Background
Stadtlandkind has been supporting the children's rights organization since 2018 Save the Children. Together, we are committed to helping refugee children in Switzerland, among other things. And the recently published asylum figures show that The proportion of asylum applications from children in Switzerland also increased last year: in 2019, 45% of asylum applications came from minors (in 2018 it was only 41%). Over 60% of these children were under the age of six.
Many of them have seen terrible things in their country of origin or while fleeing, or were themselves victims of violence, abuse and neglect. In order to come to terms with their traumatic experiences, the children and young people affected need child-friendly care and support services as quickly as possible. This is still lacking in most Swiss asylum shelters.
Child and youth-friendly spaces
Save the Children therefore launched the pilot project "Child-friendly spaces in Swiss asylum shelters" in 2016. Child-friendly spaces are an internationally applied program for the professional support and protection of children and minors living in shared accommodation during and after crisis situations. For example, in asylum centers in Switzerland.
In recent years, child-friendly rooms have been set up in three asylum shelters and supervised by Save the Children employees for a year in each case. A safe place to retreat, age-appropriate activities, developmental stimulation and clear structures allowed the children to regain a sense of normality and security. Save the Children successfully completed the pilot project in 2018. In total, over 1,000 refugee girls and boys were reached and were able to benefit from age-appropriate professional childcare services for up to five days a week. The employees of the operating organizations were trained by Save the Children in the psychosocial care of children and in child protection so that they have been able to continue the program on their own since the project was handed over.
Since 2019, child-friendly spaces and activities have been mandatory for every asylum center at federal level, partly due to Save the Children's successful pilot project. This is a huge step - but not the end of Save the Children's work. Today, Save the Children offers specialist advice, further training and tools for authorities, partner organizations and caregivers in asylum centres - and not just at federal level. This is because there is still an urgent need for improvement in supporting vulnerable children in many municipalities and cantons where child-friendly spaces are not mandatory. Save the Children provides advice to help asylum centers design child-friendly spaces, implement child-friendly activities and develop measures to ensure child protection. Find out more about the work of Save the Children in Switzerland here.
We are delighted to be able to use our partnership to help provide refugee children in Switzerland with the support they urgently need and we look forward to our joint activities in 2020. More on this soon.
