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>View discussions about this entry País: Pakistan
Organization: pakistan Pediatric Association
Sector Focus - Civil society
Year the initative began (yyyy) - 1997
Project URL: http://www.wgcsae.org
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence? - The Working Group against CSA/E provokes action against CSEC through evidence-based research generated at local and national level.
Describe your innovation. What makes your idea unique and different than others doing work in the field? - The Working Group against Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation, led by Pakistan Pediatric Association, is a coalition of organizations with a common mandate to fight child sexual abuse (CSA), commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) and trafficking of children for sexual purposes. The main strategy of the Group is to generate evidence based data at local and national level and uses it for advocacy, lobbying, policy development, awareness raising and program planning. The strategy has worked and Pakistan was the first Muslim country to officially draft a National Policy and Plan of Action against CSA and CSEC.After adoption of the National Plan of Action, the Group is offering technical support to the Government to implement this Plan in letter and spirit.
Delivery Model: How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing? - When the Group, started its work in 1997, CSA and CSEC were taboo subjects and there was a total denial of the existence of the problem. The Group constructed situation analyses Reports of CSA and CSEC in Pakistan. The publishing of these Reports was like bombshell that generated intense debate on the issue. These documents were used as instruments for advocacy, lobbying and awareness raising. With the technical assistance by the Group the Government developed its first NPA against CSA and CSEC.
How do you plan to grow your innovation? - The Group has also used the evidence based research strategy to provoke action against exposure of children to pornography at the Internet cafes of Pakistan. In 2008 the Group updated its report on the new trends of child sexual abuse and exploitation. Similarly, the Group successfully used the same strategy to document cases of child abuse and exploitation in healthcare settings that led to the establishment of 08 hospital child protection committees in all major hospitals of the Country. For gelling a multi-disciplinary team, Pakistan pediatric association received a global award from International society for Prevention of Child abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) in 2006 at York UK. Similarly, Dr.Tufail Muhammad was given presidential award in April 2008 for promoting child health and protection in Pakistan. This recognition at national and international level has been instrumental to further grow our innovative strategy.
Do you have any existing partnerships, and if so, how do you create them? - Currently, our prime partner is Government and we are trying to complement the Government efforts to fight CAS/CSEC and trafficking. Our other partners are:
1-ECPAT(End Child Prostitution, pornography and trafficking for sexual purposes) International 2-International Society for Prevention of Child abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) 3-Save the Children Sweden We have joint programs at national and regional levels with these organizations Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact. - We have been successful in breaking silence on a taboo subject in a conservative society and have been able to generate meaningful action
How many people have you served or plan to serve? - It is difficult to measure the exact numbers.Our plan is to protect all vulnerable children of pakistan
Please list any other measures of the impact of your innovation? - The main impact of our innovation is:
· A National Plan of Action against Child sexual abuse and exploitaion · A draft child protection bill lying before the Parliament for approval · 08 Hospital child protection committees at national level · Around 500 trained professionals to rehabilitate child victims
Exactly who are the beneficiaries of your innovation? - Our main beneficiaries are children vulnerable to and victims of CSA and CSEC
How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)? - We do not receive any external funding for our main initiative. Our partners pool their own resources. Pakistan pediatric association is coordinating the Working Group activities mainly using its own resources and a small financial assistance from Save the Children Sweden(a partner of the Group)
If known, provide information on your finances and organization - Annual budget;
Annual revenue generated; Number of staff: This field has not been completed. (166 words or less) What is the potential demand for your innovation? - We believe that beffective interventions can be designed only if they are anchored on evidence based data
What are the main barriers to financial sustainability? - Nil
What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story. - I attended the First world Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children held in Stockholm in 1996. As a follow up to the Agenda of Action, adopted by the Congress, all signatory states were asked to develop their own National Plan of Actions against CSEC. After coming back home, we lobbied the Government to fulfill its commitment but it (the Government) was in mode of denial as no hard data on the issue was available. Almost same was the perception of academia and many civil society organizations. On order to fill the information gap, Pakistan Pediatric Association, in collaboration with Save the Children Sweden and four other civil society organizations conducted a national research to construct a situation analysis. The strategy worked and the Government was provoked into action. The quantitative and qualitative data generated, was very well received by all concerned quarters and was used as a foundation for the NPA against CSA/CSEC. The NPA since then has triggered a number of activities, both by Government and civil society, to address the issues of CSA and trafficking of children.
Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material - Dr.Tufail Muhammad MD is a pediatrician from Peshawar, Pakistan. He is Chairman of the Child Rights and Abuse Committee of Pakistan Pediatric Association; member of the National Steering Committee on child labor, and Chair of the “Working Group against Child sexual abuse and Exploitation”. He is also member of the ECPAT International Board, from South Asia and Chair of the Asian Regional Network of ISPCAN. Dr.Tufail has more than 30 research publications and has received awards from the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan for meritorious services
Contact Information:
Tufail Muhammad
Child rights and Abuse CommitteeChairman pakistan Pediatric Association (NGO) Discussions about this entry |
Combating commercial sexual exploitation of children through evidence based interventions
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Today you conducted a workshop on child abuse and exploitation for police officials. I congratulate you that we are now in a position to convey our message to the law enforcing agencies. It is a great achievement because what started as an issue which everyone denied is now discussed by police and government. We can do a lot on individual basis but these are the people who provide the people justice and they need to be educated on the subject. This initiative is truly gaining momentum now.
Dr. Shehriyar Khan
Thanks. Police and other law enforcement agencies have a very importnat role in combating commercial sexual exploitaion of children and other forms of child abuse and exploitation. We closely work with the law enforcement agencies and take all necessary step forv their capacity building. I am glad that we are getting some positive results due to this collaboration.
Tufail
Dear Sir
I am a student of social sciences currently studying in the UK. But its very heartening to know about the work you are doing in your society. Its very difficult to change the minds of the people about an issue which they don't even regard as their problem. It is indeed a pain staking job. Not only minds but you have to win over their hearts. And doing such work for children is really comendable.
Keep up the good work
Asif Khan
Dear Asif
Thanks for your interest. You are right that bringing social change is a difficult task. But it is doable. You need to be strategic and you need to foster a wider partnership. And above all, you must engage the people in the change process.You are more than right when you say that " Winning minds and hearts is the key".
Tufail
Hi there
I am currently residing in Saudi Arabia and its very astonishing to see that your organization is working on the issue of commercial sexual exploitation of children in Pakistan. I mean to say that Pakistan is also an Islamic country and its very hard to speak out in public about such a sensitive issue... although such acts are strictly forbidden in the religion Islam or in any other religion. But hats off to you for taking such a step... because it requires a great balancing act to speak out openly about such issues in a conservative society.
Aftab Durrani
Saudi Arabia
Dear Aftab
You are right. Islam, and for that matter all religions, are against slavery and exploitation of children and other weaker sections of society. The only problem is the denial of such practices in muslim countries. We need to use religion to our advantage and don't leave it only to clergy and others with perverted thinkings.
But we must speak out against all forms of injustices.
Tufail
Sir,
It is indeed an honour for all of us that this entry has been accepted for the award. I am seeing that your initiative is gaining momentum day by day. And only through dialogue and discussion can we make a change in our society.
Please do tell us if you need help of any sort. Because partnerships are key to success
Dr. Mian Muhammad Naveed
Peshawar, Pakistan
Dear Naveed
Thanks for your compliments.Please note that this entry is in the run for award, and not yet accepted for award.Prepare your self to vote on 18th July. Thanks for the offer to help.We shall definetely take you on board.
tufail
Dear Sir
My own conclusion after reading the whole discussion and entry are:
1-Commercial sexual exploitation of children(CSEC) and child trafficking is a grave violation of Child rights
2-It is certainly a form of contemporaru slavery.
3- One needs to generated hard evidence for carrying out effective advocacy and planning meaningful action program
4-Working through a coalition of credible organizations could be an effetive strategy to address socially sensitive issues
5-Hard work, commitment and perseverance are the key elements that could lead us to success
Once again, I would congratulate Dr.Tufail and his partners for promoting the cause of exploited children in pakistan and South Asia.
