To be on the side of the child - UCU Center for Child Dignity presents report on 3 years of activity

The report was presented on January 26, 2024, at the Andrey Sheptytsky Center of UCU.
"We are working to ensure that every organization and institution effectively implements child protection policies, is on the side of the child, and protects his or her rights and dignity. Our goal is for every adult who works with children to understand and use the mechanisms of preventing violence against children (safeguarding)," said Khrystyna Shabat, head of the UCU Center for Child Dignity, during the presentation of the report.

You can download the report in Ukrainian here and in English here.

The Center for Child Dignity began its work in January 2021 at the Ukrainian Catholic University. The issue of protecting minors was the main topic of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC at the end of 2019, when the Synod issued a message on the protection of children, minors and vulnerable persons from violence. Subsequently, on behalf of the Synod of Bishops, His Beatitude Sviatoslav (Shevchuk) asked UCU to establish a Center to provide training support to religious organizations and secular institutions on the protection of minors and vulnerable persons.

Thus, in response to the call of the Synod of the UGCC, UCU established the Center for the Dignity of the Child, which is guided in its work by the principles of respect for the rights and dignity of each person, transparency, openness, honesty, and willingness to cooperate. The Center is working to form an effective comprehensive system that includes measures to prevent violence in institutions working with children.

Over the three years of its operation, the Center has successfully developed projects in three areas: education, medicine, and the church. It has conducted educational activities, organized trainings, formations, and studies, contributed to the formation and implementation of safeguarding policies for institutions and organizations, and conducted and supported research.

In 2021, UCU's Center for the Dignity of the Child, together with the Fama research agency, conducted the first study in Ukraine, Sexual Violence in Ukraine: From Awareness to Protection. According to the survey participants, about 4% of them were victims of childhood rape, 23% were victims of sexual violence and/or harassment (including rape). According to the respondents, the perpetrators of sexual abuse of minors are mostly strangers (62%), but the facts show that in 8 out of 10 cases, sexual abuse is perpetrated by people close to the family or family members. According to the study, child safety is a safe place and safe adults who care, listen to children's wishes, do not hurt them and respect their dignity. The results of the study are used by psychologists, social educators, and public organizations.

Also, the UCU Center for Child Dignity became a partner in a study during the first 6 months of the full-scale invasion, which resulted in the publication of the article "Should I Stay or Should I Go? Relationships between Emotional Regulation and Basic Needs of Parents Displaced in Ukraine or Abroad" (original title "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" Relationships Between Emotion Regulation and Basic Needs Satisfaction of Parents Displaced in Ukraine and Abroad") in the scientific journal "Education, Culture and Society" № 1_2023 283 (Journal of Education Culture and Society), which is part of the international scientometric databases. The study focused on the emotional experiences of parents and the mental health of children.

In the healthcare sector, 124,272 healthcare workers were reached by the Center for Child Dignity projects. The developed online course "Monitoring and Management of Sexual Violence Cases in Different Age Groups in the Practice of Family Physicians " with the support of the World Bank and the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine in partnership with the National Health Service of Ukraine is one of the most popular on the NHSU Academy platform, and 7353 family physicians have successfully completed it.
8500 educators have completed online training from the Center for Child Dignity. In 7 western regions of Ukraine, the team is implementing the project "Safeguarding. Child Safety in the Educational Environment" project. 5100 people took the course "Child Safety is the Responsibility of Every Adult", 5285 people took the course "Safeguarding. Child Safety in the Educational Environment" on the platforms of UCU-Online and IT (Learning and Technology).

63% of the clergy of the UGCC in Ukraine and 10% of the clergy of the UGCC abroad participated in the projects of the UCU Center for the Dignity of the Child. Clergy from 13 out of 15 UGCC eparchies received one-day training on the prevention of violence against minors. 14 out of 15 delegates took part in the formation of those responsible for the protection of minors and vulnerable persons appointed at the level of (arch)eparchies and exarchates of the UGCC.

For 3 years of work and the successful implementation of dozens of projects, formations, trainings, and educational activities, the team of the UCU Center for the Dignity of the Child has formed 10 lessons of their own experience, which they are willing to share:
1. Effective work requires support. An idea that has no ground, no numbers, and no people is doomed to wander in a mirrored corridor.
2. We can't change the world, but we can do our job well and focus on the point of application of force.
3. Breadth requires depth. When focusing on a problem, we need to delve deeply and comprehensively into it, and then scale it up.
4. The role of the doctor in violence prevention is critically underestimated. But it is the doctor who can ask a child if he or she is comfortable at home or at school, provide first psychological aid and refer to services for specialized help.

5. It is always cheaper and more efficient to work with children than with adults. It is important to respect the dignity and personal boundaries of the child, to give them the opportunity to take initiative and responsibility from an early age, so that they are not re-taught later in life.
6. Education will either save us from the inferiority complex, the result from a position of strength, and the destructive focus on form over content, or we will lose another generation
7. Big organizations have big impacts. But to have a big impact, you don't have to become a big organization, the main thing is to spread your own practices and get the support of like-minded people.

8. One man in the field is no warrior. We need to unite for fruitful work. There is enough space for everyone

9. Whatever you do, it will disappear as soon as you disappear, unless it becomes a system
10. You don't need to break the old to build the new. Analysis, focusing on the essentials, focus groups, and sharing good practices. Let's build together.

We do not stop there. The UCU Center for the Dignity of the Child plans to implement safeguarding policies - mechanisms necessary to create a safe environment for children, including information, prevention, and response algorithms for Ukrainian institutions, educational institutions, public organizations, medical institutions, and the church.

International projects with the Ministry of Social Policy and a Swedish university - Safeguarding education and awareness. Online program in cooperation with the Coordination Center for the Development of Family Education and Child Care. International project with representatives of the Catholic Church in Eastern Europe and cooperation with other faiths. Watch the online broadcast of the report
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