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Resources → Psychosocial Care & Protection of Children
The Psychosocial Rehabilitation of Children who have been Commercially Sexually Exploited - A Training Guide (599.4Kb)
ECPAT International
This guide for trainers has been written as a response to the many requests received at ECPAT International for advice and assistance in training carers to look after children who have been commercially sexually exploited. Often carers find themselves in the position of having to fulfill many of the childs needs, and take on many roles, sometimes with few resources and little formal training.
Throughout the material the focus is on helping trainers not only pass on information, but also on helping carers consider how they can put that knowledge into practice in their daily work. The aim has been to make the training useful to carers. In addition, it is hoped that some sections of the document will be helpful to refer to when making presentations or proposals to funders or policy makers.
Assessment and Evaluation of Psychosocial Programming for Crisis-Affected Children: A Good Practice Initiative (554.5Kb)
April 2006 - UNICEF
This paper reviews existing concepts, methods and tools used by UN agencies, humanitarian organizations and academic researchers for assessing children’s psychosocial wellbeing and evaluating subsequent interventions. It highlights examples of best practice and makes recommendations regarding some basic principles and minimum standards for working with children. It is designed to promote sharing of lessons learned and a cross-fertilization of assessment and evaluation strategies. This paper should be considered a “working document” insofar as we hope that its dissemination among colleagues in the field and at headquarters will provide critical review and further input from a variety of disciplines, cultural settings and regional perspectives.- ASSESSING AFGHAN CHILDREN’S PSYCHOSOCIAL WELL-BEING: A MULTI-MODAL STUDY OF INTERVENTION OUTCOMES (162.7Kb)
Research Conducted By
Christian Children’s Fund, Oxford University, & Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh
The purpose of this research project was to strengthen our ability to answer the fundamental question: Do community-based psychosocial interventions work? The research focused on war-affected children because children typically comprise half the population of war-affected people and are underserved, even invisible, in many emergencies. Also, the burdens of war frequently fall disproportionately on children (Machel, 2001). The research had two main objectives. The first was to determine the efficacy of a community-based psychosocial program using a quasi experimental design that attempted to isolate intervention outcomes from those attributable to other variables. The second objective was to develop and field-test innovative measures of psychosocial well-being and child protection that use qualitative and quantitative approaches, are locally grounded, and reflect the importance of social ecologies in children’s well-being (Dawes & Donald, 2000). - Working with Children (ARC) (365.2Kb)
Action for the Rights of Children (ARC)
This resource pack is intended to provide an introduction to the skills of working effectively with children: it does not aim to provide comprehensive training. It is strongly recommended that personnel who have a regular need to communicate with children, and particularly those who regularly work with distressed children should seek more specialised training in this field. - Approche des enfants traumatises par la guerre (notre experience) (170.1Kb)
Association des Volontaires pour le Service International
GIOVANNI GALLI , ANNE DEVREUX
'' Pourquoi est ce que les gens ne s'entendent pas alors que nous sommes tous enfants de Dieu ?
Pourquoi font- ils la guerre ?
Pourquoi se disputent-ils?
Pourquoi est-ce que l'o-n ne s'entend pas avec nos amis, alors que nous sommes enfants de Dieu ?
Nous sommes une unique sainte famille , parce que le Seigneur nous veut tous unis et ensemble. - Discussion guide 3: Understanding the psychosocial needs of refugee children and adolescents (331.3Kb)
Author-Margaret McCallin
This paper assesses the psychosocial model with reference to displaced and war-affected children and adolescents.The author reviews critical issues and special needs arising from children’s experiences, and discusses how psychosocial programming can meet these needs.The paper mainly assumes a child rights based approach, but it also gives an overview of the child development based approach. Throughout the paper the author poses a number of ‘tasks’ to the reader, which are intended to broaden the student’s understanding of the needs that refugee children and adolescents, as a distinct group, present.
- The Impact of Early Adversity on Children's Development (734.5Kb)
The INBRIEF
www.developingchild.harvard.edu
This is a policy brief that summarizes scientific evidence of the debilitating impacts of early childhood stress on a person's development and the benefits of nurturing relationships.
What happens in early childhood can matter for a lifetime. To successfully
manage our society’s future, we must recognize problems and address them before they get worse. In early childhood, research on the biology of stress shows how major adversity, such as extreme poverty, abuse, or neglect can weaken developing brain architecture and permanently set the body’s stress response system on high alert. Science also shows that providing stable, responsive, nurturing relationships in the earliest years of life can prevent or even reverse the damaging effects of early life stress, with lifelong benefits for learning, behavior, and health.