Haris Khan
Student,Khyber Medical University,Peshawar,Pakistan
Hi Haris
You have concluded it very beautifully. In fact, these are the lessons,we have learned over the years.
Thanks
Tufail
Dear Tufail,
i have also another question, do Working Group influence the govt. as a pressure group? or it works in partnership.
Because it is very difficult to go ahead to achieve certain targets with govenment officials because red tapaism is always a huge problem for the under developed countries. how do you feel while working with them.
Regards,
Miqdad
Dear Miqdad
We strongly believe in partnership with the Government and other actors. Unnecssary confrontation is always counter-productive and doesnt lead you any where. You are right that working with the Government requires a lot of patience and many a times you see little progress. But we want policy change in favor of exploited children and enhance resource allocation, so we have to work with the bureaucracy and other decision makers.
Tufail
I am aware of the valuable work done by Dr.tufail and his Group in Pakistan. They have set a very good example for other Muslim countries where sex,sexuality and prostitution are taboo subjects. I understand that it is mostly due to complascency and cultural traditions that prohibit all type of debate on such subjects.
My only concern is that despite the best research and best Plans of Action, children continues to be exploited. People want to see tangible results and a real impact of such initiatives on the ground.Nevertheless, I would congratulate Dr.Tufail and his colleagues on their pioneering work.
Shirin
Dear Shirin
Thanks for your comments and compliments.Bringing social change is a long and challenging process. We do have some concrete results in the form of new laws, official Plan of Action and more resource allocation. But we understand, that it is only a begining and we have a long way to travel in order to acieve our goal.
Tufail
Dear Dr.Naeem
Thanks for your questions.We conducted 2 pioneering research projects on Situationa analyis of Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation and Situation analysis on Commercial Sexual Exploitaion of Children in Pakistan. These 2 studies are the basis on our National Plan of Action against CSA/CSEC. We have been regularly updating these situataion analyses. We have also done studies on Exposure of children to pornography, where your own organization was the lead agency at Lahore. Currently, we are conducting a research on commercial sexual exploitaionof children in the transport industry. It is a national study and is still in progress.
Tufail
Dear Dr. Tufail, you mentioned about certain situational analysis. Can you dilate upon the research that the group has conducted in order to highlight the problem at national and international level
Dr. Naeem Zafar (Pahchaan)
Many thanks for your reply. it is realy very intresting and also great work maintaining own identity to do in group for achievement of the certain goal.
Mr. Tufail. as you said about 10 members steering committee. how do you constitute it ? is it each person from every or two members from each organizations. how many organizations are your member ?name please for my knowledge.....
its realy tough job to convene a nonformal group and you are doing this job very well its realy considerable.
merci.
Sumei Adam
Dear Sumei
Thanks for your comments and interest in the Working Group. The name of the organizations in the Working Group are Sahil, Sach, Rozan, Pakistan Pediatric Association (one national and 04 Provincial chapters), Plan International, Save the Children UK and Save the Children Sweden.All these organizations have their field partners(NGOs and CBOs).The members of the Steering Committee are heads of the constituents organizations and are elected for 3 years term.Currently, I am the Convener of the Steering Committee.
Tufail
In all emergency situations and at the times of political and social turmoil, and during econmic hardships, the weaker sections of society become even more vulnerable to abuse and violence. It further justifies the need for a comprehensive and structured child protection system, capable of responding to the needs and challenges of any situation.
Tufail
Dear Dr Tufail,
As Working Group against CSA&E is already in process for the approvel of Child Protection Bill and policy. you mentioned in one of your post about the child protection system.i am intrested to get know about the child protection system, how it will work and why it is needed.furthur tell me if there is any example/model of child protection syestem in the world.
Best Regards
Miqdad.
Dear Miqdad
Thanks for your question. The Child Protection system will define the mechanisms to protect all children from all forms of abuse in all settings, including home,school,comminity,workplace and special institutions. This system will be inline with the existing national legislation (child protection bill and juvenile justice system ordinance). It will use integrated strategies and allocate sufficient funds to undertake a wide range of measures to prevent (and respond to) all forms of violence against children, including education and media campaign, the provision of child friendly medical,legal and psychological services, and disaggregated data collection capable of monitoring the prevalence of abuse and violence against children. The Working Group has alreaady started work on the project.
