The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the International Justice Mission (IJM) will sign an agreement on Monday, June 27 to address the gaps in meeting the individualized needs of child survivors of online sexual exploitation from rescue to their reintegration to their families and communities.
The Strong Network of Care Project of the IJM aims to equip the network of social services in the Philippines and provide short- or long-term interventions to the child survivors to reduce their risk of re-victimization through a survivor and trauma-informed assessment model, the DSWD said in a statement.
It said the project will support the child survivors’ development and encourage them to grow as valued members of society.
Child survivors will also receive comprehensive assessments using the Department’s institutionalized assessment and reintegration standards as a basis for short-and long-term interventions.
Survivors and their families will also gain access to and receive timely reintegration services responsive to their specific needs.
In addition, DSWD said the project will ensure compliance with the standards in the conduct of capacity-building activities for social workers, houseparents, and foster parents from different agencies under the DSWD, local government units, and non-government organizations in the rehabilitation, reintegration, and restoration of victims of online sexual exploitation of children.
Meanwhile, survivors in Mindanao will receive appropriate individualized mental health services through a coordinated network of mental health service providers and alternative care through foster and kinship care.
DSWD and IJM will implement the project in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon), Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and Caraga.
These regions are high-risk areas based on the baseline study conducted by the IJM and on the data on trafficked persons served through the DSWD’s Recovery and Reintegration Program for Trafficked Persons.