LGBTI child victims of violence, abuse and trafficking in persons will receive specialized care in foster families
Peruvian public servants from the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations were received specialized training in gender and diversity to offer better guidance to foster families that provide protection to children in vulnerable conditions.
19 May 2023
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Lima - Public servants from the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations (MIMP) will offer specialized guidance to more than 500 families and individual caregivers who foster LGBTI child victims of violence, abuse and trafficking in persons.
The officials were trained in the Training of Trainers (ToT) Program "Welcoming Diversity". The program was designed with the technical assistance of the ILO to enhance the skills of the MIMP's Foster Care team, which is responsible for providing training to families eligible to foster children in especially vulnerable conditions.
A total of 15 professionals successfully completed this training process, which included working with fictional cases and simulated decisions, which required the specialists to identify and question their prejudices and structural discrimination related to sexual and gender diversity, trafficking in persons and revictimization.
In the words of Melissa Jaramillo, a professional from MIMP's multidisciplinary team, the program provided them with the necessary tools to understand and teach about the diversity that exists in terms of gender. "This helps us to sensitize and support our foster families when they receive LGBTI children and adolescents," said Jaramillo.
LGBTI child victims of violence, abuse and trafficking in persons who are declared in a situation of lack of family protection by the Special Protection Units of the MIMP are placed in public shelters. Although there are specialized centers that use the trauma-informed approach, LGBTI children sometimes find it difficult to avoid discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, so they may be at greater risk of suffering a situation of revictimization. For this reason, the Foster Care Program represents a feasible option to provide specialized care for the specific needs of this group.
Alberto Arenas, Director of Special Protection of the MIMP's General Directorate for Children and Adolescents, emphasized the importance of promoting more training programs like this. "Our specialists are agents who can train, multiply and transform. There are thousands of children and adolescents who have been through our services and have been able to transform their lives," remarked Arenas.
The Training of Trainers Program "Welcoming Diversity" was carried out within the framework of the project Partnerships in Action to End Child Trafficking in Peru, under the Child Protection Compact Partnership signed between the governments of the United States and Peru.
The officials were trained in the Training of Trainers (ToT) Program "Welcoming Diversity". The program was designed with the technical assistance of the ILO to enhance the skills of the MIMP's Foster Care team, which is responsible for providing training to families eligible to foster children in especially vulnerable conditions.
A total of 15 professionals successfully completed this training process, which included working with fictional cases and simulated decisions, which required the specialists to identify and question their prejudices and structural discrimination related to sexual and gender diversity, trafficking in persons and revictimization.
In the words of Melissa Jaramillo, a professional from MIMP's multidisciplinary team, the program provided them with the necessary tools to understand and teach about the diversity that exists in terms of gender. "This helps us to sensitize and support our foster families when they receive LGBTI children and adolescents," said Jaramillo.
LGBTI child victims of violence, abuse and trafficking in persons who are declared in a situation of lack of family protection by the Special Protection Units of the MIMP are placed in public shelters. Although there are specialized centers that use the trauma-informed approach, LGBTI children sometimes find it difficult to avoid discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, so they may be at greater risk of suffering a situation of revictimization. For this reason, the Foster Care Program represents a feasible option to provide specialized care for the specific needs of this group.
Alberto Arenas, Director of Special Protection of the MIMP's General Directorate for Children and Adolescents, emphasized the importance of promoting more training programs like this. "Our specialists are agents who can train, multiply and transform. There are thousands of children and adolescents who have been through our services and have been able to transform their lives," remarked Arenas.
The Training of Trainers Program "Welcoming Diversity" was carried out within the framework of the project Partnerships in Action to End Child Trafficking in Peru, under the Child Protection Compact Partnership signed between the governments of the United States and Peru.