Good Practice in working childrens participation: A Case Study from Brazil1 September 2003 Leslie Groves

In the autumn of 2003, the International Save the Children Alliance commissioned research on the participation of working children. This research aimed to document and share learning on the process of working children's participation in Save the Children supported projects, and to explore the impact of this participation. Seven case study projects have been chosen from Save the Children programmes in five countries. The case study research was preceded and guided by desk-based mapping and analysis of Save the Children's work on the participation of working children across the world. This document presents findings from a Save the Children UK supported programme in Brazil. The focus of this case study is the participation of child domestic workers in the development and dissemination of a rights awareness and advocacy campaign. A core component of the programme was the provision of life skills education and the empowerment and capacity building of participants to ensure that they could, in turn, provide their peers with informal life skills education. The Brazil case is an important example of how to engage childrens participation in consultation, organisation and protagonism through a responsible, appropriate and ethical process. This case study was based on 9 days fieldwork in Brasilia and Recife as well as a review of the relevant literature. Participant observation, interviews and focus group discussions were the main tools used. Informants included the following: 1

Donor staff: Save the Children UK staff in Brazil Project managers and other staff: Implementing partner, CENDHEC or Centro Dom Helder Camara de Estudos e Acao Social Child and adolescent domestic workers involved in the project2 Families of child domestic workers involved in the project Child domestic workers who had attended workshops run by the young domestic workers involved in the project. Trade union members who had been targeted by the dissemination campaign The private advertising company involved in training up the young advocates. Child domestic workers involved in other projects and participating in the 1st National Congress of Child and Adolescent Domestic Workers in Brazil. ILO IPEC Project Co-ordinator of the Child and Adolescent Domestic Workers Programme.

Many thanks to all those in Brazil who provided so much time and energy to ensuring that the lessons from this experience may be shared as widely as possible, particularly to those inspiring young people who have taken the brave and generous step of developing not only their own awareness and skills but of wanting to share these with as many of their peers as possible. 2 It is important to note that most of those interviewed were between 14 and 18. While it is acknowledged that the Convention on the Rights of the Child defines child as being under the age of 18, those interviewed referred to themselves as jovens or young people and to respect this, this report will be largely referring to the participants as young people as opposed to children.

1. Contextual information
Child domestic work is a common, yet highly stigmatised, occupation in Brazil, as in most of the world. The invisible nature of the work means that children are vulnerable to serious hazards that remain untackled by society at large. In addition to the stigma and risk of abuse that may come with domestic work, many young domestic workers are also deprived of an education and other essential life skills training. Consequently self esteem and aspirations for a better future may be very low. Addressing child domestic work has thus been a regional priority for Save the Children UK in South America. According to official statistics, in Pernambuco, the region in Brazil where this programme took place, 17.41% of the total child population is engaged in child work. Of these 6% are engaged in child domestic work. This is a total of 20, 343 children in the region3. These statistics are seen to be an underestimate, particularly when one considers that most child domestic workers work within private homes and are often invisible to researchers. The Initiative The Save the Children- CENDHEC4 child domestic work intervention took place over two and a half years and has been multi-phased, with new phases being developed as learning has increased and as funds have been made available. The programme was initiated as a knowledge building process and has ended up with the development of a network of young domestic workers who aim to spread information and understanding about issues facing them and other child and young domestic workers amongst the wider community and to engage directly in informal life skills education with their peers. It is important to note that this was the first experience that the partner organisation had had of engaging directly in a participatory process with young people, although they had previously provided services to vulnerable children and young people and had worked on a number of community participation activities (see Annex 1). Resources used: Details of the budget, size and time frame of each phase is detailed below. Nine CENDHEC staff members, three journalists and an advertising company were involved in the Save the Children supported Programme. These human resources were also supported by technical support from Save the Children staff. Profile of Participants: It was important that the participants chosen reflected the profile of the wider target group of child and adolescent domestic workers. Thus, 19 of the 20 participants were female, reflecting the gendered nature of the occupation. Participants were between the ages of 13 and 18 and came from socially excluded backgrounds, with low educational levels. Objectives: The main objectives of each phase did not change during implementation but clearly each phase led to a development in the thinking of those planning
3 4

See Correiro Braziliense, Com a Forca do Vento, 10.09.2003, p. 13. The implementing partner, CENDHEC, is a non- governmental organisation set up in 1989. It was developed as a centre for the defence of human rights and provides psychological and socio-legal support to adults, children and young people who have been subject to violence and exploitation. See Annex 1 for further information on the implementing partner.

3 subsequent phases and thus to the development of new objectives. Four interlinked objectives guided all of the phases: To learn about the lives of young domestic workers, from their own points of view and realities. To give public visibility to the issue of child domestic work To provide young people with non-formal life skills training to build their self esteem and knowledge base and to provide them with the capacity to be able to protect themselves. To train the young domestic workers in producing and disseminating advocacy materials to ensure sustainability once the project ended.

