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Dear CPC friends and colleagues: Heading into the last quarter of the year seems like a nice time to reflect upon partnerships and the various collaborations that make our work successful. At the heart of the CPC Learning Network's mission is convening service providers, policymakers, and researchers to think about what we need to learn and to make it happen, and September has been a month with ample opportunity for reflecting with these groups. At the annual meeting of the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action held in Kampala, Uganda—for which the CPC Learning Network serves on the Steering Committee —we all agreed on the need to recommit ourselves to improving work for children and families affected by armed conflict. We are also working towards taking a socio-ecological, family centered approach to working for children affected by emergencies. The CPC Learning Network will help that inter-agency group to move forward on two specific fronts: first, we will co-lead with Save the Children the Assessment, Measurement, and Evidence Working Group, which is designing its strategy for the coming three years. The strategy will focus largely on making sure that measurement tools for ensuring improvements in children's lives in humanitarian settings can be used quickly and accurately. We will also co-lead, with World Vision (and potentially others!), the Cash and Child Protection Task Force, which will both link with the Global Protection Cluster's Cash and Protection Task Team and pursue its own child- and family-focused guidance for cash transfer programs. We also connected with the Child Protection area of responsibility of the Global Protection Cluster and were delighted to see the cluster coordinators working through how to take child protection in emergency programming to the next level. Peace,
Mark Canavera, Associate Director
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| Publications from CPC Learning Network faculty affiliates
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Children Affected by Armed Conflict: Theory, Method, and Practice CPC faculty affiliates, Myriam Denov and Bree Akesson, recently co-edited a book on children and armed conflict titled Children Affected by Armed Conflict: Theory, Method, and Practice. Drawing from empirical studies in eleven conflict-ridden countries, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Colombia, Uganda, Palestine, Somalia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and South Sudan, Children Affected by Armed Conflict crosses cultures and contexts to capture a range of perspectives on the realities of armed conflict and its aftermath for children. CPC faculty affiliate Mike Wessells and CPC director Lindsay Stark also contributed chapters to the book. The publication upends traditional views by emphasizing the experience of girls as well as boys, the unique social and contextual backgrounds of war-affected children, and the resilience and agency such children often display. The alternative approaches presented in this edited collection —which acknowledge the realities of both trauma and resilience—aim to generate more effective policies and intervention strategies in the face of a growing global public health crisis.
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Gender, Violence, Refugees Dale Buscher, who serves on the CPC advisory board, contributed a chapter to the recently published collection of essays: Gender, Violence, Refugees. Providing nuanced accounts of how the social identities of men and women, the context of displacement and the experience or manifestation of violence interact, this collection offers conceptual analyses and in-depth case studies to illustrate how gender relations are affected by displacement, encampment and return. The essays show how these factors lead to various forms of direct, indirect and structural violence. This includes discussions of norms reflected in policy documents and practice, the relationship between relief structures and living conditions in camps, and forced military recruitment and forced return, and covers countries in Africa, Asia and Europe. The title of Dale Buscher's chapter is "Formidable Intersections: Forced Migration, Gender and Livelihoods ".
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In the Media: The Problem With Free Menstrual Pads CPC faculty affiliate Marni Sommer was interviewed by National Public Radio about efforts to provide free sanitary pads to girls in low- and middle-income countries in Africa. While menstrual health researchers say it's encouraging that more African countries are talking about periods at the highest levels of power, giving out pads is only part of what needs to be done to help girls manage their periods and stay in school. In this article, Marni Sommer and other experts in adolescence health share their take on some frequently overlooked menstrual health considerations.
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Toolkit on Mapping Legal, Health and Social Services Responses to Child Maltreatment
Published by the World Health Organization (WHO), Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, and the University of New Hampshire, this toolkit provides academics and decision-makers with strategies for conducting national or regional studies on the incidence of and agency response to child maltreatment. These studies are developed based on the collection of administrative data or through surveys of professionals. Such research is important to policy-makers who need information about which agencies have knowledge of the problem of child maltreatment, and their response when they encounter it. Based on this information, they can plan how to improve practices, enhance systems and strengthen professional capacity.
