Africa-Press – Seychelles. Specialists from the UK’s National Crime Agency’s Transnational Child Sex Offenders team and their counterparts from the Seychelles Police Department and Department of Social Services met for a five-day capacity-building workshop to embed best practices in victim-based investigations, last week.
The workshop centred on the importance of taking a multi-agency approach to child sex offenders and focused on a victim’s needs throughout the criminal justice journey.
While Monday to Thursday’s sessions focused on the response of local authorities and related bodies in dealing with child protection in Seychelles, Friday’s session welcomed representatives from public and private schools and hotels.
Participants discussed the ‘International Child Protection Certificate’ (ICPC), a criminal record check for anyone who lives or has lived in the UK and is seeking to work with children overseas. The ICPC is currently used by hundreds of schools and organisations worldwide to make informed decisions on a person’s suitability for employment in positions that provide regular access to children.
Sharing his outlook of the workshop at the end of the week, NCA International Liaison Officer Michael Phillips stated, “The NCA team experienced the passion, dedication and resolve of the Seychellois agencies to address Child Sexual Abuse crimes. By learning from each other’s experiences and collaborating internationally, we can build safer environments for children.”
Adding on to this, NCA’s Operations Manager, Virginia Kiddle, shared, “It has been a privilege to work with our Seychellois colleagues to combat this critical threat. Building the capacity of our global partners enables the NCA to effectively respond to the threat of transnational offenders.”
The workshop was also attended by the Minister for Sports and Family Affairs, Marie-Celine Zialor, the chief executive of the National Council for Children, Yasmin Umarji, and the director of Human Trafficking, Ina Laporte.
As the facilitator of the workshop, the British High Commissioner, Patrick Lynch, delivered closing remarks on the final day. He said;
“The British High Commission is very proud to support this intense week of work with British and Seychellois experts making real progress on child protection issues.
“A team of five specialists has been sharing our experiences in transforming child protection issues in the UK, both our successes and also where we have made mistakes. They have seen a real appetite for change in Seychelles, with new laws being drafted that will empower local practitioners to protect vulnerable children.
“Open public engagement on this issue is also key. Crime in all forms thrives when there is silence or when issues are deemed taboo and not discussed. It is important to build public awareness of these threats in all countries and ensure that our children are loved and protected
.”
The accompanying photographs show some highlights of the working sessions.
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