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Description
There is no system how to work with the topic of sexuality and relationships in institutional care for children and residential institutions. Staff of these institutions often do not know how to deal with such situations and how to create an environment that supports the healthy development of the children´s / young people''s psychosexual development, in order to prevent negative social phenomenon such as sexual violence, unwanted pregnancies and related traumas. Children and young people who grow up in the institutions do not have access to reliable, comprehensive and adequately presented information that would support healthy psychosexual development, safe start of life and prevention of all forms of sexual violence. Freya will help to set up this system in these institutions, gain necessary data from research on what people living there need, get know-how in the Learning network method from Norwegian partners and apply the method in practice. The resulting system of work will be usable for other institutions as well. The project aims to expand the knowledge of Freya z. s. in working with sexuality and relationships by the Learning network method which will be trained by Norwegian partners. The method will then be used during sytematic implementation of work with sexuality in institutional care for children, where this topic is not implemented. A learning network consisting of institutional care for children staff will take part in the implementation. The needs of all institutional care for children members will be analysed by a research, so that the system of working with sexuality is set appropriately. A Guide for Working with Sexuality will be created. The outputs of the project will be presented at the conference. Freya''s experience in visiting children''s homes.
Summary of project results
Working with sexuality in children''s homes (CH) and other residential institutions for children is a neglected topic and is not clearly anchored. Children and young adults in CH have access to reliable, comprehensive and appropriately presented information to promote healthy psychosocial development, safe sexual initiation and protect them from sexualized violence. Staff in children''s homes often face a lack of knowledge and skills to create an environment that enables children to explore their own sexuality safely. This can result in negative consequences for young adults leaving children''s homes, including the risk of exposure to sexualised violence, abuse or self-acceptance issues (particularly for the LGBT* community).
Thanks to our partner in Norway, Freya has received expert support in setting up a ''Learning Network'', which enables staff to be actively involved in the process of implementing change in the facility, sharing experiences and supporting each other at regular meetings and training on topics that the facility teams themselves determine according to their needs. They then implement the changes in their CH on an ongoing basis under the guidance of a coach. After being trained in the Learning Network method by the Norwegian partner, Freya’s staff organized regular meetings for teams from 5 Czech children’s homes. Study visit for team members and Freya’s staff was organized as well. A research on sexuality in children’s homes has been conducted. Its results were shared at an expert conference which was attended by 73 registered visitors. A new tool “Play it right” developed by another Norwegian organization was translated and adapted for the Czech context and is now available to people working with children and young adults who want to safely open the topic of sexuality and relationships in their settings.
Five teams from involved children''s homes participated in learning network meetings and training sessions for the "Bez rozpaků" tool. Regular online coaching and mentoring sessions were held, and the staff successfully implemented sexuality work based on predefined goals, often exceeding these targets. Selected team members were also engaged in research and a study visit to Norway. Additional training was offered on topics such as the neurosequential model, cybersecurity, and LGBT* issues.
Freya staff improved its capacities through training on learning network method and study visit to Norway.. Four staff members provided coaching to residential care teams, with three gaining new experience under the guidance of certified coach Lucie Šídová. Team members participated in research, data analysis from the "Snakk om sexualitat" questionnaire, and regular retrospective meetings.
Children and young people in residential care were involved through focus groups and benefited from the introduction of the "Play it right" (Bez rozpaků) tool, which the staff used to discuss sexuality and relationships by March 2024. The content of the tool was refined based on feedback from young residents. One young woman with experience in residential care participated in a conference discussion.
The professional public was engaged through individual interviews with relevant stakeholders and a conference that included external speakers and discussion opportunities. Information about the project was disseminated via Freya''s social media and website, enhancing awareness and knowledge on the topic among professionals.
Summary of bilateral results
Thanks to involvement of our project partner, we learned about the method Learning Network and decided to implement it as well. Also, our organization greatly benefits from information and experience of our partner in Norway through their experience with sexuality of different target groups. Lastly, we also gained many contacts from our partner so we enlarged our network of contacts to various organizations and institutions in Norway and also abroad. The benefit of learning from our partner and contacts is immense for our organization.The main result from the cooperation on the bilateral level is experince sharing and mutual learning and outlook for future cooperation in case other project opportunities and/or ideas will occur. We are in contact with our partner, however we have concrete plans for future cooperation. We are considering a study visit to Norway in the future where our partner would be involved, also we are planning and international konference on the topic of Learning networks in 2026 – our partners will be invited to share their experince.