efforts, we know our work is making a difference. But it is gratifying to note that the initiatives featured in this issue are just a small sampling of the U.S. government‘s broad, unwavering commitment to ensuring that all children have equal opportunity to lead healthy, productive lives.
Due to the complex nature of this objective, we have invited technical experts in the APCCA interagency to provide their perspectives on several topics integral to this focus area:
- In her blog post, Sarah Blakemore, CEO of Keeping Children Safe, lays out the essential role child safeguarding training plays in ensuring that organizations designed to protect children do not fall short because fundamental procedures are not followed.
- Our guest editorial, authored by State Department Special Advisor for Children’s Issues in the Bureau for Consular Affairs Michelle Bernier-Toth, elucidates the critical role diplomacy plays in navigating the complexities of intercountry adoption and international child abduction.
- Our interview with USAID Senior Technical Advisor Mattito Watson delves into his experience working on child protection throughout his prolific career, most recently as a leading voice in addressing the dangers of digital platforms that exploit children.
Across the interagency, APCCA partners continue to refine and develop tools like the Violence Against Children and Youth Surveys (VACS), which measure violence and its root causes while shaping policies and programs to reduce harm through training, anti-trafficking measures, and family strengthening, to name a few. The Power of Data to Action report featured here shows how the VACS fuel real progress on the ground when countries put the findings of those surveys to work.
Additionally, we shine a spotlight on how the REAL Fathers program educates fathers to engage in the nurturing care of their young children, simultaneously strengthening the family unit and reducing rates of domestic violence.
Finally, please join us in welcoming new APCCA team members— Senior Technical Advisor Severine Chevrel, who is focusing on care reform and social service workforce strengthening, Senior Technical Advisor Cat Kirk, who is focusing on early childhood care and development, and Program Analyst Nicole Calvert, who will be supporting the APCCA interagency coordination, as well as USAID's new Agency Youth Coordinator Sarah Sladen, who will work closely with the APCCA team. They look forward to working with you!
We hope you’ll find this edition informative and share its content with your networks.
Warmly,
Rebecca Levy
Acting U.S. Government Special Advisor, APCCA
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MAKING SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN A PRIORITY
Written by: Sarah Blakemore
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Photo from Keeping Children Safe’s Child Protection Portal
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Child safeguarding is the responsibility that all organizations have to protect children from abuse by their staff, programs, operations, or partners.
Eleven-year-old Alina* and her mother escaped the conflict in Ukraine with just a small rucksack of clothes and a photograph of the home and father they were forced to leave behind. After an exhausting and terrifying journey across the border, Alina was relieved when friendly volunteers offered them food and a bed for the night. But the feeling that she was finally safe disappeared later that evening, when one of the volunteers offered her gifts and money to spend the night with him. When she refused and said she would report him, he told her no one would believe her and she would be thrown out of the shelter and onto the streets if she didn’t keep quiet.
In every country in the world, children in adversity are at risk of violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. This can come in multiple forms. Often individuals actively target child- and youth-serving organizations including daycare centers, sports clubs, schools, faith-based institutions, not-for-profits, or peacekeeping forces to gain access to children who fall victim to their cruelty. In other cases, abusers simply take advantage of the situation, the lack of oversight, and the extreme imbalance of power between trusted adult and child.
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APCCA Editorial
DIPLOMACY AND DEVELOPMENT:
PARTNERING TO PROTECT CHILDREN ON A GLOBAL SCALE
Written by: Michelle Bernier-Toth
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Photo by Agence France-Presse (AFP)/ United Nations Photos
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The tools and resources at our disposal are different–but the focus on the protection of vulnerable children is the same.
The Peterson family first met 12-year-old Natasha when she came to their Florida home to participate in a summer hosting program for Ukrainian orphans. Soon after her six-week visit, they decided to adopt her and had just finalized the adoption in the Ukrainian courts and were preparing to bring her home when the Russian invasion began. Panicked about Natasha’s safety but unable to reach her, the Petersons coordinated with their adoption service provider, the Department of State, and humanitarian aid organizations on the ground to arrange Natasha’s safe passage across the border into Poland.
