Start-to-Stop Campaign
Stop all forms of violence against children
Rationale
From the statistics of Thai Children’s Rights Foundation, during 1997 – 2005, there were 828 cases of sexual harassment, 226 cases of assault, 162 cases of sex trade, and 59 cases of child labor. Furthermore, the violence statistics, as reported on www.women-family.go.th by the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security’s Office of Women Affairs and Family Development, show number of cases on children under 18 years of age that 3,068 were sexually harassed and 1,176 were assaulted mainly by people whom were close to the children or whom they knew well e.g. parents, relatives, friends, etc. This indicates that violence problem still exists, and becomes even more severe. The problem can be found in every part of the society, notably in the form of domestic violence.
The Domestic Violence Victim Protection Act B.E. 2550, which has become effective since November 12, 2007, provides the definition of “domestic violence” as “any actions aimed to endanger the body, mind, or health; or any intentional actions likely to bring about the danger towards body, mind, or health of the family members; or the abuse of power or influence forcing the family members to do, not to do, or accept doing unwillingly. However this does not include the careless actions.”
Effects of the violence are harmful physically and mentally especially upon “children”, who are mainly the victims of violence occurred in the house, school, community, and the society. With their relative smaller figure than adults, lack of bargaining power, and inferior status to adults. When the children are in the situation where violence is common, or are victims of violence themselves, they will acknowledge that culture, and absorb it as an integral part of their daily lives. Later they will become a grown-up who exercise violence on others. The vicious circle of violence will thus be never-ending unless it’s prevented or stopped at the beginning.
Foundation for Children’s Rights Protection has been devoting to actions against all forms of violence towards children for more than 25 years. These forms of violence include harmfulness either physically or mentally, sexual harassment, negligence, as well as taking advantages of the children. As the foundation is well aware of these problems, thus it initiated Start-to-Stop Campaign as an attempt to stop all forms of violence against children in the family, school, and community. Also, the campaign is to promote awareness among every part of the society, as well as their participation in making a halt to violence. It is hoped that problems relating to violence against children will be alleviated, and that a network of people/organizations involved in this initiative can be created. These are expected to lead to a sustainable solution for this problem on children.
Objectives
- To promote awareness amongst members of the public about the effects of violence against children
- To foster knowledge and understanding, as well as the skills on how to take care of the children, to their parents, teachers, and other people involved, so that these people know how to take care of the children without exercising any violence actions
- To change the behavior of parents, care-takers, teachers, or any related persons to a non-violence approach
- To create a network of supporters from pubic and private sectors, as well as community, to jointly resolve the violence problem on children
Target groups
· Knowledge enhancement:
- Children in their 9 – 15 years of age (about self-defense from sexual violence)
- Parents with 3-year-old children or more under their supervision (about how to protect the children from sexual and domestic violence)
- School administrators and teachers in 9 schools in Pathumwan District under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (about learning activities enhancing the students’ skills in safeguarding themselves against sexual harm), as well as teachers from 30 schools under Schools Protect Children Network
· Audience of information and campaign activities:
- 3,000 parents with 3-year-old children or more. These parents are educated, open to the media, and are active in joining parenting activities
· Campaign allies:
- 30 organizations in public and private sectors, including businesses and the media
Project timeframe
April 2008 – December 2010
Scope of the campaign
· Stop violence in children
Start: Fostering an attitude and understanding among children about sex to prevent pre-mature sex and self-defense from sexual harm
To stop: Sexual harm and all forms of child abuse
(Link to Children Development Activities in the Main Menu/ Project/ Children and Family Development)
· Stop violence in families
Start: Fostering an attitude and understanding among parents about raising their children with no violence and protecting them from sexual harm
To stop: Using violence against children in the families
(Link to Family Development Activities in the Main Menu/ Project/ Children and Family Development)
· Stop violence in schools
Start: Fostering an understanding among school staff about security system in schools as well as promoting good relations among students, teachers, and parents
To stop: Any harm the children may be physically exposed to or affected by people
(Link to Schools Protect Children Network in the Main Menu/ Project/ Children and Family Development)
Strategic actions
1. Knowledge development
The strategy is to do activities at site aiming at fostering an understanding and skills on childcare without violence among the parents, caretakers, and teachers. Meanwhile self-defense from sexual harm will be promoted among children so as to prevent sexual harassment.
