Representatives of the Foundation attended the 41st International Symposium on Child Abuse in Huntsville, which brings together experts from around the world to share their knowledge, experiences, and advances in the fight against child abuse and sexual assault of children and adolescents.
Amparo y Justicia Foundation had the opportunity to participate in the 41st International Symposium on Child Abuse, one of the most important global conferences on child abuse and sexual assault against children and adolescents.
This event, organized by the National Children’s Advocacy Center (NCAC), brought together international experts in the fight against child abuse and sexual assault, providing a key space for knowledge exchange and collaboration.
Amparo y Justicia’s presence at this event reaffirms its commitment to the protection of children and the promotion of best practices in the training of interviewers and trainers within the Chilean justice system.
Key meetings
During the symposium, Yohanna Douglas and Maísa Valdivia, psychologists from the Training team, held productive meetings with the director and members of the training team at the NCAC. The purpose of these meetings was to share experiences and explore new strategies to strengthen continuous training processes.
In this context, the “Resource Center” of Amparo y Justicia Foundation was presented and analyzed, a platform developed to support the continuous training of interviewers and trainers within the framework of the Law on Videotaped Interviews. This project was positively valued by the American team, highlighting its potential as a valuable contribution to the community of interviewers in Chile. As a result, various collaborations were agreed upon, in which the NCAC team will support the creation of content and improvements to this platform for effective remote training processes.
In addition, a meeting was held with Sam Marion, a therapist specializing in neurodivergencies and autism, to establish a collaboration on new strategies for conducting videotaped investigative interviews in cases involving children and adolescents with autism or other neurodivergencies. It was agreed that the expert will collaborate with the Foundation in providing specialized material on this topic.
The experience
Yohanna Douglas, psychologist in the Training area of Amparo y Justicia, highlights the significance of this event and states, “Attending the NCAC International Symposium on Child Abuse was an enriching experience that allowed me to further delve into topics such as videotaped interviews, child abuse and suspicious death investigations, and self-care measures for those working in these areas. All of these contribute to seeking improvements in the justice system, and consequently, safeguarding the well-being of children and adolescents.”
Furthermore, the expert believes that “this event was a great opportunity to learn from experts around the world, exchange experiences, and explore new approaches to investigating violence against children and adolescents.”
For her part, Maísa Valdivia, psychologist in the Training area of Amparo y Justicia, emphasizes the importance of professional development: “Participating in this conference has been an invaluable opportunity to update and incorporate knowledge through the presentations of various experts.” Among the topics reviewed, the following stand out: the approach to videotaped interviews in cases involving individuals with autism or neurodivergencies, strategies for interviewing individuals with disabilities, best practices in investigative interviews, among others.
Valdivia also highlights that “these learnings will be essential to continue supporting interviewers and trainers in their work within the framework of the Law on Videotaped Interviews, thereby contributing to ensuring proper access to justice for children and adolescents who must interact with the Chilean justice system.”
