Children Crisis Centre

Introduction

Children Crisis Centre is a project of Voice Against Torture, which deals with children survivors of torture. In Pakistan, majority of children have to bear a very hard life. Poverty, malnutrition, dearth of health care services, lack of educational facilities, little or no cultural/ recreational outlets, child labor, disruption of family life as a result of socio-economic and politico-legal repression, and stepping up of the rates of delinquency and addiction, are the main problems being confronted by Pakistani children.
A large number of children suffer from the effects of torture, organized violence, and effects of state repression. The situation behind the bars is even worse. And above all a complete lack of awareness about the rights of children, adds to the already worsened state of affairs. All this is not astounding in a social set up, where a child is regarded as insignificant or just a plaything and not considered a human being.
Every child has individual needs therefore should be treated individually in order to excel himself physically and mentally. Considering the social climate in Pakistan on human rights it needs to be brought to people’s attention that children have a right to be treated as human beings.
A team of psychologists, psychotherapists, medical doctors, lawyers, social workers and teachers manages Children crisis center. The staff at the children crisis center provides an atmosphere where children can feel safe, cared for and respected.

Objectives

  • Striving for an important status in the society.
  • Promoting awareness in the public about children’s rights and our responsibilities to them. Implement laws to protect children’s humanitarian rights.
  • Disseminating with relevant organizations on comprehending the impact on children’s lives when their rights have been violated.
  • Helping traumatized children to overcome their traumas, torture and abuse.
  • Pursuing government institutions to rectify and implement all the U.N. Covenants regarding the children’s rights.

Our Role

Recognizing the plight of children in Pakistan the Children Crisis Centre provides the following services:

  • Arranging an emergency refuge where child victims of violence and torture can safely place themselves.
  • Rehabilitation through different forms of therapy and counseling.
  • Child representation service for minor children who do not have support from another caretaker.
  • Tele-counseling to children who are going through different traumas because of direct or indirect effects of torture.
  • Conducting research on topics related to the abuse of children and their rights.
  • Educational programmes for the children of torture survivors.
  • Creating awareness, through Information, Education and Communication (IEC) about the rights of children.

Issues We Address

    • Corporal punishment should be denounced.
    • Physical abuse in schools, mosques and other institutions should be prohibited.
    • Shelter should be provided for orphans and run away children.

  • Education should be the right of all children.
  • Child labor should be made illegal.
  • Kidnapping, prostitution and trafficking of children must be stopped.
  • Forced marriages should be condemned and stopped.
  • Schooling should include raising awareness about children’s rights.
  • Government must take responsibility to introduce legislation and implement laws to protect children’s rights.
  • Parent’s responsibility to provide physical and emotional care and a safe environment for children should be encouraged.
  • Safety of children should be the responsibility of all adults.
  • Good, positive roles models should be available to promote positive values such respect and equality.

Services

Rehabilitation Of Traumatized Children

A child psychologist undertakes initial assessment of the child. All involved professionals at the centre hold a meeting to discuss the case individually. A rehabilitation plan is made, unique to the child’s needs.

Emergency Response For Children

Children crisis centre (CCC) provides emergency refuge for children who have been tortured. We provide telephonic hotline services to children who are being bused and need to talk to someone for advice or resistance.

Child Representation Service

The centre has trained its own Child Representation Services Officers to befriend children and act on their behalf as guardians. We accompany children or represent them in vulnerable situations such as prison, hospital.

Education Programmes

Educating and training parents and children about child abuse and how to protect children and their security needs. Besides this the centre runs various workshops and seminars for NGO’s, Police, schools and different organizations to raise awareness about abuse and the effects trauma.
The most important aspects of the center’s operations is promoting education and training and developing trickle down effects to the disadvantaged strata’s of the population, the centre is also running a school with specialized faculty to train them in different life skills.

Communication And Networking

The centre regularly publishes various brouchers, newsletters and journals in order to raise awareness of children’s rights and the long-term impact of torture on their lives. The centre also develops linkages and communication with various Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to continue providing high standards of care.

Fighting For Children’s Rights

We fight for the introduction and implementation of better laws for children. We conduct researches and provide statistics from them to rely the importance of children’s needs and rights.

