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Advocating for the workforce (SSWWeek Day 5)

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Nicole Brown
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Advocating for the workforce (SSWWeek Day 5)

How have you effectively advocated for the social service workforce? Share promising practices as well as challenges you’ve faced here.

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Jane Calder
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Effective advocacy needs good work on the ground to show results, evidence that it works and the involvment from the beginning, of those you are targeting in your advocacy campaign.  Advocacy on social service workforce srengthening has to link closely with the global initiative to End Violence against Children and we should be using the data - credible and extensive data from the Violence against Children studies carried out in a number of countries so far, and planned for more.  The data suggests - on average, around 60-70% of ALL children experience physical violence at some point in their childhood.  In many cases, this is regular, severe and both physically and emotionally harmful - with effects lasting for the rest of their lives.   Sexual abuse is far too high with figures between 10 - 30%!   And who is responsible for follow up?  Imagine health issues that affected 70% of the population of children?   the system for preventing and responding is long overdue for establishment.   Protecting children really does mean protecting the future as fewer children, as they become adults, will pass on the vipolence they experienced themselves as children - to their own children.  yes, there are many challenges involved in advocating for a effective response but they have to be overcome - VAC in any form is not acceptable and the social service workforce plays a very key role.   The challenge, to which there are no easy answers, is how to show results of a workforce that at present doesnt exist in its entirety in many countries.  Its been a slow and piecemeal process so far but with the Alliance and galvanising of support from all sectors, we can double - or even triple the momentum!  i urge us all to try to do so.