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| Can a Parenting Intervention to Prevent Early Conduct Problems Interrupt Girls' Risk for Intimate Partner Violence 10 years Later? This recently published study by MK Ehrensaft et al. tests whether a parenting intervention for families of preschoolers at risk for conduct problems can prevent later risk for intimate partner violence (IPV). Ninety-nine preschoolers at familial risk for conduct problems were randomly assigned to intervention or control conditions. Ten years later, 45 children from the original preschool cohort and 43 of their siblings completed an assessment of their romantic relationships, including measures of physical and psychological IPV. Using an intent-to-treat (ITT) design, multivariate regressions show that females from families randomly assigned to intervention in early childhood scored more favorably than those in the control condition on perceptions of dating violence, beliefs about IPV prevalence, exposure to IPV in their own peer group, and expected sanction behaviors for IPV perpetration and victimization. Findings suggest that early parenting intervention may reduce the association of high-risk females with aggressive peers and partners in adolescence.
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| A New Tune on Women's Rights in the Arab World
Over the past three months, significant legal reforms on women's rights have advanced in a handful of countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The study, International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES) in MENA, shows just how challenging it is to translate laws into practice. Along with UN Women, IMAGES interviewed nearly 10,000 people in Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, and Palestine, with a focus on how men see gender roles and women's rights. Up to three-quarters of the men surveyed believe it is more important for a woman to marry than to have a career, and more than three-fifths of men in most of the countries say a woman should tolerate domestic violence to keep the family together. Shereen El Feki, senior fellow at Promundo who coordinates IMAGES MENA, recently wrote an opinion piece for the New York Times. The Op-Ed, referencing the study, urges new approaches to make progressive laws stick in MENA and to help men and boys see gender rights as an opportunity, not a threat.
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| Free Our Voices Campaign Toolkit In 2014, the Free Our Voices campaign was launched by Child Helpline International to ensure that no child would be left unheard. The data collected over the period of 2004-2014 showed that one in two contacts to child helplines, around the world could not be answered because of a lack of resources. In the past three years, the campaign brought together child helplines and a variety of partners around the world on subjects such as harmonized regional numbers and online safety. Together, they addressed the problems child helplines face when trying to answer all the incoming contacts, from funding and infrastructure, to training. This toolkit contains valuable information that can help users start new partnerships or strengthen existing ones.
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| Cross-national Comparison Study of Violence Among Young Men in China and the United Kingdom A cross-national comparison study by Coid et al. examining violence among young men in China and in the United Kingdom was recently published. The study finds that Chinese men were less likely than British men to report all forms of violence except intimate partner violence. In the UK, attitudes which condone violence and a serious problem of alcohol-related, male-on-male violence are key targets for preventive interventions among British men. In China, treatment interventions aimed specifically at perpetrators of intimate partner violence may be appropriate.
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| Situational Analysis of Child Protection in the Province of Yatenga, Burkina Faso In 2016, Educo, a global development NGO that supports children's rights to equitable and quality education, carried out a situational analysis of child protection in the province of Yatenga, Burkina Faso. The published report is meant to be a tool for all those who work for the promotion and respect of child rights. Recommendations made in the report should be prioritized to encourage collaborative action for better protection in the best interest of children. Read the report in French here.
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| Opportunities to Learn and Share
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| Call for Submissions: Justice for Children Award
Read more and apply here.
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| Call for Submissions: 2018 International Social Work Conference The call for submissions for the International Social Work Conference, held by East Africa Centre for Research and Innovation in Social Work (CRISOWO), is currently open. It will take place from March 20 to 22, 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda to coincide with World Social Work Day. The theme of the conference is Professional Social Work and Sustainable Development in Africa. The deadline for abstract submission is October 15, 2017. Read the guidelines and submit here.
