Cluster Status
Needs
Partners involved in the Children and Adolescents Protection Area of Responsibility report cases of unaccompanied children and adolescents in need of family reunification and an increase in cases of suicidal ideation and attempts among adolescents in Táchira state.
A strategy to raise awareness and disseminate information on sexual exploitation and abuse prevention must be implemented in Falcón and Bolívar states, targeting community structures. Furthermore, partners in Bolivar have raised the alarm about a high number of cases of child sexual abuse.
There is a clear need to reinforce protection messages at information points (PASOS, CAT, others) to assist people in mobility. Similarly, greater advocacy is needed towards public institutions responsible for protection and justice.
Partners working in the Children and Adolescents Protection Area of Responsibility in Eastern Venezuela reported a rise in the number of adolescents suffering from psychosocial problems and an increase in the number of travel authorization requests for children and adolescents.
Partner organizations in Táchira, Falcón, and Bolívar have underscored the need to continue training and raising awareness among officials who work in agencies in charge of receiving complaints to prevent institutional violence and the re-victimization of survivors of GBV.
Response
The Protection Cluster in conjunction with the GBV and Children and Adolescent Protection Areas of Responsibility benefited, via 46 partner organizations, a total of 94,969 people, including 12,162 Indigenous people and 1,395 with some type of disability.
Overall, 62% of the people reached were women, and 32% children and adolescents.
Approximately 21,350 people participated in GBV prevention activities, including training for 345 people from civil society organizations on GBV prevention, mitigation, and response, in addition to awareness-raising on sexual and reproductive rights for 978 people. 448 people from state institutions were trained in GBV prevention, mitigation, and response.
Approximately 15,200 people from the communities and government institutions participated in reinforcement and awareness-raising activities on protection issues, covering safe mobility, prevention of human trafficking, the right to identity, and late birth registration processes.
The organization provided specialized services to 5,086 children, adolescents, and adults at risk and in need of protection. These services included psychosocial counseling (1,342), legal aid (1,076), individual assistance for protection and/or material assistance (2,416), and assistance to people in mobility on the road (252). Furthermore, 340 adults were issued identification documents, including identification cards, birth certificates, and late birth registrations. 562 people benefited from information, legal guidance and actions for integration and peaceful coexistence, placing special attention on the reintegration of returnees.
1,341 people were assisted with GBV case management services (90% women and 10% men); including counseling or legal assistance provided to 388 survivors and/or people at risk of GBV (93% women and 3% men), in addition to individual psychosocial counseling to 651 people and group counseling to 420 people.
7,324 girls and 7,220 boys affected and in need of protection, together with 15,911 caregivers (83% female), received psychosocial counseling. Additionally, 1,115 children received assistance in obtaining identification documents, including birth certificates. Moreover, 20,284 girls and adolescents and 20,077 boys and adolescents accessed specialized protection services and programs, such as: alternative care, family reunification, and case management support. Furthermore, 3,702 girls, 3,371 boys, 1,985 men, and 9,622 women participated in awareness-raising activities on child protection issues, and 6,356 people working in state institutions and NGO staff received technical assistance and training on child protection issues. 35 implementing organizations carried out these implementations in the Children and Adolescents Protection Area of Responsibility.
Gaps
Lack of multisectoral GBV response services and limited presence of specialized protection services (including psychosocial counselling and mental health and psychosocial counseling) in health centres.
Lack of training and awareness-raising on GBV and human trafficking for officials working in agencies responsible for receiving complaints.
Centralized public services that hinder the chance for people with disabilities to obtain ID cards.
Children and adolescents, sons and daughters of Venezuelan returnees who were born outside the country and do not have a birth certificate or an apostille of their birth certificate, face difficulties in obtaining documentation.
Basic services and specialized protection services are limited to the urban context.
Lack of legal and physical protection mechanisms and safe spaces for victims of human trafficking and their families.
High turnover of specialized child protection personnel in municipal agencies in various states, resulting in a gap in the capacity to provide sensitive services that meet the minimum standards required to provide care for children and adolescents at risk or affected by different forms of violence.
- - - Protection Cluster Note:
*94,969 women, men, boys, girls, and adolescents received specialized protection services, access to legal documentation and/or information until April 2024. This figure is the sum of beneficiaries contacted through the different activities that were reported as completed and being implemented by the Protection Cluster partners. It includes both Areas of Responsibility (AdR) at the end of April 2024. If an individual (beneficiary) participates in more than one of these activities, there is a possibility of multiple reporting under the same or different indicators. The final number of beneficiaries after additional data cleaning processes reported by organizations and agencies to the Cluster, including activities reported in later months, should not be taken as a final figure.
** For further information on the type of assistance and beneficiaries, visit the Protection Cluster website, available at: https://ven.protectioncluster.org.