Linked with International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect ISPCAN.
She is one of the 1000 women proposed fort the Nobel Peace Price 2005.
She says: « »Every child has the right to be secure, confident, and free. »
Yuki Ando – Japan
She works for the Child Abuse Prevention CAP, and for the Peace Violence Prevention Training Center.
Yuki Ando has combined her artistic talent, compassion for children, and teaching and organizational skills to protect Japan’s most vulnerable citizens: its children. She learned about a successful child abuse prevention program called CAP (Child Abuse Prevention), which uses role-play and other activities to teach children of all ages about their fundamental right to live free from emotional and physical violence. She adapted the program for Japan in 1994 and today 160 CAP groups are active throughout the country.
Yuki Ando has combined her artistic talent, compassion for children, and teaching and organizational skills to protect Japan’s most vulnerable citizens: its children. While a student in the U.S., she learned about a successful child abuse prevention program called CAP (Child Abuse Prevention). The program uses role-playing and other activities to teach children of all ages about their fundamental right to live, and grow free of emotional and physical violence. She adapted the program for Japan in 1996, and today 100 CAP groups are active.
How can children be taught to protect themselves in a country where discussion of sex is taboo? By bringing sex education into the light. By telling stories, drawing pictures, and keeping a sense of humor. Yuki Ando used her unique talents to make a difference. She had studied child abuse in Canada and understood the extent of the problem. In 1991, she participated in a self-help group of survivors, caseworkers, and scholars in Tokyo. Yuki’s interest grew, resulting in the establishment of CAP programs and the PEACE Violence Prevention Training Center.
The vision of the PEACE center is to establish a non-violent society by providing trainings and workshops on human rights, developing leadership, and communicating support and respect. Children are taught they have the right to be secure, confident, and free. Role-playing allows children and teens to gain skills and « practice » emotions. Survivors of sexual assault are offered counseling and support, and workshops are also provided for parents and teachers.
In Japan, as in many countries, children have no skills to protect themselves from violation, assault, and abuse. When discussion of sex is taboo, prevention and recovery are difficult. The 100 CAP programs that grew from Yuki Ando’s introduction of the program in Japan were unprecedented. (Read this on 1000peacewomen).
Read: CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT IN JAPAN, A Foster Parents’ Grassroots Movement, To Improve Japan’s Child Welfare Systen – Dr. Sumiko T. Hennessy, Tokyo University of Social Welfare, Isesaki City, Gunma, Japan, a 21 page pdf text.
The number of child abuse cases reported in Japan shot up nearly 26 per cent in the year to March 2005, topping 30,000 for the first time, with almost half the cases involving pre-school children. Japan had long boasted that its stable family structure made the idea of child abuse inconceivable, but reports of parents starving or beating their children to death have appeared in the news more often in recent years. According to a white paper released by the government on Tuesday, the number of child abuse cases reported in that year jumped to 33,408 from 26,569 the year before, a rise of 25.7 per cent. A cabinet office official said that while the 2004 tightening of a law aimed at requiring more people to report suspected abuse had contributed to the rise, abuse overall appears to be increasing. « Given that the number of children has decreased, such a sharp rise shows fairly clearly that abuse in general is still increasing, » he added. Of the cases, 44.5 per cent involved physical abuse, while 36.7 per cent involved neglect. Children below the age of 6 made up 45.7 per cent of the victims. Prior to 2000, when a law was passed obliging the reporting of suspected abuse, children had largely been treated as their parents’ property and barely recognised as individuals in their own right, experts say.They add that the workaholic habits of many Japanese men contribute to the problem by saddling their wives with the responsibility of child raising, while the increasing isolation of housewives and a breakdown in extended families have also raised stress levels, triggering more abuse. (Read on this japaneese CAP site).
Read this pdf text: AGAINST COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN CSEC, Prevention of the negative impact of Tourism.
Thanks to increased government involvement and greater public exposure, child abuse is gradually emerging from the shadows. But Japan’s youngest citizens remain vulnerable to violence at the hands of those who care for them. Tama Miyake reports. (Read all on Metropolis).
links:
A guide to Asian-American Empowerment;
The Conflict Resulution Information Source;
Blueprints for Violence Prevention, on the Colorado.edu;
International Resources on Domestic Violence Prevention.