I asked World Vision on facebook what they were doing about child sacrifice and they posted the following on their page, if anyone is interested:
Children are trafficked in to the UK from many different countries across the world, for reasons including sexual exploitation, child labour, forced marriage and benefit fraud.
World Vision is working in many countries, including Uganda, to help stop child trafficking and to make children and their parents aware of the dangers.
Thanks for asking about the work we do in Uganda to tackle trafficking and child sacrifice. Here are some examples:
? Setting up a Child Friendly Shelter and counselling centre at a town on the Ugandan / Kenyan border, which is known for its cross-border trade, child trafficking and child prostitution. Previously, abandoned children or those in need of protection would sleep at the local police station. World Vision is also training local police to deal more sensitively with child abuse cases.
? World Vision Uganda has set up Child Parliaments, where young people teach their peers about child protection issues, including child sacrifice, and ensure that communities know the most effective way to report incidents of witchcraft to the police.
? Lobbying the Government of Uganda to amend the Witchcraft Act (1957) in order to better deal with the issue of child sacrifice.
? Making children and their families aware of the potential dangers is a vital part of our work - empowering communities to protect themselves. World Vision Uganda has been displaying posters about child sacrifice throughout communities, handing out stickers and talking about the dangers on local radio stations.
? One of the British government's development policy priorities is to help developing countries stimulate their economies and private sectors - known as wealth building. While World Vision welcomes this, sadly there is a risk that some forms of child abuse increase as wealth increases. Therefore, World Vision UK is calling on our government to make sure it helps countries put strong child protection structures in place too.
? You CAN make a difference and writing to your MP is a great place to start. Ask your MP to:
- get the UK Government to support the strengthening of structures and services that support children in the world's toughest places through its foreign policies and activities.
- enlist a child rights expert on their Human Rights Advisory Panel who can advise the government on how it can best support the rights of the poorest children in the world's toughest places.
- call on the UK Government to introduce a system of guardianship for child victims of trafficking in the UK. Child victims of trafficking need the support of an independent and dedicated guardian over the long term who can ensure that they receive the educational, medical, practical and legal support they need to help rebuild their lives and don't fall once again into the hands of traffickers.
If you do get in touch with your MP, please let us know - we love to keep up to date with ? and follow up on - what our supporters are doing.
? World Vision UK works with partner organisations in order to make us all stronger in the fight against child trafficking. You can find out more about some of the work that is being done to help trafficking victims who are brought in to the UK at www.ecpat.org.uk