Tufail
^
according to current political and social scenario, its realy very need for the children of pakistan. It means child protection system will provide a complete infrastructure to already available laws and to legislation on the way.
Thanks alot.
Miqdad
Dear Dr.Ihsan
Thanks for your comments. You are right that we are still grappling with the problem. But the very fact that we are openly discussing a taboo subject. and the fact that we have an officially approved National Plan of Action for children is a major breakthrough. Another good news is that a comprehensive "Child protection Bill" is in the pipe line. All these are positive indicators and we must build on the momentum. We need the support of academicians like You.Thanks
Dr.tufail Muhammad
Its a great job that you are doing. I think you people are the pioneers in raising awareness regarding children's rights. Nobody even knew that humans of this little age can have rights too. And then addressing the problem of commercial sexual exploitation of children is a mammoth task. Talking about such things in our society and setting is really commendable. There are so many risks on the way but still you guys have taken such bold steps.
Keep up the good work and best of luck for the future
Mohsin Khalid Mirza
Dear Mr.Mirza
Thanks for your comments and words of support. It is a challenging task and we all need to put our acts together.
Tufail
Dear Dr. Tufail
I have been to one training of yours on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children. It was a very good training in which we all got to know the dynamics of CSEC and especially the intensity of the situation in Pakistan. I feel very proud to see your entry in the Asoka Award and then see so many comments to your entry.
I just want to mention here that we need to involve all sorts of stake holders in combatting this problem. And arrange such seminars and workshops for people from all walks of life. This way everybody will act as a tool to spread this message.
Dr. Aziz Jan Bashir
Peshawar, Pakistan
Dear Dr.Aziz
Thanks for your comments. I am alwys excited when I listen and get feedback from our trainees and partners. I am sure that you are serving the abused and exploited children and playing your part in making this world a safer place for children
Dr.tufail Muhammad
I think you are very right in mentioning that the war on terror is getting all the media attention and the children are being ignored. Whoever said that "children are the future of a nation" was a very wise person. But in the past we haven't invested in our children thats why we are in such a state.
During all this chaos, only our children are being suffered. There will be so many orphans tomorrow and more chance of abuse, misuse and exploitation of these children by all sorts of people. If we don't protect these children from such elements than they will all definitely be the suicide bombers of tomorrow.
Eman Khan
Unfortunately, the vast majority of suicide bombers are teenage children from very poor and deprived backgrounds. We all need to join hands to protect our children fromabusers and exploiters. We need to ensure that all children, without any discrimination of sex,race,ethnicity or religion, enjoy their rights and have the oppurtunities to reach their full development potential. We need to have zero tolerance against abuse and violence. We all have a role to play.
Tufail
I am working with the child rights and abuse committee of PPA since 2 years now and when i joined the project i had no clue that such things were happening in our country. During this time, i got to know the magnitude of the problem. Because we usually close our eyes to such problems and don't discuss them openly .. i think this is the main reason why we haven't stopped child abuse and exploitation.
But the initiative Dr. Tufail has taken is tremendous. The people are now talking about this subject and only through dialogue and discussion we can solve our problems.
Mohsin Rafiq
Dear Muhsin
Thanks for your comments and support. I am aare of the quality work you are doing for abused children at Peshawar. Keep it up.
Tufail
I have little knowledge about the work you do but the steps you have taken are phenomenal. I have done my MBA and i am willing to give my services in forming a database of abused children in Pakistan. This is an overwhelming task but we can all form a team and together we can achieve such a task.
Jawad Rauf Kayani
MBA, Pakistan
Dear Jawad
Thanks for your comment and support. Reporting of child abuse and neglect is not mandatory in Pakistan and very few cases get reported. We are collecting data from police and some hospitals at Lahore, Peshwar,Karachi and Multan. We will share ourv dta base with you and would request to upgrade it as necessary. Thanks for your kind offer.
