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Training for better care of young victimsWomen and men who provide services at shelters, drop-in centres and other establishments that serve sexually abused and sexually exploited children have one thing in common: a strong desire to help children. As in any profession, knowledge and skills need to be continuously strengthened to couple this desire to help. Unfortunately, this need is often overlooked in the field of service provision. This article outlines the experience of an ESCAP HRD activity aimed to meet this training need. An ESCAP HRD Course on Psychosocial and Medical Services for Sexually Abused and Sexually Exploited Children and Youth was conducted in Kathmandu and Pokhara, Nepal from 7 to 19 July this year. The Course, organized by ESCAP in collaboration with World Education, Nepal, and Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Centre (CWIN), falls under a project supported by the Government of Japan. The Course was attended by trainers and service providers from the following six countries: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines and Sri Lanka. Two participants were also represented from ECPAT Kansai, an NGO in Japan. The overall aim of the Course was to train the trainers from the participating countries to increase the capacity of health and social service personnel to better assist young victims and support their recovery. It was designed to provide the participants with training skills and planning activities to enable them to implement their own national level training courses and follow-up activities upon their return to their own countries. The Course was officially opened by HE Ms Kamala Pant, State Minister of Women, Children and Social Welfare, Nepal, by a traditional lamp lighting ceremony. HE Mr Nihal Rodrigo, Secretary-General, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), who also attended the opening session of the Course, delivered a speech informing the participants of the SAARC Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking of Women and Children for Prostitution. The Course consisted of ten substantive sessions as follows: (i) Child and Adolescent Growth and Development; The sessions were conducted in a participatory manner, including small group discussions, role-plays, games, experience sharing and other experiential learning methods. Many of the sessions dealt with deep feelings and inter personal issues. A session on "Care for Care Providers" included a personal activity to re-visit childhood experiences, which was intended to assist the healing process of the care-providers themselves. The variety of teaching methods utilized in the Course ensured the participants enjoyed the learning process throughout the two-week intensive programme. The Course also included several field visits to relevant organizations in Nepal, including the local host organizations. On the last day of the Course, each of the seven country teams presented their project proposal for national level implementation of the training course and the follow-up activities. The first national level course will be conducted in the Philippines in January 2001. Other national level courses will follow through mid-2001. The Course evaluations showed that most participants felt capable of organizing their own training courses after the skills acquired in the ESCAP Course. The two-week Course also served as a venue for networking, and an activity undertaken during the closing session was particularly symbolic. In this activity, participants, standing in a circle, threw coloured threads to each other while reflecting on the Course. The outcome was a circle where each participant was "connected" to another. ESCAP hopes that regional networks among colleagues and friends from the Course will similarly continue and further expand in each country, and work as peer-support among the service providers.
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