There, the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw facilitated further coordination with the Ukrainian government to verify her identity, final adoption, and eligibility to immigrate to the United States. Natasha is safely home with her new family, who are ensuring she receives the love and care needed to overcome her traumatic experiences during her evacuation from Ukraine.
While Natasha’s story may sound unique, it is the type of challenge my colleagues and I face every day.
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INTERVIEW WITH MATTITO WATSON
FINDING SILVER THREADS OF HOPE IN A DAUNTING LANDSCAPE
Written by: Suzie Galler
Photo by Mattito Watson
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“One of the things my work in child protection has shown me is that no matter how horrible things are, no child is a lost cause. If you have the right inputs at the right time, most children can get past terrible things that have happened to them.”
-Mattito Watson
Matthew Watson, fondly known as Mattito to his friends and colleagues, is the APCCA senior technical advisor who oversees our Strategic Objective #3: Protect Children from Violence, arguably one of the portfolio’s most challenging focus areas.
Mattito’s experience has taken him to some of the toughest conflict zones across the globe to face both victims and perpetrators of violence in an effort to de-escalate tensions and restore hope to those in need. He sees no child’s case as hopeless. Rather, he looks for the silver lining in each situation, and the tiny threads he can weave to build resilience in the most vulnerable.
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POSITIVE PARENTING BEGINS WITH RESPONSIBLE ENGAGED AND LOVING (REAL) FATHERS
Written by: Suzie Galler
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Photo by Institute for Reproductive Health
“This project has taught us a lot on how to live with our women and children. It has really made us responsible parents."
- Samuel,* participant in REAL Fathers program
Samuel* helps his wife clean up after the evening meal and bathes his 2-year-old daughter before putting her to bed. The scene would not be unusual in many countries, but in Samuel’s community in Uganda, men have largely been disconnected from rearing their young children or helping with domestic chores, tasks they looked at as belonging strictly to their female partners and weakening their role as the head of household. But that mentality has been shifting since the Responsible, Engaged, and Loving (REAL) Fathers program was implemented here. The program has shown promise, not only in changing parental roles but in reducing violence in the home.
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WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN SURVEYS ARE COMPLETE?
WE TAKE ACTION
Photo from Together for Girls
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As reported in an earlier edition of our newsletter, the Violence Against Children Surveys (VACS) have become an invaluable tool for child advocates working to protect children from violence. They dig deep through personal interaction with children and youth to determine the real threats of violence and the impact that violence can have on well-being and maturation.
A recently published landscape analysis, available on the Together for Girls website, reviews post-VACS processes in each country in which a VACS has been undertaken. The report goes in-depth in not only examining the results of the surveys, but also the actions undertaken to mitigate those threats. Beautifully produced and comprehensive in its approach, the Power of Data to Action report is well worth a read.
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In Case You Missed It…
- On November 11-14, 2022, Bama Athreya, Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Hub and the Inclusive Development Hub, gave a keynote address at the Bali Care Economy Dialogue Conference in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia. The remarks from this event can be found here.
- On December 1, 2022, Bama Athreya, Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Hub and the Inclusive Development Hub, spoke on a panel at the 8th Annual Birdsall House Conference on Gender Equality: Global Childcare and ECD Investments: Forging a Shared Agenda. You can find the recording here.
- On December 7, 2022, USAID’s Children, Youth, and Families team within the Inclusive Development Hub hosted the Advancing Protection and Care for Children in Adversity (APCCA) Annual Civil Society Convening. Seventy-five civil society partners joined in person and online to discuss the progress in implementing the APCCA Strategy in line with Public Law 109-95 and the Global Child Thrive Act, and to foster collaboration and information sharing about the best way to advance our shared goals. A key theme of the discussions was the sharp increase in the prevalence of children facing adversity since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, where a loss of lives and livelihoods has been compounded by a global rise in food insecurity, climate change, gender-based violence, and conflict.
- USAID safeguards against SEA, CAEN, and TIP
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