Participation for Protection (P4P)
Capacity building, education and awareness raising for stakeholders
Project Modality: EU-Forschungsprojekt
Project Management: Heidrun Schulze, mit: Davina Höblich, Tanja Grendel, Rita Richter Nunes
Run Time: 2018-2020
» Participation for Protection« (P4P): Article on the EU research project on the RheinMain University of Applied Sciences website
Description: Participation for Protection’ (P4P) is a European Commission funded project aimed at enhancing child-centred approaches and rights-based supports and treatments for children and young people who experience violence, and for those who work with them to better understand their needs.
The international project was led by Dr Siobhan McAlister, Centre for Children’s Rights at Queen’s University Belfast included partners from Austria; Belgium; Germany; the Republic of Ireland; Romania; and the UK. Partners included representatives from: Babes-Bolyai University; Children’s Rights Knowledge Centre (KeKi); Include Youth; KU Leuven Institute of Criminology (LINC); Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights; RheinMain University of Applied Science; UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, NUIG; University of Nottingham. The German project was lead by Prof. Dr. Heidrun Schulze, with Prof. Dr. Tanja Grendel, Prof. Dr. Davina Höblich und Rita Nunes (MA Childhood Studies, Lawyer) University of Applied Sciences Wiesbaden.
The ultimate aim of this project was to foreground the views, experiences and voices of children in child protection training for those working with children. This is with a view to enhancing and supporting integrated and multi-disciplinary child-centred approaches to child victims of violence, raising children's understanding of reporting mechanisms and support structures, and enhancing children's treatment in, and involvement with, services and systems. This will be achieved through designing child-informed training to enhance understanding and application of child rights based responses to child victims, from the perspective of children themselves. The project aims are three-fold: (1) To increase understanding among children of local reporting mechanisms, supports structures and ways of engaging in these to their benefit. (2) To enhance capacity among those who come into contact with children about safeguarding and reporting procedures; needs of particular groups; signposting. (3) To enhance rights-based supports, services and treatment for child victims as a consequence of better understanding of their needs and views through awareness raising and training. Thie project examined the following topics in the European context: children and young people who experience political violence (UK); children with experience of the juvenile justice system/detention (BEL, UK, IR); children who have spent time in care (IR, ROM); child migrants/refugees (GER, AUS, BEL); Travellers, Roma (UK, ROM); children who have experienced domestic violence (GER); children who have experienced domestic violence, child migrants/refugees, LGBT children (GER).
Based on the Laura Lundy Model the project developed child-informed training resources for children and young people, and professionals, focused on what really matters to children who have experienced violence. The resources build the capacity of children who have experienced violence to claim their rights and also build the capacity of professionals to fulfil their obligations to the children they work with.
P4P consulted with over 1300 children and young people, aged 8-18 years, across the partner countries regarding their views on what constitutes harm, what helps in terms of disclosure and what makes for good service responses. Consultations involved children in schools, and specific groups at risk of, or already experiencing violence, including: children in care; children in detention/ in conflict with the law; Roma or Traveller children; children living in high conflict communities; child migrants and refugees; children with experience of domestic violence; and children who identify as LGBTQ+. The project originated from the belief that while there may be training resources for trainees and professionals who work with children experiencing violence, or at risk of violence, these are often developed by adults and hence from an adult perspective. The P4P team wanted to understand from children’s perspectives: what constituted violence; what might act as barriers to disclosing violence and seeking support; what constituted useful support; and how professionals could better respond to their needs.
For downloading: Training resources for professionals and children / young people
https://www.qub.ac.uk/sites/participation-for-protection/ResourcesforProfessionals/
https://www.qub.ac.uk/sites/participation-for-protection/InformationforChildrenandYoungPeople/