DILI, 14 march 2024 (TATOLI) – In a commendable move to prevent and respond to violence against children in Timor-Leste, the Ministry of Social Solidarity and Inclusion (MSSI), with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNCEF), today launched Primero, a case management web application that helps social service providers coordinate critical support for vulnerable children. Primero is aimed at providing child protection information and a case management digital system to protect children from violence, abuse, and harmful practices.
In addition, MSSI also released a comprehensive report on Country-Led Evaluation of Social Welfare Workforce Capacity Building Initiatives in Timor-Leste, 2016–2022, which provides evidence-based recommendations to guide the future processes and programs of capacity development of the social workers workforce in Timor-Leste.
This historic launch coincided with the commemoration of ASEAN Social Work Day, a day designated to raise awareness about the social service workforce’s critical role in protecting the most vulnerable and marginalized individuals from violence, harm, and abuse.
Verónica das Dores, Minister of Social Solidarity and Inclusion, did the first log-in to the system to symbolize the first step in activating what will become the backbone of Timor-Leste’s nationwide child protection social service practice. The minister also applauded the invaluable contribution being made by social workers across the country.
Currently, six other countries in the East Asia and Pacific Region have advanced in the use of Primero to support social services workers like Child Protection Officers with their daily work, including the registration of cases of violence against children as well as the coordination of timely and efficient referral of cases through various protection stakeholders such as police, social, and medical services.
The launch of Primero is the culmination of many years of hard work by the staff at MSSI, including at the subnational levels, and UNICEF in Timor-Leste, with technical support from UNICEF’s Regional Office and Headquarters. The rollout of Primero is being financially supported by UNICEF, the government of Australia, and the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance of USAID.
“Primero is yet another milestone achieved by the 9th Constitutional Government of Timor-Leste to strengthen the Child Protection System in any setting. From now on, I am confident that Child Protection Officers (CPOs) will be able to provide timely, robust follow-up support. This digitized system has features that alert CPOs to act by indicating the place where abuse has taken place and also guide them on how to record every piece of information safely and in a confidential manner,” Minister Dores said.
The introduction of Primero to Timor-Leste comes at a time when there are concerted efforts from the government, civil society, communities, and United Nations agencies to address incidences of violence, abuse, and neglect of children and young people in the country.
According to available data, the prevalence of violence against children is high in Timor-Leste. Children are also vulnerable to harmful practices such as child labor, violent discipline, and child marriage, which are influenced by socio-economic factors. Primero has been contextualized to be used in all contexts, including during emergencies and for children in communities, homes, and residential care institutions.
“Without solid and efficient case management and referral systems in the country, too many children who have faced violence and abuse will continue to fall through the cracks. UNICEF therefore congratulates the Government of Timor-Leste for this milestone of digitizing case management to prevent and respond to episodes of violence, abuse, and harmful practices,” said UNICEF Country Representative Bilal Aurang Zeb Durrani.
Primero will make data handling easier and more efficient for front-line protection and social welfare workers, thereby freeing up their time to rapidly respond to these cases on the ground. In addition, the application will help national and municipality-based supervisors monitor and report on the work of their teams at the community level, thereby generating credible evidence for the Ministry’s programming and policy development on child protection.
With support from UNICEF and other development partners, Primero has been contextualized in Timor-Leste through a year-long, rigorous process to ensure that the system aligns with the National Standard Operational Procedures for the Protection of Children and with the recently enacted Law on Protecting Children and Youth in Danger. Just two weeks ago, ten staff of MSSI participated in an intensive training of trainers’ course, preparing them to roll out the system nation-wide.
TATOLI