Dr.Tufail Muhammad
I would endorse that Combating Commercial sexual exploitaion through use of evidence based data is a scientifically sound proposition. Advocacy, lobbying and planning projects could only be effective, if one uses locally generated evidence based data.I have read some of the reserach studies published by Dr.Tufail and his Group and was quite impressed by the quality of their design and the wealth of data generated. My only concern is that despite the best resrach and carefully designed national Plan of Action, we don't see much headway on implementation front. Is it due to lack of resources, bureaucratic lethargy or what?
Dr.Ihsanullah
Khyber Medical University, Peshawar,pakistan
I have been involved with the work done by Dr.Tufail and his Group. He has establish a Child Protection Committee in our hospital, where quakity services are being provided to abused and exploited children. They have established similar committees in many other hospitals across the country. We need to support such initiatives to make a lsting impact on the lives of children.
Dr.S.Hakeem Shah, Pediatrician
Cantonment General Hospital Peshawar, Pakistan
Dear Dr.Hakeem
Thanks for your comment and support. The Hospital Child Protection Committees initiative by Pakstan Pediatric Association is an effort to provide quality services to child victims of abuse and exploitaion in child-friendly settings, by multi-disciplinary professionals. The idea has gained currency and now we have 10 such committees in major hospitals across the country., including your hospital. Child abuse , neglect and exploitation is highly prevalent in our country and the victims need good quality and accessible services. Hopefully, we the support of Government and SC Sweden, we shall soon expand our coverage. Thanks for your support and leadership.
Tufail
I have worked with the Child Rights and Abuse Committee as a volunteer and it is doing an extraordinary work to safeguard the rights of the children. Although we are miles behind the developed nations but atleast we have broken the silence and moving forward towards a better system.
During my time with CRAC, i have learned so much as a medical professional. We have learnt so much about child abuse and commercial sexual exploitation of children. Now we are in a position to impart this knowledge to other people. The key to spreading a message i think is capacity building. I along with other doctors will always be thankful to Dr. Tufail and his team for providing us with the basic knowledge and tools regarding Child Abuse.
Looking forward towards working with you in future.
Dr. Jibran Khattak
Peshawar, Pakistan
Dear Jibran
Thanks for your comments. We at pakistan Pediatric Association and the Working Group aginst CSA/CSEC take pride in the fact that young professionals like you are supportive of our cause. We bank on your support and we are always very pleased, when we find our trainees and proteges doing good things for children and society. Certainly, together we can make the world a better place for all of us.
Tufail
It's quite amazing to see an entry from Pakistan. And am very proud to see so many comments for your initiative.
I am a social worker and it's extremely thought provoking to see someone working for the rights of children especially in todays Pakistan... while we have growing concerns of terrorism & political uncertainty. All these problems ultimately lead to the exploitation of people, especially children. We need a proper child protection system and i am sure in your leadership we will achieve this goal. We should give our children and safe enviornment. They should be our top priority.
Best of luck for the future. I would be glad to be of any assistance to you and your projects.
Eman Khan
Thanks for your valuable comments. I am also overwhelmed by the response, specially from my own country. I totally agree that we need an effective and structured child protection system in Pakistan. It is a difficult time for Pakistan. Being a front line state of the "war against terror", we have been attacked by dark forces of all kinds. Although, that war is draining most of our national resources and drawing a lot of media attention, that doesn't mean that we should forget children's rights, even for the fraction of a second. Children are our future and it is our moral, legal and national responsibility to protect them from all kind of abuse and exploitation. Thanks for your offer to join us in our struggle. We shall soon contact you.
Tufail
I would endorse that the work presented in this entry is very significant in Pakistan context and I would congratulate Dr.Tufail on that. My question is that whether Pakistan has any official Child Protection Policy or Child Protection system?
Dr. Fakhar
Dear Fakhar
Thanks for your comments. Although Pakistan has a National Plan of Action but it doesn't have an approved child protection policy. The draft "child protection policy" is lying with the Ministry of Law for adoption by the Parliament. Similarly, a comprehensive "Child Protection Bill", prepared by the National Commission for Child Welfare and Development is also waiting for adoption. The Child Protection System is a "work in progress".
