Security policies for public organizations: UCU Child Dignity Center holds third certificate program

On October 25-27, 20 NGOs from Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Vinnytsia, Rivne, Ternopil, Zakarpattia, Odesa, Kharkiv, and Poltava regions received training from the Center for Child Dignity of the Ukrainian Catholic University to help them develop child protection policies and procedures in their institutions.

The program “Creating a Safe Environment for Children. Safety Policy in the Organization” was approved by the Academic Council of the UCU Faculty of Health Sciences, is designed for 45 academic hours, and is equal to 1.5 ECTS credits. Its goal is to help develop and strengthen child protection policies and procedures in organizations whose activities involve interaction with children or vulnerable adults. UCU's Center for the Dignity of the Child conducted this certificate program in partnership with the Association of the Ukrainian Peacebuilding School.

The training was attended by members of non-governmental organizations that work directly with children, help families with children with disabilities, and support families affected by the war.

Opening the program, Khrystyna Shabat, head of the Center for Child Dignity at the Ukrainian Catholic University, emphasized: “All adults are responsible for the safety of children, not just the child's family.” She spoke about the dignity of the child as an unconditional value, the child protection system and the importance of a safety policy that will help regulate the relationship between adults and children and provide clear algorithms for responding to violent behavior against children.

Tetyana Shkodivska, Project Manager of the Ukrainian Peacekeeping School Association, shared: “The participants of the NGOs that came to the training work in both safer regions and in the frontline. We understand the risk this poses both for them personally and for the children and youth they work with. The knowledge and ability to get out of situations that can be a crisis for children is extremely important.”

Natalia Tarnovska, head of projects and programs at UCU's Center for the Dignity of the Child and coordinator of the certificate program, said: “Today, the public sector significantly fills the niche of working with children, especially in the East and Center of Ukraine. Employees of public organizations, within the framework of their activities, often become those to whom children turn for help. Therefore, it is important to have sensitive communication skills, build a safe space for children, be able to respond to threats and act in the best interests of the child.”

The three-day training combined theoretical and practical blocks related to emotional needs, the impact of violence on a child's life, risk assessment and the creation of a safety system.

Yuliana Maslak, a child psychiatrist, cognitive behavioral therapist, and lecturer of the master's program in Clinical Psychology with the Basics of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy at UCU, told the program participants about childhood trauma, its causes, and its impact on later adult life, and why it is important for children to have safe adults in their lives: “A safe adult is a person who provides children and adolescents with physical and emotional safety. He/she is able to hear about the child's needs, is able to listen and accept without judgment, and helps to cope with difficulties. Explains risks and teaches safety rules. He/she demonstrates positive behavioral models and values through his/her own actions.”

Ivanka Rudakevych, Head of Projects and Programs at the UCU Center for the Dignity of the Child, spoke about the results of the study “Sexual Violence in Ukraine: From Awareness to Protection” (2021) conducted by the UCU Center for the Dignity of the Child and the Fama Research Agency and emphasized that people who have experienced violence often remain silent about it for fear of public condemnation, but it is important to realize that the perpetrator is always to blame.

Under the guidance of Ivanka Rudakevych, the participants identified the signs of a child-friendly organization, safety risks for children and how to counteract these threats, and how to create a safe environment for growth.

Khrystyna Tsar, head of the Human Resources Department of the Ukrainian Catholic University, spoke about the Policy on Prevention and Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Violence at UCU and shared practical experience of its implementation at the university.

The participants of the certificate program will work on security policies through online consultations with experts from the UCU Center for the Dignity of the Child.

Natalia Tarnovska, Head of Projects and Programs at the UCU Center for the Dignity of the Child, noted that when planning the program, she took into account that most of the participants were from areas that are experiencing the devastating effects of war. So we wanted to take care of psycho-emotional relief. Therefore, after the first training day, the public figures visited the Garden exhibition by Yaroslava Tkachuk at the Shum Art Gallery.

The participants also shared their impressions of the certificate program:

Yulia Eremenko, Chairman of the Board of the NGO “Women's Consolidation Platform”:

“I was impressed with the approach. The program was structured from start to finish. We learned about the dignity of the child, how much we need to take into account the needs of children, considered the risks we may face step by step, shared our experience, and developed programs for the needs of our organizations. This experience is invaluable.”

Serefima Levinstein, member of the All-Ukrainian Association “Ukrainian Boundaries”:

“When we were analyzing the risks for children, it was new to me how many there were. It may seem that the space is safe, the facilitators are safe a priori. But in fact, this a priori should not exist, and there should be maximum counteraction to risks. Group work with other participants of the training was very useful, when we exchanged ideas for risk solutions.”

Nadiya Vashkevych, volunteer of the NGO “Women's Hundred of Kryvyi Rih”: “During these three days we learned a lot of useful information that we can use in our work. For myself, I realized that we violate certain points when working with children, which may be considered the norm in our environment, but in fact may even harm the safety of children indirectly or directly. Therefore, when writing the security policies of our organization, I will take all these points into account.”

Photo by Vitaliy Grabar