Projects and trainings Thai Children’s Rights Foundation has developed include:
· ‘My body is mine’ activity and sex education aimingat promoting understanding and self-defense skills against sexual harm among children in 9 – 11 and 12- 15 years of age. The children will learn to value themselves, analyze the safe and unsafe situation by themselves, safeguard themselves against the unsafe situation, and be effective in telling their stories and get assistance from the grown-ups. Sex education will be related in 7 dimensions: 1) Sexual development (physical, mental, and social changes); 2) Sexual health; 3) Sexual behavior; 4) Society, culture, values, and beliefs about sex; 5) Personal skills (prevention of sexual behavior problems); Relationship; and 7) Self-esteem.
Pioneering groups are 300 students in Primary School 3 – 6, from in 9 schools located in Pathumwan District under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. The project expects to see a total of 6,000 participating students in Bangkok and other provinces.
· Parents’ classroom aiming at educating the parents about appropriate childcare andbuilding the family support group. The activity will be in the form of workshop joined by the psychiatrist and childcare expert, and focuses on 5 development aspects- body, mind, emotion, intelligence, and family and society.
There will 15 workshops a year of which:
- 8 are for parents in schools and in general on issues such as how to safeguard children against human danger (sexual harm) to reduce sexual violence, and how to adjust aggressive behavior of the children so as to reduce effects from domestic violence on them.
- 9 are for parents who are employees or workers in business enterprises on issues such as how to make a happy family by reducing violence.
The program expects there will be a total of 1,000 participating parents who will be developing knowledge and understanding about appropriate childcare, with no violence, and about how to safeguard the children against sexual harm.
· Schools Protect Children Program aiming at promoting security for children at school bydeveloping understanding among teachers about how to create the security system at school, where teachers play roles in protecting, assisting, examining, and looking out for physical and human harm. The program focuses on collective efforts of schools, parents, community, and local organizations in helping to stop violence, hence creating safety environment for children.
There will be 3 “pioneer schools” (selected from 30 allied schools) to serve as a model on children protection. There will also be sessions held to foster an attitude towards non-violence children supervision e.g. seminars for school administrators, classroom for teachers, seminar on lesson wrap-up, learning stage, etc.
2. Campaigning for social participation
The strategy is to disseminate ideas and actions corresponding to social problems relating to children and family, as well as issues on violence amongst children, in the family, and at school. There will also be an urge in policy level to form a national and regional structure of children protection system in order to stop violence in the society.
2.1 Dissemination through the public media and press
2.2 Exposure in the seminars/ press conference/ special events
2.3 Building a Media Center to be a center for information/media dissemination so as to foster knowledge and to change the public attitude towards violence. The media used are ……….
3. Creating and linking a network of allies
The strategy is to explore and develop a network of supports from every part of the society i.e. public, private, and social sectors, as well as the media, both by individual and corporate support. This is expected to drive to Start-to-Stop campaign to the public at large, build capacity and resources (sponsors and volunteers). Efforts will be extended to individual as well as corporate network.
Expected results
- Greater knowledge (children, family, school) which leads to the change in attitude and behavior of parents, care-takers, and teachers, to appropriate caretaking and a non-violence approach
- Social participation which leads to leads to the change in attitude and better understand about the effects of violence against children, then a collaboration to stop such violence
- Creating and connecting a network of supporters from every part of the society to fight for an end to violence against children
Project owner
Public Relations & Capacity Building Dept., Thai Children’s Rights Foundation, 170/2 Moo Baan Sivalai, Soi Issaraphab 33, Issaraphab Road, Wat Tha Phra, Bangkokyai, Bangkok 10600
Tel.: 0-2412-0738, 0-2412-9834, 0-2864-3381 To send a fax, press extension 108 www.thaichildrights.org
Email: starttostop@gmail.com
