Education, training and employment

Children who have been involved in sexual exploitation are more than likely to have missed out on school during this period of their lives and may have been out of school for some time before the exploitation began.   

Challenges in the classroom

Although many children recover well from their experiences, others may experience cognitive difficulties as well as behavioural, social and emotional problems which may make engaging with education difficult. Some children may be unable to concentrate and may have special educational needs. In addition to these problems children may face a whole host of extra barriers in gaining an education. Older children, who are behind for their age, may resent having to be placed in classes with much younger children. Those attending formal classes may face discrimination and bullying creating a negative learning environment and causing them to drop out.

Support in the classroom

In order to overcome some of these challenges, key workers supporting the recovery and reintegration of children may need to liaise with the family to ensure that children are being fully supported to attend school and any special needs are being met. In order to give added assistance to children, different strategies may be required. These include after-school homework clubs, mentoring schemes, non-formal education, distance and flexible learning, providing bursaries or scholarships for children whose families can't support their education and conducting sensitivity training for educators -providing them with basic counselling skills and information to support the special needs of abused children. 

Life skills

In addition to basic education, children should have the opportunity to learn about life skills. They should have knowledge about how to protect themselves and become independent in the future. This may include classes on childrens' rights, managing money, keeping themselves healthy and sex and relationship advice.

Vocational training

Children under the age of fifteen are often considered to be too young to participate in employment training, however older young people may benefit from vocational programmes.

Economic strengthening programmes have been widely used with many groups across the globe. There are a whole host of challenges and lessons that we can learn from this work when developing programmes for vulnerable young people.

Common problems with vocational training programmes

Traditionally, gender has played a key role in the type of training programmes offered. Women and girls have often been trained in traditional female trades such as sewing, knitting, weaving, hairdressing and jewellery-making. Whereas boys often train to become builders, carpenters and farmers. Not only does this lead to a surplus of hairdressers and carpenters in any one community at one time - making it harder to make a living - but it can also perpetuate gender stereotypes. On the other hand, young people may actually choose these courses based on what they are interested in. For some young people who are already anxious about returning home, choosing a profession that is not accepted or deemed inappropriate, may be an additional barrier to overcome on top of an already challenging situation.

The types of courses that are offered are usually limited to the ability, knowledge and skills of the staff involved in the project. A far more effective strategy would be to try to understand the local and future market needs to develop training, in partnership with the business community, and fill any gaps that are likely to emerge, such as the tourism industry.

Training efforts however may be futile if the young people are rejected from their community. If a girl is ostracised for her involvement in the sex trade, helping her start her own business may be useless if the success of the business relies on locals buying goods and services from her. This is why family and community sensitisation is a very important part of the recovery and reintegration process.

Legal identity is also an issue when it comes to economic strengthening initiatives. Without legal papers such as a birth certificate, young people may be unable to access financial services such as savings accounts and small loans. Programmes should support children and young people to acquire the necessary legal documentation

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