On September 11-12, 2024, the school “Child’s dignity as an unconditional value” was held in Lviv. It was organized by the Child Dignity Center operating at the Ukrainian Catholic University and gathered over 60 participants representing various Christian denominations of Ukraine. Sergii Bortnyk, head of the “Academic Initiative” foundation, became one of the participants of the school.
The school combined both theoretical and practical aspects of considering the problem of child safeguarding. In total, international organizations such as UNICEF identify 17 challenges for child safeguarding. Although sexual violence is only one of these many challenges, it receives special attention – both at the level of intervention and at the level of prevention.
At the school there were speeches on assessment of the level of sexual violence in Ukraine, on the principle of the “child-friendly Church”, on the principles of recognizing the offender and working with affected children. Also, the mechanisms of canonical actions in case of disclosure of violence within the Catholic Church were considered in sufficient detail. Consideration of specific cases of violence became an important practical component of the School.
It is planned that the “Academic Initiative” foundation will continue to participate in similar events – both at the level of its employees and partners in the field of humanitarian assistance.
