The FINANCIAL — A center for psychological and social services for children who have been victims of violence will be created in Georgia. The center will serve children living in the capital city of Georgia – Tbilisi and the country’s third largest city – Kutaisi. The project is implemented with the financial and technical support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The Government of Georgia has approved the concept of a Center for Psychological and Social Services for children victims of violence, according to which a Center for Psychological and Social Services for children victims of violence will be established in Tbilisi and Kutaisi within the framework of the LEPL Agency for State Care and Assistance for the (Statutory) Victims of Human Trafficking.
The Center will operate in pilot mode in 2021 and will provide services to children victims of sexual violence. The aim of the services provided by the Center, considering the best interests of the children, is to prevent the secondary victimization of the children victims and to provide them with psychological and social rehabilitation in an environment tailored to children. As Ana Buchukuri, head of the Human Rights Secretariat of the Administration of the Government, stated, the Center is based on best international practice in this area, known worldwide as the Barnahus Model.
Ana Buchukuri also said that the purpose of the center’s service is to provide psychological and social support to the child victims of violence. She then stated that the Center will be tailored to the best interests of the children in terms of both essence and infrastructure, and it will provide services to children victims of sexual violence in pilot mode. According to her the Center will cease operating in pilot mode at the end of 2021, at which point we will have the opportunity to consider expanding the circle of the Center’s beneficiaries. “The idea behind the Center is to provide services to the children victims of violence in accordance with the One Window principle. This means that investigative actions – interviewing the child and conducting forensic examinations – as well as the psychological and social rehabilitation of the child victim will take place in the same space, which is of critical importance,” – she added, according to local media agenda.ge
Another important information is that the latest update of the World Bank’s Human Capital Index (HCI), which measures pre-pandemic human capital outcomes around the world says that young people in the Europe and Central Asia region are being provided with the opportunities needed to grow into productive adults, thanks to continued investments in health and education during their childhood and teenage years.
Georgia has an overall HCI score of 0.57, which means that a child born in Georgia is expected to grow up to be only 57 percent as productive as they could be if they enjoyed complete education and full health, according to new report. While the HCI score for 2020 is higher than the average for upper middle-income countries worldwide and above its 2010 value of 0.54, it is lower than the average for the Europe and Central Asia region. Read more.
It is interesting to note that The Code on the Rights of the Child entered into force from September 1, which was developed at the initiative of the Chair of the Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, Ms. Sopho Kiladze, with active support from UNICEF. UNICEF Representative in Georgia Dr. Ghassan Khalil congratulated Georgia on this groundbreaking achievement and said that he believed the Code on the Rights of the Child will have a long-lasting effect on the lives of Children in Georgia. He also that UNICEF commends the efforts of the Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee, and appreciates the leadership of Ms. Sopho Kiladze, in the process of development and adoption of the Code.
U.S. Embassy commends steps of Georgia towards overcoming the violence
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