Family and community sensitisation and support
Social connections and relationships are a fundamental part of our well-being. For children, especially adolescents, good friendships are important.
Reintegration is a two-way process. It is not simply a matter of 'inserting' the child back into a community or introducing them into new surroundings, there needs to be acceptance and co-operation from the family and society. Despite this fact, there tends to be less support for children when it comes to their social inclusion and integration needs.
Family support
Families may respond differently to the exploitation, some choosing to hide or ignore it, others preventing the child from seeking out support and others wanting to support the child the best they can. Addressing the social, emotional and economical needs of the family is important because if these needs are met, the child is more likely to be supported.
Family counselling may be an important intervention to start to improve communication and the relations between the child and the family.
Community responses
Children returning home may face high levels of stigma and discrimination.
In traditional communities, girls who migrate, whether they are involved in sexual exploitation or not, are often labelled as 'prostitutes' and often ostracised. Girls who later return home with children of their own are likely to require even higher levels of support as their children are often also rejected.
In some contexts the family and village may label children as 'failures' if they return home without money or goods. Many children around the world leave home in search of work in order to support themselves and their families. If these children return with nothing they may feel ashamed for not succeeding. Finding a sense of achievement through school or work and gaining respect from the community may help boost their self-esteem. If this is possible, they may be less likely to search elsewhere for new opportunities and become vulnerable to further exploitation.
Stigma from association with services
Children and adults have expressed that being associated with certain service providers and shelters may actually increase stigma. Association with certain organisations or places may identify them to the rest of the community as 'victims' or 'prostitutes'. This can cause individuals to refuse support offered or stop them from seeking out help for fear of being identified.
It is important that organisations find ways to raise awareness about their service and about the dangers of trafficking without creating negative stereotypes. For example campaigns that focus on trafficking and the dangers of HIV and AIDS have led, in some cases, to additional stigma for girls who return home and are then labelled as HIV positive.
Services and shelters need to think about the messages they give out and in some cases, offering services to a wider population, not just those who have been trafficked or exploited, may conceal the true nature of the child's abuse and make the service more approachable to those who need it most.
Community sensitisation
In order to stop the discrimination from families and the wider community, it is important to work with them and help raise their awareness of exploitation and trafficking. By better informing and sensitising society about the process and effects of exploitation and trafficking, this may go some way towards starting to change attitudes and behaviours.
There are many ways to work with families and the community so they are better informed and prepared to accept and protect returning children. Working closely with community leaders and elders can help to spread information and messages. Additional strategies may include:
- working in schools with teachers to talk to their classes about abuse and exploitation
- working with local existing community groups and supporting them to protect returned or integrated children
- setting up peer-to-peer programmes or buddy systems
- working with the media or even getting national celebrities involved to challenge the negative prevailing stereotypes.
Key texts:
- Leaving the past behind? When victims of trafficking decline assistance: Anette Brunovskis and Rebecca Surtees for Fafo and NEXUS Institute, 2007
- Rehabilitation and community integration of trafficking survivors in the United States: Rachel Shitakane in Human Rights Quarterly, 2007
- A common responsibility: The role of community-based child protection groups in protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation: Save the Children Alliance, 2008
- What are we learning about protecting children in the community? Executive Summary: Mike Wessells for the Inter-Agency Reference Group, Save the Children Fund, 2009
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