One Thousand Boys Project
- Goal : 35 000$
- Target: 50 000$
The One Thousand Boys (OTB) initiative builds upon the groundwork laid by ChildLinK and its collaborative efforts since 2010, initially focusing on child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention through the Tell Scheme campaign. The OTB initiative aimed to improve the functioning of crucial stakeholders and civil society organizations, including governmental bodies such as the Ministry of Social Protection, Guyana Police Force, and Ministry of Education. The initiative included objectives such as establishing an action group focused on CSA, enhancing the skills of human rights workers, empowering young boys and men as advocates for the prevention of child sexual abuse, setting up Child Advocacy Centers in regions 6, 8 and 9, conducting a baseline surveys on harmful social norms that contribute to child sexual abuse of boys, and conducting a public education campaign that highlight positive social norms that contribute to the prevention of child sexual abuse of boys by March 2023.
The overall objective of the OTB is to strengthen systems, practices, and services of key stakeholders (MoSP, GPF, MoE, MoPH, MoIP, Judiciary) and 4 CSOs with the expertise to build good practices and empower 1000 teen boys and 200 men as advocates and build the capacity of 3000 women and 530 human rights workers (HRW) to protect and prevent 10,000 children from child sexual abuse (CSA) across 5 Regions (3,4,6,8,9) by March 2023.
Specific Objectives of the OTB are (1) Established CSA action group with 10 government and civil society agencies to provide oversight and institutionalizing procedures of key stakeholders for reporting, preventing and protecting children from CSA. (2) Increased knowledge and skills of 530 HRW from key stakeholders and grassroots in 5 Regions to improve and standardize practices for reporting and preventing CSA. (3.1) Strengthened capacity of 1000 teen boys and 200 men (fathers) as advocates for preventing CSA and 3000 parents/carers (women) to report and prevent CSA. (3.2) Established 3 Child Advocacy Centres (CACs) in rural/indigenous communities in regions 6, 8, 9 to provide services to 100 CSA victims. (4.1) Conducted baseline survey with 200 men and teen boys and 200 women and teen girls from the 5 regions on social norms drivers of CSA. (4.2) Improved and targeted public education for 10,000 children at risk of CSA and the wider society on positive social norms for changing behaviours for protecting children and preventing CSA. (4.3) Public education awareness incorporates the potential impact on sexual reproductive health (SRH) as a result of CSA and the potentials of the social and economic development of oil and gas.
As of July 2022, the OTB initiative has achieved notable achievements which includes:
1. A culmination of 604 HRWs (196 males and 408 females) were engaged in training surpassing the project target of 530 by 13%.
2. Two hundred ninety-three (293) children (126 boys and 167 girls) and 1,473 parents (371 males and 1,102 females) were engaged in awareness sessions. Included in the awareness sessions are 92 children and 13 parents from the deaf community who were mobilized for awareness sessions facilitated by Deaf Association Guyana (DAG).
3. Six hundred seventy-eight (678) children (634 boys and 44 girls) were mobilized for training. Children indicated their willingness to be engaged for training so that they can engage in peer to peer sharing and learning.
4. ChildLinK and our OTB CBO partners engaged 1,510 parents (218 males and 1,292 females) in parenting training on topics such as discipline and punishment, reporting child abuse, early childhood experiences, etc.
5. The establishment of seven community advocacy groups (CAGs) in Regions 3, 4, and 6 has fostered grassroots engagement in child protection. These groups are collaborating with community-based organizations (CBOs) to identify and address cases of abuse, thereby promoting sustained change at the community level.
6. Sensitization sessions have successfully engaged 4,366 children, leading to reduced violence in schools, while the involvement of men and teenage boys in awareness campaigns showcases the potential for community-driven child protection and prevention of child sexual abuse.