By Clifford Okyere
Compassion International has developed a platform which will help track the report of abuse cases and attend to them accordingly. This platform is called resolver, a child protection reporting system designed to track all incidents of abuse, neglect, and exploitation experienced by participants under the programme.
Speaking on behalf of the National Director, Mrs. Florence Sena Amponsah, the Senior Manager of Programme Support noted that Compassion International Ghana has strengthened accountability in reporting abuse cases by creating awareness and partnering with government agencies such as the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU), Social Welfare among others to achieve this objective.
In the address, Mrs. Sena Amponsah highlighted that Compassion Ghana’s church partners have been instrumental in creating a safe environment for participants to report cases of abuse. She also noted that research indicates that victims of abuse, neglect and exploitation prefer reporting the incident to people they are comfortable with.
“However, our experience from across our operational areas shows that not everyone who experiences abuse, neglect, or exploitation feels comfortable telling another person. Best practices indicate that providing options for reporting increases the likelihood of victims finding a reporting method that they feel comfortable with and will be more willing to access.”
A 2022 Incident Management study by Navex (Ethics Point) found that across 3,470 companies with incident management systems that logged more than 1.37 million incidents in 2021, 50% of those incidents were reported anonymously. Thirty percent (30%) of those incidents were made via a telephone-based hotline, while 40% were made to another person and 29% were made via a website-based reporting form.
She also made a clarion call to all stakeholders and caregivers to be conscious of child protection and be active advocates for the wellbeing of children to complement the efforts of Compassion International Ghana.
Resolver is an internal reporting system which can only be seen by Compassion and its Frontline Church Partners. This is to create a reporting channel for participants who experience any form of abuse, so the needed support is provided for their restoration. The resolver was developed by Compassion International and its partners in USA.
At the launch, government stakeholders on child protection, DOVVSU and Social Welfare took turns educating patrons on the types of child abuse highlighting child neglect as one of the major forms of abuse prevalent, and admonished caregivers to put in the effort to be present in the lives of their children to help them to become fulfilled and responsible adults.
The launch took place at Mpraeso Akrpong Presbyterian Church, one of CIGH’s church partners.
Compassion International Ghana (CIGH), is a Christian Non-Profit Organization (NPO) and a member of Compassion International Incorporated, headquartered in Colorado Springs, USA. Compassion International Ghana is Christ-centered, Church driven, and Child focused with a vision of releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ Name. Compassion International Ghana executes this mandate by partnering with local churches to reach out to needy children in the local communities.