The work has taken place in 3 phases and it is worth detailing them here for the purposes of clarity. Henceforth the phases will be referred to by number. Phase 1: nde esta Kelly?/ Where is Kelly? Research, Mobilisation and Support to Child and Adolescent Domestic Workers in Recife Dates: 2001- 2002. Budget: R$ 63, 200/ 15, 000 This Phase consisted of 2 activities: 1. Study on child domestic work in Recife. This involved consultations with 200 child and adolescent domestic workers between the ages of 10 and 17. The research aimed to trace a socio economic and cultural profile of these young people, highlighting the effects of domestic work on their psychosocial and physical development. The report concluded that in order to meet their most basic needs, young domestic workers have to work extremely long hours at the expense of their schooling, are at the risk of physical and emotional abuse and are denied basic social and labour rights. They are one of the most discriminated groups in society, on the basis of their age, gender and race. The vast majority are female and black or mixed race. 2. 13 Socio- educational workshops with 40 young domestic workers involved in the Onde esta Kelly study. Unfortunately, resources were limited so not all children engaged in the research could be involved. The 40 participants were selected on the basis of age, gender, ability to engage constructively in the process and interest. Workshop topics covered included rights, gender, violence, prejudice, sexuality and health, and empowerment. Phase 2: Multiplicando Direitos e Saberes/ Multiplying Rights Awareness and Advocacy Dates: 2002- 2003. Budget: R$ 19, 384/ 4601 This Phase is the focus of this case study and specific details of the process and tools used will be detailed in Part 2.4 below. Of the 40 children involved in the workshops in Phase 1, 20 were selected to engage in Phase 2. Again, resources were limited so not all 40 could be engaged. Selection was based on the following criteria: Resources available Profile: i.e. Age (under 18) and Gender (to ensure representative sample)

4 Methodology: The capacity of the children to participate and conduct multiplication and advocacy work, based on observation in Phase 1, was important to ensuring that the methods would be applicable and effective.

These criteria were made known to the children when it became clear that there would be a Phase 2. The children thus knew that a selection process was underway. This was important to limit the disappointment the children who were not selected would feel. All of the young people, except 3, continued up till the end of Phase 2 and are involved in Phase 3. The three newcomers entered half way through Phase 2 to replace two children who had moved away from Recife and one who had stopped attending and could not be located. Phase 1 had revealed that children could engage with others and that peer to peer work was extremely effective. Phase 2 was thus designed explicitly to take the consultations of Phase 1 forward and to develop a greater role for the children in the organisation of activities and in developing their protagonism skills. The aim of Phase 2 was to: Train young domestic workers in important life skills relating to them, particularly rights awareness training. Train young domestic workers to design and develop materials for the advocacy campaign, in partnership with advertising professionals recruited to train the young people and to develop the final campaign materials. Train young domestic workers in dissemination of campaign materials so that they can continue the dissemination work, in their own time with peers and other community members. Phase 3 Inter-institutional Thematic Group on child domestic work May - October 2003. Budget: R$13, 800/ 3275 This phase aims to build up institutional commitment to tackling the problem of child domestic work. The 20 members of the Group include relevant government departments, such as health and education, ILO-IPEC, UNICEF and NGOs. Child domestic workers are not, however, members. The argument was that the group is inter-institutional and there is not yet a representative institution for child domestic workers. This is an issue which needs to be tackled by the group. Part of the budget for this phase does however include a series of workshops to further the training of the multiplicadores to ensure that they can effectively carry out their dissemination work.

2. The types and process of child participation

2.1 Type of Child Participation All the 7 case studies explored as part of the broader research on working childrens participation aim to classify the type of child participation into one of three categories, as defined by Tolfree in Old Enough to Work, Old Enough to Have a Say: Consultation: Childrens/ young peoples opinions are sought in programme design, implementation, evaluation (i.e. at different stages in the cycle). Organisation: Children/ young people come together around a common problem, issue or causes, to take collective action; this can be to undertake their own event; or to assist in managing, or actually manage, the entire programme or organisation. Protagonism: Children/ young people develop the capacity to express their own rights and needs by developing conceptual and articulation skills, and confidence. This often has a political component whereby children use the media/ take part in demonstrations to express themselves to a wider audience in society. It is also often a group activity. The Brazil case study illustrates that it is not always possible to define the involvement of children as pertaining to one or other category. In fact, it reveals the extent to which participation is a process, with childrens participation moving between categories where most appropriate. As the capacity of staff and children to engage more effectively in participation has developed so has the type of participation in which the young domestic workers engaged. Consultation: In Phase 1, the focus was very much on consultation. Children were consulted during the development of the research study. This consultation was, however, developed on the basis that children and young domestic workers interviewed would then have the opportunity to engage in capacity building workshops, which would then give them the knowledge base to be able to advocate for their rights and to be able to negotiate their working conditions. The processes during this phase were very much adult led but with the use of participatory techniques that the team had learnt through their work with adults. These included using music and games to break down power relations and to enable the children to relax and feel freer to express themselves. Phase 2 built on the participation skills that the young people and staff had developed during Phase1. As the children and young people has already participated in the capacity building workshops, they had the basic information and confidence to be able to participate in more equal consultations. Decision making structures were thus more balanced, with childrens opinions guiding the development of the campaign materials. Organisation: In the evaluation of Phase 1, children involved in the workshops suggested that they develop their own network of multiplicadores, and that they could convey the knowledge that they had received to other young domestic workers. This is a clear example of how childrens involvement in the consultations in Phase 1 allowed them to develop enough confidence in themselves to feel that they could move from being isolated domestic workers, to the organisers of a movement of information transmission and empowerment. Phase 2 was thus developed, with the aim of building up the young peoples capacity to develop their own advocacy materials and to disseminate them, not only to other young domestic workers but also

