Handbook on advancing institutional child protection
About the handbook on advancing institutional child protection
Every child should be living free from violence. However, we have known for decades that violence is a common reality affecting children in our societies throughout the world. With the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic, increasing migration, and conflicts, this reality has grown to an even greater dimension putting many families under immense pressure.
Protecting children from violence is one of the main working areas of the World Future Council. That’s why, we have launched a new policy handbook for advancing institutional child protection.
On the following pages, you can find more about the One-Stop Centre model (OSC). OSC is a cost-effective and easy-to-implement response for countries and municipalities to rising cases of violence against children. These centres have provided several necessary services to respond to cases of child abuse, violence, maltreatment, and neglect, all under one roof. You can learn more about successful experiences of the implementation of this model, its strengths and shortcomings as well as key lessons learned for the minimum requirements necessary to support OSCs for policy makers and stakeholders engaged in the field of child protection.
This publication and our work would not be possible without your support. Once again, we would like to thank you for it!
Content
Violence Against Children (VAC): What are the common misperceptions of children and childhood? Who is at risk and what are the consequences of VAC?
Legal Framework against VAC: What are the policies that help design a society intolerant to VAC?
Child Protection System: The One-Stop Centre Model (OSC) as an effective response to VAC.
Country Case Studies of OSC: Experiences of implementing the OSC model around the globe.
Advancing the child protection system in Ghana: One-Stop-Centers for survivors of child violence
Advancing the child protection system in Ghana: One-Stop-Centers for survivors of child violence
World Future Council’s consultant on child protection Ramana Shareef travels to Ghana to further advance the One-Stop-Centre model with key stakeholders. Accra/Hamburg, 12th July 2021 – For the majority of children in Ghana, violence is a terrible part of their everyday life. According to official statistics, 9 out of 10 children are exposed to mental or physical violence, and physical punishment is a common phenomenon. In most cases, limited action is taken to seek medical or psychosocial help for the victims and their families. One-Stop-Centres, however, provide essential services for survivors of abuse under one roof. To further advance and implement the model in Ghana, the World Future Council’s consultant on Child Protection, Ramana Shareef, is now travelling to Accra, Ghana, to discuss the importance of such a model with government representatives, policymakers, medical professionals, and other stakeholders and advance an inter-ministerial agreement to start implementing the pilot. Crucially, this will include discussions on how to put theory into practice. One-Stop-Centres (OSC) are central contact points for children and their families affected by violence, including sexualised violence. Here, survivors can find psycho-social support, a police office to initiate criminal investigation, as well as medical treatment including collection of forensic evidence, under one roof. Ideally, access to legal services is also part of the centre. “The main objective of the One Stop Centre model is to play the role of an initial umbrella institution for child survivors of abuse, and to provide access to the most essential services under one roof, involving multisectoral collaboration”, says Samia Kassid, Senior Programme Manager “the Rights of Children and Youth”, World Future Council. “Investment in the strengthening of coordination among all professions at One-Stop-Centres will eventually speed up the legal process, which may lead to an increase in the prosecution of perpetrators and awareness raising on the importance to fight (sexual) violence against children.” During an international conference on child protection, hosted by the World Future Council in Zanzibar in 2017, the One-Stop-Centre model was introduced, which inspired attending Ghanaian policy makers. In 2018 the World Future Council conducted a technical workshop in Ho/Ghana with key Ghanaian stakeholders working on child protection and representatives from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection as well Ministry of Interior. Together with experts from Zanzibar they explored during a three days’ workshop its feasibility for Ghana and agreed on a pilot roadmap to start in Accra. The One-Stop-Centre model as an intervention tool of a well-functioning child protection system is part of the Zanzibar’s Children’s Act 2011, which won the Gold Future Policy Award in 2015. For more information on the Future Policy Award 2015, please visit: https://www.worldfuturecouncil.org/p/future-policy-award-2015
MEDIA CONTACT Anna-Lara Stehn Media & Communications Manager anna-lara.stehn@worldfuturecouncil.org
About the World Future Council The World Future Council (WFC) works to pass on a healthy and sustainable planet with just and peaceful societies to our children and grandchildren. To achieve this, we focus on identifying, developing, highlighting, and spreading effective, future-just solutions for current challenges humanity is facing, and promote their implementation worldwide. The Council consists of 50 eminent global change-makers from governments, parliaments, civil societies, academia, the arts, and the business world. Jakob von Uexkull, the Founder of the Alternative Nobel Prize, launched the World Future Council in 2007. We are an independent, non-profit organisation under German law and finance our activities with institutional partnerships and donations.
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