Working group : Prevention of the consequences of child abuse

This module will focus on the prevention of the consequences of childhood maltreatment: how can resilience be reinforced? How can children and adolescents develop skills that protect them and make them less vulnerable? How to promote non-violent education? It will start with the description of initiatives that have been undertaken by civil society in various parts of the world. This will be facilitated by :

• the presence of associations that act in this domain in our network,
• existing reports. For example, the “Joint UNESCO, UNODC and WHO report on Education sector responses to the use of alcohol, tobacco and drugs” provides a review and a number of case studies showing examples of local implementation of evidence -based programs to address substance use.

Using a similar approach, we aim to provide a summary of the evidence base on building resilience in maltreated youth, and collect a series of case studies demonstrating implementation of such intervention models in the real world. We will highlight different interventions that can prevent the psychological and neurobiological consequences of childhood maltreatment, such as psychotherapy, yoga, pharmacotherapy, neurostimulation, mindfulness/meditation. We will also provide evidence showing how resilience can be promoted by several juridic actions: the possibility of being recognized as a victim and of being able to prosecute the perpetrator at the criminal level is essential. The limitation rules take this into account.

Further, financial compensation can help with the medical costs associated with the child's recovery. Ultimately, we will elaborate an educational prevention program called “Passport against childhood abuse” that can be easily disseminated among youth, pregnant women, future parents, and in different languages and countries. This passport can be based on the “Declaration of the Rights of the Child” such as a modus operandi of the declaration.