Protection of children against all forms of violence is a fundamental right secured by international conventions and standards of human rights. Nevertheless, it remains to be a real part of life as a pressing issue with both immediate and long term consequences for all children all over the world, regardless of economic and social status, culture, religion or ethnicity.

In our country, there is a serious gap and need for a systematic mechanism for abused children and their caregivers to receive legal counselling services as well as psychosocial support services simultaneously. Pursuant to the Council of Europe Convention on Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention), among the international conventions ratified by our country, it is strongly recommended to set up and operate helplines where children who are victims of violence can seek help and receive support under the principles of privacy.

Following the victimization, children and their caregivers are in need of legal counselling in order to access information about legal issues such as where and how to apply to seek their legal protection rights, and process after denounces, to report the incident and to pursue the next steps in the process. In the same way, children who are a victim of violence and their caregivers are also in need of support and counselling in order to access information about where and how to apply to seek their psychosocial protection rights, and, once applied, how the system will work, and to access the community resources for psychosocial support. In addition, it is very evident that children who are a victim of violence and their caregivers are in need of psychosocial support to help them stand strong against difficulties they face especially when necessary legal procedures are not initiated.

As Nirengi Association, we strongly believe that the earlier a child who is a victim of violence and their caregivers access legal and psychosocial protection support, the lesser the damages there will be on the physical and mental integrity of the child, and it will be possible to remedy the negative effects of the violent acts and break the cycle of the violence.

It is of critical importance to handle any process involving a child who is a victim of violence by observing their best interests while protecting their privacy throughout the process and preventing media exposure on their identities so that they will not become a target following an incident in order to avoid secondary traumas.

In this context, we set up and are operating the Nirengi Association Support System for Abused Children providing legal counselling and psychosocial support services free of charge to the children who are a victim of violence and their caregivers.

We would be very happy if you could support us by sharing the content on our social media accounts with the people around you so that child victims and their caregivers can be aware of and benefit from this free service.