Partir de nous – Empowerment of adolescent girls in situations of sexual exploitation

Partir de nous – Empowerment of adolescent girls in situations of sexual exploitation

Duration of the project: 2024 – 2025

Since 2021, the International Office for the Rights of the Child Quebec programming has been working to establish the rights of children at risk or victims of violence, by promoting dialogue and empowering children, and by creating environments that listening to them, where children feel able to take their place and adults feel able to leave their place.

In 2023, researchers from the Department of Psychoeducation and Psychology of the Université du Québec en Outaoais (UQO), professionals from the Center intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) of the Laurentides and five adolescent girls from the Laurentides found themselves in a situation of sexual exploitation, placed in Rehabilitation Centers for Youth with Adjustment Difficulties (CRJDA), conducted a participatory action research process on the trajectory of services for girls in a situation of sexual exploitation.

The results of this process, combined with some recommendations from the young people involved in the International Office for the Rights of the Child’s “Parole aux jeunes” project, highlighted:

• The importance of children’s participation in decisions that affect them, and in defining the services they receive as a result of certain situations;
• The lack of services for young people in situations of sexual exploitation;
• the under-representation of young people in setting up practices aimed at them.

The teenagers involved in this process also pointed out the need for workshops on sexual exploitation, “created by youth, for youth in a situation of sexual exploitation,” as well as workshops for professionals designed with the expertise of youth.

Objectives

Based on this principle, “Partir de nous” aims to empower teenage girls in situations of sexual exploitation, by organizing discussions between them and the adults responsible for their protection, and by supporting them in creating training tools:

• For teens in CRJDA, who recognize the specialness of their experiences and journeys;
• For those who work with them, to help them better adapt to the reality of girls in situations of sexual exploitation.

The four phases of the project

• Step 1: The teens review the conclusions of the participatory action research process and define the key aspects of its formative action;
• Step 2: The teenagers develop a formative action (content) and the necessary tools for its application;
• Step 3: The teens test their training by organizing a workshop with other teens, making adjustments and finalizing the creation of the training;
• Step 4: Adolescents, together with adults and other adolescents involved in the process, discuss participatory initiatives to support the process.

Results

In the medium term:

• Teenage girls in situations of sexual exploitation see their protection strengthened by an approach that meets their own needs and experiences;
• Adolescent girls in situations of sexual exploitation increase their participation in the decisions that affect them in the service delivery process;
• Professionals in Quebec’s child protection system are better able to adapt their practices to adolescent girls in situations of sexual exploitation and collaborate with them in defining their care pathways.

In the long term:

• Adolescent girls in situations of sexual exploitation become empowered, make important contributions to their well-being and development, and become agents of change in their own lives;
• Spaces and services in Quebec designed to protect adolescent girls in situations of sexual exploitation are better adapted to their needs and more consistent with their best interests.

The project “Partir de nous – Autonomisation des adolescentes en situation d’exploitation sexuelle” is financed by the Fund d’aide aux Victimes d’Actes Criminels (FAVAC) of the Ministry of Justice of Quebec.