AFRUCA REGIONAL CONFERENCES IN THE UK

OUTCOMES AND CONCLUSIONS

INTRODUCTION

Between November 2004 and May 2005, AFRUCA held a series of regional conferences In London, Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle. The conferences were aimed at raising the profile of African children in the UK and help highlight their needs and priorities in relation to work by child protection and child welfare practitioners. A total of 370 practitioners and members of community groups participated in the four conferences.

REGIONAL PARTNERS

• Manchester City Council/Area Child Protection Committee for the City of Manchester
• Birmingham City Council/Area Child Protection Committee for the City of Birmingham
• The Children’s Society In The North East

CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES

The conferences had a number of key, similar objectives:

• To enable discussions and information exchange between practitioners and members of the African community on the needs of African children and families

• To identify barriers in policy and service provision

• To increase awareness of the protection needs of African children

• To develop safe practice in working with African children, young people and their families

• To respond to the Government agenda for the protection of children and young people (Every Child Matters)

KEY THEMES

The conferences focused on a number of important themes. These were:

• The Trafficking of African children to the UK
• Private Fostering
• Female Genital Mutilation
• Culture and Child Protection
• Physical Punishment among African families (Newcastle only)
• Forced marriages (Manchester only)

ISSUES EMERGING

A number of key issues emanated from the various presentations and workshops at the four events. These included:

Child Trafficking (Lynne Chitty, Independent Consultant)

• There is ample evidence to show that in-country child trafficking is expanding right across the UK
• An established system of protection and assistance that is appropriate to the rights and needs of trafficked children is essential

· Immediate and effective protection for trafficked children is paramount, as they may be at imminent risk of exploitation by organised criminal gangs.

• In common with other child protection issues, a structured inter-agency approach is crucial

· Trafficked children need to be seen as children first and not merely as asylum seekers. They should be brought into the mainstream of social work support.

Private Fostering (Beverley Clarke, Lambeth Social Services)

• Children from abroad at particular risk and need to be identified and safeguarded.

• Public awareness of private fostering is essential to enable affected communities aware of the new regulations and their obligations to notify and act to protect vulnerable children

• Multi-agency training is necessary so all council staff are aware of the implications on the children involved and their own roles

• Inter-agency collaboration and co-operation is important to ensure better safeguarding for children in private fostering arrangements

• Allocation of resources is crucial to enable local authorities implement the new notification scheme and monitor compliance with National Minimum Standards for Private Fostering

Female Genital Mutilation (Mary Kanu, Development Support Agency)

• Female Genital Mutilation must be seen and promoted as a key child protection issue
• Children and young people need to be aware of the risks of FGM. It should be seen as a key aspect of sex education in schools
• There is the need for more intensive outreach work within affected communities to sensitise on the risks of FGM, the impact on victims and to promote the new law against the practice
• There is an urgent need for better enforcement of the new law on FGM to deter the practice
• There should be better training for practitioners and other key staff in schools and in the health sector so they are aware of the signs and can act to safeguard potential victims

Culture and Child Protection (Debbie Ariyo, AFRUCA)

• A culture that is abusive towards children is no culture
• The best interests of the child should be paramount when working with families at risk
• There is the need for induction sessions for newly arrived families to raise awareness of the regulations governing child protection in the UK and their roles in protecting children from abuse
• Training for staff is crucial to enable a better knowledge and understanding of the key issues affecting the various African communities in their areas
• Local authorities should have closer working relationships or partnerships with established community organizations in their areas to help inform work with children and families

Physical Punishment Among African Families (Mor Dioum, The Victoria Climbie Foundation)

• There is a lot of cultural differentiation between different communities and UK law regarding what child abuse is
• Discipline is seen as part of “honourable parenting” to prevent moral and physical corruption among African children and young people
• There is a lot of mistrust of child protection agencies and their intentions when intervening in families.
• Alternatives to physical punishment that will ensure discipline and keep children within their cultural values is needed
• Assistance for parents to enable better parenting and child rearing within the context of good cultural values is important

Forced Marriages (Debbie Ariyo, AFRUCA)

• Forced and early marriages occur within different African communities as well as other communities in the UK
• Forced marriages are a violation of the rights of the child involved
• There are a number of key factors responsible, including the need to protect young girls from infections like HIV/AiDS or pregnancy through promiscuity
• There are a number of consequences on victims, including maternal mortality, domestic violence, high school drop out rates and female genital mutilation
• Training and guidance necessary for multi agency staff to recognize potential African child victims and act to safeguard them

Next Steps

The following next steps were proposed at the conferences to be taken forward by the new Safeguarding Boards in collaboration with AFRUCA

• Drawing up and implementation of local action plans by the new safeguarding Children Boards to actualize key conference recommendations, including:
• Further research into the needs of African children and their families in specific areas
• Prioritising community involvement in child protection through inviting key organizations to join local safeguarding forums
• The need to raise the awareness and skills of front-line practitioners through the provision of training and consultancy by AFRUCA
• Taking forward key issues identified by the conferences in the different cities and ensuring these are highlighted in individual agency business planning processes
• Continuous networking and information sharing between professionals, African groups and others working with children in the particular areas

APPRECIATION

AFRUCA is grateful to the following for their support in organizing and holding all the four regional events:

• Hilton Dawson, Patron AFRUCA
• The Princess Diana of Wales Memorial Fund, for providing us with a venue for the London conference
• Directorate of Social Care and Health for the City of Birmingham
• Directorate of Social Care and Health for the City of Manchester
• Birmingham ACPC
• Manchester ACPC
• The Children’s Society in the North East
• Bob Awuor, African Community Development Foundation
• Caroline Boswell, Greater London Authority
• Ian Angus, Metropolitan Police Service
• Mick Cooper Bland, Metropolitan Police Service
• Samson De-Alyn, Surestart Thamesview
• Lynne Chitty
• Mor Dioum
• Development Support Agency
• Beverley Clarke
• The Nigerian Women’s Association in Manchester
• Southern Voices

FURTHER REGIONAL CONFERENCES

AFRUCA is in the process of consultation with a number of other cities across the UK to hold further regional conferences across the country in 2006. The 2006 events will hold in Scotland and Wales as well as in a number of other cities in England.

Please visit our website for further details or contact us at

AFRUCA – Africans Unite Against Child Abuse

Unit 4s Leroy House

436 Essex Road

London N1 3QP

Tel: 0207 704 2261

Fax: 0207 704 2266

E-mail: info@afruca.org

Website: www.afruca.org

AFRUCA – AFRICANS UNITE AGAINST CHILD ABUSE

May 2005