UCU Center for the Dignity of the Child's Report Heard at the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine

Khrystyna Shabat, head of the UCU Center for the Dignity of the Child, spoke about the work of the Center since its inception. Working with the church was a priority from the very beginning, as the resolution to establish the Center for Child Dignity at the Ukrainian Catholic University was initiated by the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC in 2019.

Over the three years of its operation, the Center for Child Dignity has successfully developed projects in three areas: church, education, and medicine. It has conducted educational activities, organized trainings, formations, and studies, contributed to the formation and implementation of security policies, and conducted and supported research. In 2022, in cooperation with the Center for Child Dignity, representatives of the UGCC developed a security policy document "Norms and Principles for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Persons in the Pastoral Activities of the UGCC in Ukraine," which shapes the Church's vision of working to protect children from violence. This is the first child protection policy in the church in Ukraine among all denominations.

Khrystyna Shabat also shared her plans for implementing safeguarding policies, which are mechanisms necessary to create a safe environment for children, including information, dissemination of educational practices, prevention, and response algorithms.

The bishops expressed their gratitude to all the employees for their diligent work and recommended that the best practices and experience be shared throughout the religious environment of Ukraine.

The resolution of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC took into account the report on the activities of the Center for the Dignity of the Child of the Ukrainian Catholic University.

The role of the Center for the Dignity of the Child is to help the church to create a safe environment for children through training, formation and expertise. That every priest, monk, nun or lay person who works or volunteers in a church institution, and especially those who have contact with children in their work, should be trained:

• understand and use mechanisms for the prevention of violence against children
• know how to respond professionally and sensitively to reports of violence
• Understand personal responsibility for protecting children from violence
• effectively implemented the child protection policy document in their parishes and dioceses
• followed the conviction that adults are responsible for protecting children.

UCU's Center for the Dignity of the Child is working to form a clergy-children-parents safety model, where those who work with children, parents, and children themselves are aware of the topic of protection.

In our work, we promote maximum transparency in the field of protecting minors from violence. Our website contains various opportunities and useful resources for those who work with children in educational and church environments. It is also a place to report cases of violence against minors and vulnerable persons by representatives of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in a transparent manner.