Africa-Press – Seychelles. Seychelles’ law enforcement agencies and the UK’s National Crimes Agency (NCA) are making significant strides towards building a robust response to combat child sexual abuse and exploitation.
Last week, a specialist team from the NCA worked with their local counterparts to conduct a series of informal workshops, including joint sessions with the Social Affairs department and the Seychelles Police Force (SPF) on online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (CSEA) harms and risk prioritisation. In addition, individual workshops have taken place to improve case management and child protection investigations.
To aid their investigations, officers from the SPF Family Squad and Child Protection Unit received a donation of soft toys and exhibit packaging from the NCA team and laptops were donated to the Social Affairs Child Protection Unit by the British high commission.
In June last year, the same team delivered a victim-focused investigation course to frontline officers from the SPF’s territorial units, family squad and child protection teams, and social workers from the department of Social Affairs. The course focused on equipping attendees with the necessary tactics and skills required to engage with victims and place them at the centre of criminal justice processes while promoting multi-agency working within the child protection arena.
Commenting on their work with Seychelles’ law enforcement agencies, the NCA operations manager, Virginia Kiddle, said,
“The NCA is committed to working with international partners to protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse. It has been a privilege to be invited back by our Seychellois child protection partners to share our experiences and to help Seychelles build a holistic response to a high-priority threat. Child protection will always be at the heart of our response to tackling child sexual abuse, and we are proud to witness the progress made by our colleagues in Seychelles.”
The success of last year’s programme has paved the way for a continued partnership, with the team from the NCA returning to Seychelles to conduct capacity-building workshops in priority areas identified by Seychellois partners.
The deputy high commissioner, Matthew Harper, has expressed his delight in this collaboration, stating, “The UK remains committed to supporting Seychelles in its efforts to combat child sexual abuse and exploitation. The partnership between Seychelles and the UK’s National Crimes Agency is a testament to the power of international cooperation in tackling such critical issues. We will continue working closely with our Seychellois partners to implement best practices and ensure that the most vulnerable in society are protected.”
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