- Ending legalised violence against children: Prohibiting and eliminating corporal punishment in all alternative care and day care settings (1.4Mb)
Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children, 2012
Corporal punishment is inflicted on children in nearly all societies and cultures. Its legal and social acceptance is a potent symbol of children’s perceived low status. Although it is just as violent to hit a child as it is to hit an adult, by 2011, only 32 states worldwide had recognised this in legislation. In the remaining 166 states, children can be legally subjected to violent, humiliating and degrading punishment by those whose role it is to take care of them. But all children have a right to legal protection from all violent punishment, however “light”, wherever they are and whoever the perpetrator. This report provides guidance on achieving law reform which gives children in alternative care and day care the protection from all forms of corporal and other cruel and degrading punishment that is their absolute right.
- Psychosocial Interventions for Children of War: The Value of a Model of Resiliency (221.9Kb)
Authors: Roberta J. Apfel, M.D., M.P.H.; Bennett Simon, M.D.
The authors focus first on psychosocial interventions that enhance the
resiliency of children. Resiliency is the child's capacity to bounce back
from traumatic childhood events and develop into a sane, integrated,
and socially responsible adult. Utilizing the focus on interventions that
enhance resiliency, the authors address the question of how basic
relief and development programs and interventions (providing food,
clothing, shelter, basic medical needs, and education) already provide
important psycho-social interventions, and how specifically designated
psychosocial interventions can be integrated with and enhance these
ongoing programs. The problems of the caretakers -- "Who takes care
of the caretakers?" in terms of enhancing their resiliency -- is also
addressed. Finally, the question of halting the cycles of transmission of
hatred and violence from one generation to the next is considered. The
authors highlight what is already known and tested by time and
experience, and also indicate areas where a great deal more
information needs to be acquired.
- Where the Heart Is: Meeting the psychosocial needs of young children in the context of HIV/AIDS (1.9Mb)
Authors: Dyan Mazurana and Susan McKay
Rights and Democracy, 2004
This is an opinion piece developed through a series of four workshops organised by the Bernard van Leer Foundation entitled “On the Road to Toronto.” - Child and Adolescent Development (671.2Kb)
Action for the Rights of Children
Children and adolescents are not short adults - they are qualitatively different. They have physical, psychological and social needs that must be met to enable healthy growth and development. The extent to which parents, the family, the community and the society are able to meet these developmental needs (or not) has long-term consequences for the kinds of adults they will become. Armed conflict, displacement, disruption of normal life, and separation from family and/or community can have powerful, long-lasting effects that need to be compensated for in protection and assistance interventions.
This resource pack does not aim to offer a comprehensive account of child and adolescent development: rather it seeks to provide some introductory material which relates particularly to some of the critical isues facing children with a refugee background. It is mainly knowledge based: facilitators will find many references to other ARC Resource Packs and may find it helpful to turn to these both to amplify some of the issues and to find more skill-oriented training materials.
- Students Achieving Gender Equality (1010Kb)
UN WOMEN AUSTRALIA’S KIT FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS 2012
In Australia young women continue to experience violence in their homes, in school yards and in relationships. Cyber bullying has been linked to mental health issues and school drop-out rates. Young women will finish school with higher grades than young men, but will earn 17c less per dollar throughout the course of their careers. Women continue to be under-represented in all leadership roles in our community. UN Women Australia provides opportunities for young people to understand these issues and supports them to make real changes in their communities.
UN Women Australia also works to challenge the attitudes and systems which perpetuate gender inequality across the world. They believe that raising awareness of the issues facing women across the world among school aged students is a first step towards achieving gender equality.
- Education: An Essential Component of a Humanitarian Response (257.5Kb)
The IASC Education Cluster
Every year, conflict and natural disasters put millions of children and young people at risk. During such emergencies, community services and normal support mechanisms are disrupted. Children and their families face dangerous and rapidly changing situations. Education can be a protective, life-saving and life sustaining intervention in this environment.
- AVSI - Training Manual for Teachers (8.2Mb)
Many NGOs work for children and communities in war situations. In recent years growing attention has been paid to answering not only basic needs — shelter, food, water, medical care — but also to increasing the mental and psychological health of the child. The assumption is that the trauma children experience in such situations can significantly affect their psychological and physical growth.
