Strategy 2019 – 2024
Our struggle is to fight injustices fearlessly, prevent cruelty and improve young lives for children and young people.
Life is not easy for many children and young people in Pakistan and for many in the ethnic communities in the UK. It does not have to be like this. Together, we can empower children and safeguard them from abuse and cruelty. In order to do this, we will be there for children, young people, and their families who are experiencing tough situations and adverse circumstances.
We aim to make sustainable and systemic changes through our strategy and approaches which are possible only by engaging with communities and enhancing the capacities of existing systems. Over the next 5 years, we aim to roll out our strategy and establish our presence in the areas where we are needed the most for 1 million children and young people. We form our strategy on the following fundamental aspects:
1. Being Compassionate
“Being compassionate” is our reaching out programme for families struggling and facing difficult situations due to poverty, lack of support, immigration issues and limited resources. We aim to protect children from harm and neglect from birth by supporting their parent's. Through this programme, we aim to:
- engage with local communities and health centres for enhancing existing structures and capacities
- build partnerships with local public/private hospitals in Pakistan, maternity and health centres and set-up helpdesks at these centres for support
- arrange resources for newborn babies, infants and mothers.
2. Your SCYP
“Your SCYP” is our collective effort programme to prevent abuse. We intend to take initiatives to meet the needs of local communities by making consultation groups. We intend to be working with the community by establishing our presence locally as a resource centre and raise awareness of preventing abuse. Through this programme, we intend to create safer spaces and platforms necessary for children and young persons’ development, wellbeing and growth. These include creating therapeutic counselling spaces, sports, recreational and personality building activities and venues, consultation and career counselling services. At “Your SCYP”, we aim to:
- promote safeguarding, welfare, prevention, safety and equality of children and young people
- bring the community together and form local committees for preventing sexual abuse
- campaign children and young people’s rights to safer and improved living conditions
- provide learning and training services to mosques, schools, organisations and individuals on preventing abuse
- become a learning hub and a resource centre for preventing cruelty and abuse of all kinds
3. “See it. Say it. Stop it” - Freedom to Speak up
Through our “See it. Say it. Stop it” programme, we are developing platforms where children, young people and society as a whole feel free to speak up, raise concerns and seek help.
In Pakistan, we see hundreds of children on the streets, in unattended open and closed public places, working, subjected to cruelty and sometimes in vulnerable conditions. In a country where millions of people suffer from extreme living conditions due to absolute poverty and limited resources, children and young people remain at risk of abuse. The purpose of this programme is to take the steps necessary to prevent abuse from happening. Through this programme, we aim to:
- create safe spaces for children and young people to come forward and speak up
- ensure children and young people feel listened to
- raise awareness of abuse, bullying, harassment, discrimination and racism
- remain committed to listening to and believing in children and young people
- Make society feel safe to raise concerns of:
- Sexual abuse, harassment and exploitation
- Physical, emotional abuse and neglect
- Domestic violence
- FGM and forced marriage
- Racism, bullying, discrimination, harassment
- Child trafficking
- Extremism and radicalisation
4. Turn Over a New Leaf
Through our “Turn Over a New Leaf” programme, we intend to provide therapeutic and counselling services to children and young people so they could come out of trauma, social anxiety, mental health and harmful behaviour. We intend to make SCYP centres learning and resource centres and a healing place where children, young people and their families feel listened to, empowered and supported. Through this programme, we aim to:
- create safe venues for children and young people to come forward and speak up
- challenge and break the taboos and stereotypes that have been affecting the wellbeing of children and young people in Pakistan and in the ethnic communities in the UK
- raise awareness of abuse and run campaigns for abuse prevention
- promote the need for adults and society to tackle abuse and its signs
- support and empower children and young people to get back to life and feel safer
5. Embrace it for Safety
Embrace it for safety is our staying safe online programme. We believe technology should not come at a cost so high that children and young people feel vulnerable to it. Through our “Embrace it for Safety” programme, we aim to:
- engage with government and technology companies in Pakistan to place safety measures online to prevent abuse
- campaign to make porn, sexual, racist and abusive content illegal to post, view, share and send online
- educate people on how to be safe online
- make people know what abuse is and that it is not okay in any shape, form or circumstances