[www.inewsguyana.com] – Head of Delegation of the European Union to Guyana, Ambassador Jernej Videtič, together with Volda Lawrence, Minister of Social Protection, accompanied by representatives of ChildLink and the Child Protection Agency, officially opened the Child Advocacy Centre (CAC) at Fort Wellington, Berbice on Wednesday, September 23.
According to a press release from the EU, the Child Advocacy Centre is part of the Empowering Children in Difficult Circumstances Project, which is being implemented by ChildLink. It will house a multi-disciplinary team of professionals including law enforcement, child protection services, the Department of Public Prosecution, mental health and medical professionals.
It was noted that the latter will conduct forensic interviews with abused children.
“Under this system, children who have suffered abuse will be interviewed regarding their abuse just once, in this way avoiding having to recount their experience again and again to a number of different agencies,” the release stated.
The European Union is funding the Empowering Children in Difficult Circumstances (ECDC) project with an amount of EURO 200.000 under the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights.
Signed in 2014, the 24-month ECDC project has also established the National Child Rights Coalition (NCRC), supports the Tell Campaign across the country, and will provide training to child rights workers, counsellors, and child protection officers. In addition, the ECDC project will establish 5 regional groups across the country to facilitate the monitoring of and improved response to child abuse complaints.
The EIDHR is a financing instrument that provides assistance for the promotion of democracy and human rights worldwide and specifically aims at assisting civil society to become an effective force for political reform and defence of human rights.