This Training Manual for Teachers is written to accompany the Handbook for Teachers - http://mhpss.net/wp-content/uploads/group-documents/49/1331022049-AVSIHandbookforTeachers.pdf.pdf?9d7bd4. The goal of the teacher training is not to train “special teachers” but rather to enhance the effectiveness of those identified by the school, by showing a different perspective or approach to what they are already doing in order to benefit the children. The material in the Handbook is a summary of the teacher training provided as part of the Kitgum District PSSP in Uganda. This Manual offers direction and information for facilitators who want to work with teachers using the material in the Handbook.
- AVSI - Handbook for Teachers (4.2Mb)
This is a handbook developed by AVSI to support teachers in the Kitgum and Pader Districts in Uganda under the Psycho Social Support Program (PSSP), in their work with children in their schools. This handbook would be useful for teachers in other communities as well, specially in adopting a psychosocial approach to teaching and engaging with children.
The handbook covers 3 main areas:
1) UNDERSTANDING YOURSELF AND OTHERS
2) UNDERSTANDING CHILDREN AND HOW TEACHERS CAN HELP
3) TOPICS FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING
- AGAINST ALL ODDS: SURVIVING THE WAR ON ADOLESCENTS - Promoting the Protection and Capacity of Ugandan and Sudanese Adolescents in Northern Uganda (642.3Kb)
Participatory Research Study with Adolescents in Northern Uganda.
May – July 2001
From May to July 2001, the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children (Women’s Commission) conducted a research study on the situation of adolescents in three Districts of northern Uganda: Gulu, Kitgum and Pader. Young people’s lives in these areas have been shaped by interrelated armed conflicts that have raged in northern Uganda and across the border in southern Sudan over the last two decades. The principal researchers and the principal respondents were Ugandan and Sudanese adolescents. The results of this collaborative work are presented here. While this report faithfully represents the findings of all of the researchers, unless otherwise attributed, the views expressed here should be considered those of the Women’s Commission. Additional reports of the research findings produced solely by the adolescent researchers are available separately from the Women’s Commission. - WORKING WITH CHILDREN - AN INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT (182.5Kb)
Cris Ratiner, PhD
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Psychosocial Consultant
UNICEF Pakistan
Without understanding the healthy, happy child, it is hard to gauge the extent of dysfunction in a distressed child. Being aware of normal expectations makes it possible to get a sense how well a child is doing after a terrible event, and how to help the child recover from hardship.
Historically, children have been seen as “little adults.” Over time, however, we have come to understand that children are fundamentally different than adults. They are undeveloped in many areas, and it is the job of ‘growing up’ that entails developing all of their capacities—physical, mental (cognitive), social, emotional and moral. Children progress through different stages—at each stage they need to learn and acquire the next set of abilities in order to keep growing.
Thus, it is important to understand that a child is ‘different’ and that the ways in which they understand the world, take in information and adapt to stresses in their life is very different from adults’ ways.
- Young People’s Voices on Child Trafficking: Experiences from South Eastern Europe (446.5Kb)
UNICEF - Innocenti Working Paper - December 2008
Mindful of the important contribution that young people can make to our understanding of the issues that concern them, in 2005 and 2006 UNICEF arranged for children and young people who had been trafficked while under 18 years of age, to be interviewed in their home countries. Interviews were conducted in Albania, Kosovo, Republic of Moldova and Romania. Each of the children and young people described their lives before recruitment, their experiences during exploitation, and how they got away from the traffickers. They also spoke of rebuilding their lives once they were free. The interviews formed part of a broader assessment of strategies to counter child trafficking in the region. - A Practical Guide for Developing Child Friendly Spaces (2Mb)
UNICEF 2009
The overall aim is to improve the standards and capacity of field staff, by providing the required knowledge to support the design and operations of child friendly spaces. It will facilitate an understanding of how to develop a CFS in contexts in which children’s well-being are threatened or damaged as a result of conflict or natural disasters. More specifically, this guide attempts to broaden and strengthen the knowledge, skills and attitudes of protection officers/field staff so that they are able to respond to the multi-faceted needs of children. - A Practical Guide for Developing Child Friendly Spaces (2Mb)
UNICEF 2009
This guide is designed to assist UNICEF staff and partners, in establishing and operating Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) in an emergency. It attempts to provide readers with the main principles of a CFS and the processes on how to establish one.
The overall aim is to improve the standards and capacity of field staff, by providing the required knowledge to support the design and operations of child friendly spaces. It will facilitate an understanding of how to develop a CFS in contexts in which children’s well-being are threatened or damaged as a result of conflict or natural disasters. More specifically, this guide attempts to broaden and strengthen the knowledge, skills and attitudes of protection officers/field staff so that they are able to respond to the multi-faceted needs of children.