Rehabilitation Methods

After an initial medical examination upon attending the crisis centre, a child psychologist assesses the needs of the child. A meeting is held between professionals and a plan of rehabilitation is set up. The child is usually offered therapy according to the symptoms of torture, after-effects of torture, and the intensity of trauma and abuse.
Stress management therapy, through its various techniques is the most widely applied method among the abused and traumatized children. Stress Management Therapy is a broad term where many different kinds of therapies are packaged under one umbrella. The most distinctive characteristic of stress management therapy as a treatment is its universality; there is no one for whom treatment is apparently unneeded or inappropriate. It is also a novel and fruitful way of treating human distress. A psychotherapeutic approach of stress management beneficial to victims of torture is incorporated into the Children Crisis Centre Rehabilitation Plan for Therapy. We use following therapeutic methods for rehabilitation:

Individual Therapy

Individual counseling, teaching of stress management techniques for cognitive and behavioral modification.

Group Therapy

Group therapy comprises assertiveness skills training, group games, dramas and role rehearsals for rapport and relationship building and alleviation of the feelings of isolation and encourage expression of emotions.

Relaxation & Autogenic Training

To help relax muscles and mind through imagery. Teaching and training meditation techniques for anger and stress management and other problematic feelings of self-destruction.

Art Therapy

A nonverbal means of communication. Encouraging the child to express deep emotions that are otherwise difficult and painful to talk about. Arts, paintings, drawings and projecting multidimensional coloring techniques provide in-depth information about the client’s personality.

Drama Therapy

Use of music and movements to act out feelings and building self-confidence. Drama therapy combines the aims and techniques of drama/theatre with those of psychotherapy to treat individuals in crisis and help those with special needs to expand their quality of life. Drama Therapy involves theatre professionals and educators, therapists, and those working in the fields of medicine, healthcare, and special education.
Drama therapy is the systematic and intentional use of drama/theatre processes and products to achieve the therapeutic goals of symptom relief, emotional and physical integration, and personal growth. Drama therapy is an active, experiential approach that facilitates the client’s ability to tell his/her story, solve problems, set goals, express feelings appropriately, achieve catharsis, extend the depth and breadth of inner experiences, improve interpersonal skills and relationships, and strengthen the ability to perform personal life roles while increasing flexibility between roles.
VAT drama therapists are trained in theatre arts, psychology, psychotherapy and drama therapy. Areas of study include improvisation, role-playing, mask work, theatrical production, psychodrama, developmental psychology and group process.

Play Therapy

Children lack the cognitive maturity to benefit from talking through their problems. Nor do adult controlled activities give children the feeling of empowerment they can achieve with the voluntary activity of play. In a play therapy session, children are the director and rule maker. They create a world they can master, practice social skills, overcome frightening feelings, and symbolically triumph over the upsets and traumas that have stolen their sense of well-being.
A trained play therapist understands the metaphorical content of a child’s play, and strives to help the child express their needs and discover solutions in a safe, therapeutic environment. Playing is children’s natural method of learning, developing, and expressing their feeling. Play Therapy offers children the opportunity to use the power of their own natural creativity and imagination to heal and grow.
Play therapy takes place in a playroom, specially designed, decorated, and furnished with toys and equipment that children need to use as tools for the dramatic scenes they direct with the therapist. Parents are important allies in the play therapy process and can do much to support and enhance the work their child does in play therapy sessions. Therapists meet regularly with parents to learn what is happening in the child’s life, to share important observations, and to give suggestions on how parents can support their child’s therapy.

Common Childhood & Adolescent Disorders

We have provided a brief list of childhood disorders. The list has been prepared through VAT’s 15 years of sectoral research in the fields of medical, psychiatric, psychological and social rehabilitation of torture and crisis victims.

Attnetion Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a behavioral disorder that can affect your child’s ability to concentrate, control his or her behavior, learn, and maintain a “normal level of activity.”

Bed Wetting

When a child suffers from the inability to exercise full control of the bladder especially at night.

Anxiety Disordrs / Fears & Phobis

Anxiety a feeling of apprehension with no discernible cause is normal and is experienced by almost all children at some time.

Conduct Disordrs

Conduct disorders are characterized by a child’s persistent pattern of behavior in which the basic rights of others or age-appropriate societal norms are violated.

Depression

Nearly all children occasionally appear to be or report feeling unhappy, dejected, irritable, “down,” or “blue” .

Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are characterized by severe disturbances in eating behavior.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorders

Obsessive Compulsive disorder is an anxiety based disorder that involves recurrent thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behavior (compulsions).

Post Traumatic Stress Disorders

The essential feature of post traumatic stress disorder is the development of characteristic symptoms following exposure to an extremely traumatic event.

Sleep Disorders

Many children have sleep disorders. Examples of include sleepwalking, night terrors, talking during sleep, difficulty falling asleep, restless sleep, and nightmares.

Soiling

The inability to fully control bowel movements.