Search for European Projects

Promotion of Healthy Sexual Development of Children
Start date: Sep 1, 2015, End date: Aug 31, 2018 PROJECT  FINISHED 

Goal of the project: Universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Scotland are started jointly a cooperation for protection of children and young people against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. The Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (The Netherlands), School of Social Work and Law, is the initiator of the project. The cooperation focuses especially on the prevention of sexual abuse in residential and foster care. To ensure that professionals working with children and young people are aware of, recognize and know how to act in a pedagogical way in case sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and young people. Also social work professionals working in the community and in schools need competences in supporting a healthy sexual development of children and young people. Despite this, learning about and dealing with intimacy, relations, sexual behaviour and abuse, is not embedded structurally in the educational program of most university colleges. The central aim of the project is therefore to develop an educational program to help (future) professionals to build competences on guiding young people’s healthy sexual development. The impact for the students and lecturers is a new integrated educational program with this topic in an international context. Outcomes of the project: *a framework build upon duty based ethics, shared values and desired standards regarding healthy sexual development; *a set of well described core competences and behavioural characteristics that enable social work professionals to guide young people’s healthy sexual development; *a course-program for social work students, including a manual and training materials like film, game, texts and case examples to enable learning on handling dilemma’s in interacting with children, young people, (foster)parents and other professionals on the subject of sexual development, and this set against the framework mentioned above; *a similar version of the program as an online course, for professionals working in youth care services, especially in residential care or in the support of foster parents; *a Summer School for students of the participating universities of applied sciences; *a workbook for implementation, amongst others by peer support and coaching on the job during internships and in professional life. The project will also develop an shared / international website that contains and offers small international online courses, presentations of initiatives, tools & materials, papers & articles and conference-presentations. Impact of the project: The desired impact of the project is a reduction in sexual abuse of children and young people as clients of youth care services, especially for children and young people living in residential and foster care. This goal is to be reached at local, regional, national and international level. Partners involved in the project: Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (P1, the Netherlands), Antwerp Plantijn University College (P2, Belgium), University College Sjaelland (P3, Denmark), University of Strathclyde (P4, United Kingdom), Spirit (P5, the Netherlands), Vzw Wingerdbloei (P6, Belgium) and Fonden Clemens (Denmark). After the project: This international project will enable mutual learning by bringing students, lecturers, professionals in youth care organisations, experts and research together. This enables the partners to spread knowledge and skills on this important subject outside the direct partners’ countries and within the European community. The outcomes of the project will remain available through the integration of the materials in the participating organisations, the spreading of the outcomes through local, national and international networks, and the availability of all project outputs on the project website. Next to this, the partners expressed their dedication to keep the online training program online and up to date for at least 10 years after the project end date.
Up2Europe Ads

Coordinator

Details

6 Partners Participants