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| Call for Submissions: Woman Up - the 8th African Conference on Sexual and Reproductive Health
The 8th African Conference on Sexual Health and Reproductive Rights is an opportunity for academics, activists, and development workers to rethink and renew their commitment to sexual health and reproductive rights and reconnect with partners for change. The theme is "Advancing the Sexual Health and Reproductive Rights of Girls and Women in Africa" and will take place from February 12 to 16, 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The deadline for abstract submission is September 30, 2017. Read the guidelines and submit here.
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| Workshop: Training for Child Safeguarding Focal Points
Spaces are still available for Keeping Children Safe's new open workshop for designated Child Safeguarding Focal Points. This workshop will give participants the knowledge and skills required of Child Safeguarding Focal Points to be able to support their organizations in implementing child safeguarding policies and procedures. The three-day training will take place in London from October 23 to 25, 2017. Read about Keeping Children Safe's workshop and register here.
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| Video Launch and Webinar Discussion: What is Results-Based Protection?
InterAction's Protection Working Group will be launching a video on results-based protection (RBP) and a recent webinar discussion unpacking what RBP is, why it is useful, and what its practical application looks like in humanitarian practice. In the webinar discussion, practitioners seeking protection outcomes in humanitarian action share reflections on the relevance of RBP for humanitarian practice, what is required to implement results-based approaches operationally and organizationally, and how to achieve meaningful and measurable protective impact. Read more about RBP here.
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| Call for Papers: Forced Migration Review Issue 58 - to be published in June 2018, feature on economies, work, and displacement Forced Migration Review (FMR), a widely-read publication for articles related to forced migration and displacement, has a new call for papers. This upcoming issue of FMR will include a major feature on economies, work and displacement, plus a shorter section looking more specifically at refugee-led social protection. In particular, the FMR Editors are looking for practice-oriented submissions, reflecting a diverse range of experience and opinions which address pressing questions that arise from the complex reality of forced migration. Deadline for submissions is February 5, 2018. More information available here.
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| Conference: The 8th Milestones of the Global Campaign for Violence Prevention Meeting To receive a formal invitation, please register here.
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| Webinar: Interviewing Children in Safeguarding Investigations Keeping Children Safe is hosting a webinar with Sam Blakemore, an accredited child abuse investigator and specialist interviewer, who will talk about interviewing children as victims or witnesses in safeguarding investigations. Sam will share his knowledge and experience of the 'PEACE' interviewing structure, with a focus on the benefits of rapport building, the use of 'clean language' and the types of questions that minimize the corruption and tainting of evidence when interviewing children in safeguarding investigations. The webinar will take place on October 12, 2017 at 12 pm BST.
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| Online Training: National Children's Advocacy Center Virtual Training Center The National Children's Advocacy Center Virtual Training Center (NCACvtc) offers a wide range of free online training opportunities for child abuse professionals. NCACvtc includes live and archived webinars and recorded trainings. Webinars and recorded trainings, presented by subject matter experts in child maltreatment, address emerging issues and feature topics that support the adoption of evidence-based practices.
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| RTI International: Senior Early Childhood Development Advisor
RTI International is recruiting an early childhood development specialist to work within the ECD team to help build RTI's expertise, project portfolio and scientific stature in early childhood development and particularly early learning. S/he will provide technical assistance to pre-primary education and other ECD programs in a diverse range of countries, in the area of training and instructional quality, design and implementation of research studies, assessment, and policy analysis. The position can be based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina or Washington, D.C. Learn more about the position and apply here.
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| LSHTM: Assistant Professor in Social Epidemiology
Learn more about the position and apply here.
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| War Child: Roving Child Protection and Psychosocial Support South Sudan War Child Holland is seeking an inspiring and flexible trainer with proven experience in child protection and psychosocial support for their program in South Sudan. Responsibilities of this position include capacity building, implementation of child protection and psychosocial support activities, and networking/representation for War Child. The contract is for ten months with possibility of extension. The deadline to apply is October 25, 2017. Learn more about the position and apply here.
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