Before the training began, Dr. Nguyen Le Hoai Anh (CGFED) had randomized participants into groups so as to finish an entrance survey – the ‘Wishing Tree’ activity – with aims to grasp participants’ perspectives and abilities as well as long-term and short-term expectations for the course. This creative activity allowed everyone to open up and share their point of view regarding the upcoming 4-day training course. The yellow roots stand for experience and current ability of participating officers; blue roots stand for short-term goals gained after 4 training days; and red roots stand for long-term goals in the work of child protection.
After the group work, the trainer started the course with the first content:
Difference between gender (roles and attributes that society, in certain time, assign to men and women) and sex (biological features of male and female). These scientific elements and bio-traits can help social workers identify their beneficiaries, minimize prejudice and offer suitable solutions.
We, then, came to what constitutes power (sex, sexual orientation, environment, well-being,…) and what are the powers of children (controlling power, intrinsic power, cooperative power). Last but not least, what are the types of abuse (physical, emotional, economical, sexual, …).
While the first half of the training covered general knowledge so that advisors can identify their beneficiaries’ problems, the latter went into deep analysis of the 2 common forms of abuse:
Domestic violence: true stories about children suffering from family conflicts as well as abuse from their own parents and guardians were shared case by case so as to highlight the solution – direct yet flexible approach towards the root cause. This is the key takeaway for project officers working about Children Rights at the locality.
Sexual abuse: how it differs from harassment, what are contact and non-contact abuse. The perp can be anyone, but the highest rate falls within the child’s family members. Hence, it is crucial to educate children about self-protection and defense.
