V. Objective #3: Responding to Comp

V. Objective #3: Responding to Complaints and Managing Crisis
This particular impact remains one of the most challenging aspects of any community we are engaged in.
The impact that we are seeking here is that each community we serve will have a clear process for
reporting and investigating any suspicion of child abuse. Given the context of the cultural environment
and particularly within a church community, it has been extremely difficult to provide positive outcomes for
children who are victims of child abuse. Through the 3-3-5 training program for children, we have been
aware of an increased number of disclosures. An example of this has been in the training conducted at
AGAPE Home, Chiang Mai, where four girls have notified the authorities with regards to being victims of
child sexual abuse by a community leader. However, although disclosure rates have increased, the OCP
team has also been made aware that the respective primary carers (those non-offending) of these child
abuse victims often respond to further compound the trauma these children are experiencing. The OCP is
seeking to confront these challenges in the near future to support more effective secondary and tertiary
levels of prevention and intervention.
VI. Analysis of Progress:
The team has developed an approach for assessing the impact of the activities it conducts and the
degree of progress communities are making towards becoming child safe. It is also considering what
work needs to be further done to support organizations that are experiencing challenges in enabling them
to progress.
VII. Assessment: Description of Successes & Setbacks:
The OCP has seen the following positive developments as a direct consequence of its efforts to
promoting child protection throughout Thailand:
1. Encouraging and breaking the silence for victims perpetrated by staff, by reporting child abuse
cases. Some of these cases have come from church, children home, school communities. The
training that children have received from the OCP team has helped them feel prepared to report
and ask for help.
2. Developing a network of organizations that are like-minded in the area of child protection. The
OCP has had opportunities to assist in the building of clear communication channels and
relationships between local NGOs and government authorities in order to assist in handling
reported cases of abuse.
3. The OCP has also been involved in providing advice and consultation to assist law enforcement
agencies to pursue reported cases of abuse.
VIII. Data Collection:
The team has developed tools to assess the impact of the training and consultation provided. The team
has developed these monitoring tools and indicator levels carefully so as to understand as accurately and
precisely as possible the knowledge, values, and attitudes that we are seeking to have been engendered
in the recipients of our activities. The current evaluation and assessment tools also seek to understand
the recipient’s ability and willingness to apply the knowledge learnt within their own situations and identify
areas in which the team could further assist in their development towards becoming a child safe
organization. However, whilst these tools have been developed, and in some cases implemented to
garner participants’ responses, the amount of data needing to be processed is quite considerable and the
team is yet to fully analyze the responses received.
IX. Lessons Learned:
Community Response
The OCP ministry has faced a number of challenges throughout the year. However, with the instrumental
support of CWS, there seems now, more than ever before, the initial signs that momentum is building for
7
not only acknowledging, but also confronting seriously the child protection issues within the CCT and its
communities. There have been numerous expressions of appreciation from church communities (Phaak
16 and Phaak 11) and student networks (Thai Christian Students Association) that have found the
ministry of the OCP to be helpful. In addition, the large scale workshop in 2013 involving representatives to give training with other communities that these
representatives had relationships with (for example, between Phaak 16 and government schools) and
also led to a greater awareness of the importance of this ministry to the general church community,
almost all of which, have access to children.
from each CCT Phaak led to further opportunities