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PEDOSTOP

PEDOSTOP is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) dedicated to combating child sexual abuse. Sexual assaults are pervasive, transcending colour, social class, and religion, affecting children everywhere, in Mauritius and beyond. Let's take action, spread awareness, and fight against the silence!

 

Accreditation Number with the National Social Inclusion Foundation: N/1595

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Services offered

PEDOSTOP provides support and services to children who are victims of sexual abuse and to adults who were victims in the past, regardless of their social background or location on the island. Please visit http://www.pedostop.org/fr/ for more information.

 

Beneficiaries: PEDOSTOP assists child victims of sexual abuse and adult survivors in Mauritius.

Objectives
  • To inform and raise awareness among the Mauritian population about child sexual abuse.
  • To provide a platform for victims and former victims of sexual assault to speak out.
  • To inform about available actions: psychological, social, medical, and legal support.
  • To offer financial assistance for psychological, medical, and legal support.
  • To improve the care of child victims by making proposals, providing training, and offering recommendations to professionals, and national and international institutions involved in child protection.

 

Projects:

  • Information and awareness campaigns
  • Support for psychological, legal, and medical assistance
  • Lobbying and recommendations to the state
Main achievements

Information, Awareness, and Training on Sexual Violence:

  • Interventions in both print and broadcast media.
  • Information dissemination through the Facebook page and website.
  • Conducted awareness sessions across various regions of the island, targeting parents, police officers, psychologists, therapists, educators, NGO members, journalists, and officers from the Ministry of Gender Equality, Child Development, and Family Welfare.
  • Developed a parenting and sexual violence information kit (booklet/DVD) in French and Creole, to be distributed after awareness sessions.
  • Trained psychologists, therapists, and child protection officers by experts in child protection and sexual violence.

 

Notable Training Sessions:

 

  • Child Sexual Abuse Colloquium (April 8-9, 2013)

Trainers:

  • Professor Christopher Goddard: Director of CAPRA (Child Abuse Prevention Research Australia), Monash University. CAPRA collaborates with the Australian Childhood Foundation and the Monash Injury Research Institute, Monash University. Author of numerous articles and books on child abuse. 
  • Dr Neerosh Mudaly: Senior Research Fellow at CAPRA, Consultant at the Australian Childhood Foundation. Expert in working with child abuse victims and conducting related research. Co-author with Professor Goddard of "The Truth is Longer than a Lie: Children's experiences of abuse and professional interventions" (2006).
  • Dr Frédéric Mauvisseau: Psychiatrist in charge of the Psychotraumatology Unit at the South Reunion University Hospital. Lecturer in victimology at the University of Reunion.

Over 200 individuals, including government personnel, NGO members, social workers, teachers, politicians, lawyers, doctors, psychologists, police officers, and others involved in child protection participated in this training session.

 

  • Training on Interviewing Child Victims of Sexual Abuse (November 4-8, 2013)
    • Trainer: Martine Nisse, specialised educator and family therapist. Director of the Buttes Chaumont centre in Paris, specialised in sexual abuse for over 20 years. Partnered with the Ministry of Gender Equality, Child Development, and Family Welfare.

30 individuals, including 12 officers from the Ministry of Gender Equality, Child Development, and Family Welfare, 2 officers from the office of the Ombudsperson For Children, 2 members from the DPP office, 5 police officers, and 9 psychologists working with PEDOSTOP participated in this training session.

 

  • Advanced Training on Interviewing Child Victims (August 25-29, 2014)
    • Trainer: Martine Nisse.

21 psychologists, therapists, and counsellors participated in this training session.

 

  • Impact of Childhood Sexual Abuse in Adulthood (September 5, 2015)
    • Trainer: Dr Frédéric Mauvisseau.

25 psychologists and therapists participated in this training session.

 

  • Understanding Minor Sexual Offenders (April 4-6, 2016)
    • Trainer: Dr Samuel Lemitre - Psychologist, psychotherapist, and President of EIDO, Centre for Trauma and Violence Treatment in Paris.

29 psychologists and therapists from public and private sectors participated in this training session.

 

Awareness Campaigns:

  • First Awareness Campaign (2014):

Launched the very first awareness campaign on sexual abuse in Mauritius at the end of 2014. From November 19-24 and December 9-15, the campaign was broadcast on the following media:

  • 96 billboards across the island (3 permanent and 93 temporary)
  • 19 spots on Radio +
  • 19 spots on Radio One
  • 12 spots on Kool FM - MBC
  • 21 TV clips
  • 10 press articles: La Vie Catholique, 5 Plus Dimanche, L’Express, Le Défi
  • Over 50,000 shares on social media: Facebook, YouTube

 

  • Second Awareness Campaign (2015):

In partnership with the La Sentinelle group, the Ministry of Gender Equality, Child Development, and Family Welfare, Dialekt, and NGO LEAD, the second campaign of PEDOSTOP was launched. Billboards and media posters were displayed from June 25 to July 8, 2015. The three components of the campaign were:

  • Display of billboards, print and broadcast media from June 25 to July 8
  • Journalist training at the end of June 2015
  • Distribution of brochures on various forms of sexual assault in schools, in partnership with the Ministry of Education

 

Support Services:

  • Therapeutic Support:
    • Individual psychological support sessions.
    • Group therapy sessions facilitated by two psychologists/therapists.
    • Support groups discussing various themes related to sexual violence for adult victims or family members.
  • Legal Aid:
    • Assistance for families with incomes below Rs 25,000, allocating up to Rs 60,000 per person annually, based on the association’s financial capacity.
    • Reminder: It is crucial to choose a lawyer who is well-versed in child sexual abuse issues.
  • Social and Medical Support:
    • It is crucial that a child victim receives medical care and consults a doctor or paediatrician experienced in sexual violence issues. The NGO redirects all calls to the CDU, the official child protection agency in Mauritius, for social and medical care.

 

Lobbying:

  • Numerous recommendations are made to various child protection bodies to improve victim care, including the Ministry of Gender Equality, Child Development, and Family Welfare, the DPP's office, the Ombudsperson for Children, and the Commissioner of Police.