Iris Global translates our child protection resource into Portuguese to empower more of its teams across the world
Iris Global highlights the need for anti-trafficking resources in multiple languages, the CSO Coalition publishes its extensive survey of migrant workers in the Thai seafood industry, and People Serving Girls at Risk (PSGR) reports a spike in cases in Malawi.
Iris Global has partnered with Freedom Collaborative to translate its Child Protection resource into Portuguese. The resource, the Child Protection Policy Template and Self-Audit Tool, was developed collectively by Freedom Collaborative community members in 2017, following a webinar on the same topic. Its aim is to help organizations think through the prioritization of child protection, and the implementation of basic policies and standards that can keep children safe from unintentional abuse or further exploitation. The resource is simple but thorough and provides a solid introduction to policy development for organizations.
Since its inception, Iris Global’s mission has been to serve and support the world’s most vulnerable communities — from those living in post-civil war Mozambique, to rubbish-dump slums in Brazil and brothel districts in South Asia. Much of its work is accomplished in the midst of crisis and it is critical for its staff and volunteers to provide diligent trauma-informed care. Given the challenges and cultural differences unique to each setting, the group tailors its approach to fit the needs of the communities it serves.
As part of Iris Global’s commitment to the highest standards of care for the at-risk and vulnerable children who participate in its programs, its child protection policy requires on-going training for all staff and volunteers who interact with children. But most of the relevant resources and trainings are not available in local languages, blocking ready access for many of the organization’s staff.
This lack of resources in local languages is one of the main challenges for staff professional development in this field – there simply isn’t much available. This makes it very difficult for local team members to access professional knowledge and learning – a privilege the English-speaking community takes as standard. By translating Freedom Collaborative’s child protection resource, Iris Global has empowered its teams in Mozambique, Brazil and Portugal to ensure they are implementing robust safeguarding measures.
Iris Global’s investment into this often overlooked area of need has reduced the time required for child protection training and provided immediate access to resources. The obvious benefits are that staff and volunteers can stay current with best practices and safeguarding measures and improvements are not delayed.
We are grateful Iris Global recognized this major gap and dedicated their time and expertise to seeing this translation project completed. We are currently working on translation into Spanish, and appreciate any support for other languages. Please reach out if your organization would be willing to help.
The Portuguese version of the Child Protection Policy Template is available here.
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy news and initiatives:
The third episode of Labor of Loss, our podcast series in collaboration with USAID Asia CTIP, is a show in two parts – and both concern palm oil plantations in Malaysia. First, with Manggalam, we explore the colonial legacy of migrant labour, when palm plantations were still rubber plantations and workers were indentured. And then, we hear from two NGOs who are tackling current problems in the industry in very different ways: one using a carrot and one using a stick.
In an important op-ed, Jose Alfaro, a male survivor, writes about his own experience of sex trafficking and how, for the first time, he saw stories of LGBTQ survivors and even a male survivor profile in the U.S. State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report this year. This is a start, but it’s not enough, he says: “We need investment, not just words” for LGBTQ and homeless youth vulnerable to trafficking.
The CSO Coalition has conducted an extensive survey of migrant workers in the Thai seafood industry and presents its findings in a new report. The report focuses on low wages, the gender pay gap, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on these issues and the workers who experience them.
COVID-19-driven economic and social difficulties in Malawi have caused an increase in sex trafficking in the southern African country, says People Serving Girls at Risk (PSGR) – and the spike is being blamed mainly on poor law enforcement.
In this blog article, Chloe Setter, Head of Policy for WeProtect Global Alliance, looks at Apple’s newly announced plans to boost its child protection efforts and explains why it feels like a pivotal moment in child safety: “Balancing privacy and child safety in an increasingly encrypted online world is not simple – and so it is hugely encouraging to see Apple recognise and respond to the challenge, including through the use of device-level safety measures.”
Eden’s Farm, Karana Rising and Mentari are currently hosting a webinar series entitled Empowerment V.S. Exploitation. Survivors and allies within the anti-trafficking movement share critical insights on how human trafficking survivors are empowered but also exploited by the movement. Each week, they dive into the dynamics of donor and survivor stories, media engagement with survivors, and the policies that help or harm survivors. The second and third webinars are on 20 and 27 August at 7.30pm ET.
The Child Rights International Network is looking for a Communications Manager to join its team, working from home in any location +/- 2 hours of GMT.
UNDP Malaysia is accepting proposals for CSO programming that focuses on labour and migrant worker rights and access to justice, enabling migrant workers to effectively seek and obtain remedies through formal or informal grievance mechanisms during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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