Tufail
Mr. tufail,
It seems very good your entry here,
but i m little bit confused about it as wats your organizational relation with the group, is Pakistan Pdiatrc Association is Funding agency or just a member of this group?
Is the Group a Formal registerd body or just a Non formal Ad-hoc group?
Hows you and group partners deal with fundings as your website shows many donors here?
how you make the decisions? and what type of body is responsible of decisions making?
i shall be thankful of yours fr these queries..
Sumei Adam
Dear Sumei
Thanks for your interest.Working group is a coalition of national and international organizations. The convenorship of the Group lies with Pakistan Pediatric Association, which I am heading. The Group is not registred as all its constituents are registred, and we don't need to register the Group seperately. Currently we are receiving fuding from Save the Children Sweden , Groupe Development and EC. But most of our resources come from our member organizations. We have a 10 member Steering Committee, which meets at least every 3 months, and make the decisions with consensus. At the end of the year, we hold a 02 days consultaion,to plan our actvities for the comming year. We also meet annually for a larger experience sharing workshop, where we also invite our beneficiary organizations. In between the meeting, the Steering Committee members are in touch through a listserv.
Many thanks for your reply. it is realy very intresting and also great work maintaining own identity to do in group for achievement of the certain goal.
Mr. Tufail. as you said about 10 members steering committee. how do you constitute it ? is it each person from every or two members from each organizations. how many organizations are your member ?name please for my knowledge.....
its realy tough job to convene a nonformal group and you are doing this job very well its realy considerable.
merci.
Sumei Adam
I would endorse that due to the pioneering work of the Working Group, considerable awareness has been generated in Pakistan, regarding the problem of child sexual abuse and commercial sexual exploitation of children(CSEC). The Group, under the leadership of Dr.Tufail, has generated primary data on the issue of CSEC, that was a taboo subject till recent past. The local, evidence based data, was instrumental in provoking the Government and civil society into action. there is a need to further build up on the momentum to reach a critical mass in near future.
Dr. Naeem Zafar, President Pahchaan, Lahore
Thanks for your comments.Bringing social change is a long and challenging process, particularly so if tabbo issues are involved. At least in 02 provinces(Punjab and Frontier), we now have Child Protection Bureaus. A draft child protection bill is lying before parliament for adoption. These are no less achievements, although we will have to do a lot more.
Tufail
I would endorse that due to the pioneering work of the Working Group, considerable awreness has been generated in Pakistan, regarding the problem of child sexual abuse and commercial sexual exploitation of children(CSEC). The Group, under the leadership of Dr.Tufail, has generated primary data on the issue of CSEC, that was a taboo subject till recent past. The local, evidence based data, was instrumental in provoking the Government and civil society into action. there is a need to further build up on the momentum to reach a critical mass in near future.
Dr. Naeem Zafar, President Pahchaan, Lahore
Thanks for your strong support and nice words of appreciation. The National Commission for Child Welfare and Development(NCCWD) is responsible to opertionalize the National Plan of Action against CSA/CSEC. The Working Group is offering technical assistance to NCCWD and is also involved in NPA related advocacy.
The NCCWD has taken a number of steps to implement NCCWD. In April 08, a National Consultation was organized at Islamabad to develop an operational plan ECPAT International provided technical assistance to the Working Group and NCCWD to select priority and strategic provisions of NPA. We know, that it is a challenging process, but together we can do it.
Tufail
Child sexual abuse and Commercial sexual exploitaion are taboo subjects in Pakistan.Till late 90s, we were in a state of denial and then came "Confronting reality - Situation analysis of CSA in Pakistan". and that opened a flood gate of information - local and evidence based. We could never imagine, that Pakistan would one day have a National Plan of Action against CSA and CSEC.Now, many people realize, that we had conveniently ignored these unfortunate and exploited children for quite a long time. We all need to do some thing substantial, based and planned on hard evidence. Luckily, things have started moving. Thanks to Working Group, Save the children Sweden and Dr.Tufail Muhammad. Our best wishes and support is with you.
Haris Khan, Khyber Medical College, Peshawar. Pakistan