6 to other stakeholders in society. It was felt, by both staff and children, that this further support was essential and Phase 2 was thus characterised by a joint organisation effort5. While staff provided financial, technical and logistical support, the young people developed their own materials and ran their own workshops, developing their own agendas and manual, in consultation with adult staff (see 2.4 below). Protagonism: In conjunction with the development of childrens capacity to organise activities was the development of their capacity to express their own rights and needs through developing their sense of self esteem and confidence. An important element of the Programme was to develop the young peoples skills for self advocacy or protagonism. This was revealed by the emphasis placed on training the young people in how to develop their own awareness raising campaign and tools, as well as in how to use these tools to be able to advocate with their peers and with the wider community. Their capacity to able to use these skills is revealed by the fact that since their training different participants have been invited by their schools and other organisations to run workshops using their manual as well as to take part in other events, such as the 1st National Congress of child and young domestic workers in Brasilia. In fact, the representative speaker chosen by the 90 children attending the Congress to present their manifesto to the Congress and the Ministers present was one of the participants of the Recife project, revealing the extent to which her peers felt that she had the capacity to represent them appropriately and effectively. Participants desire to engage in greater self advocacy is also revealed by the fact that they requested Phase 2 and the setting up of a network of multiplicadores who could ensure that information and other benefits of the programme could be shared as widely as possible. The young people interviewed during the field research for this report are very clear that they have the desire to be autonomous advocates for and educators of childrens rights, particularly those of young domestic workers, and would like to develop their own proposal for continued action, for a Phase 4. 2.2 Participation and the Project Cycle It is useful to explore at what stages of the project cycle children participate. This adds an extra dimension to the Consultation/ Organisation/ Protagonism distinction. Design: Phase 1 of the project was designed wholly by adults. Phase 2, however, was based on the evaluations that the children had made of Phase 1 and on the consultative research findings of Phase 1. As noted, it was one of the participants who had suggested the idea of multiplicadores and the other participants had concurred that this is what they would like a second phase to involve. The actual writing up of the project design was conducted, however, by adults. Implementation: This was joint with adult facilitators. See Organisation in 2.1 above and Process in 2.4 below. Monitoring: This was wholly conducted by the adult facilitators, on the basis of their observations of the process and what the young informants had told them over the project duration.
5

This management was limited to the project in question and while it had an impact on the organisation (see Section 3 below), the aim was not that the children would be capacity built to take a role in managing the organisation.

7 Evaluation: The evaluation of Phase 1 involved consultations with the young participants. Phase 2 is to be evaluated in December and is likely to be based on consultations with the children.

2.3 Preparation for Participation Engaging young people in a responsible and appropriate participation process requires considerable preparation. This section thus explores some of the considerations involved in ensuring that participation is developed in a way that respects the best interests of young participants. Staff preparation: The partner organisation staff were already well experienced in working in a participatory way, as this is one of the founding principles of the organisation. It was, however, their first experience of engaging children directly in Participation activities. Save the Children thus provided them with technical support, including sharing literature. Unfortunately, there is little literature in Portuguese on the theme, which all staff found frustrating, particularly as there were no resources for translation. Staff were very committed to engaging in a participatory process. In terms of training and building up commitment, older staff, experienced in participatory work with adults, provided technical support to younger staff, and some attended workshops on participation. All those interviewed for this research felt, however, that they needed greater technical support and training to improve their practice. Young peoples preparation: Staff tried to be extremely clear to the children about the objectives involved in the process. There was a lot of discussion with them around these to ensure that all was clear and acceptable to them, which it was. In terms of minimising the risks of participation, a workshop was held with families to ensure that they were aware of the situations facing the children and were comfortable with the process. Links were also developed between the young participants and the domestic workers union to ensure that they can also provide support to the participants. Protecting the identity of participants was also an important step: We had a strong background in legal representation of children, so we were aware of issues such as ensuring that childrens identities were not revealed to the media. The children didnt understand this at first, and couldnt understand why articles about them didnt say who they were. We explained that this was for their protection and then they were happy with the process (CENDHEC staff member). Various procedures involved in the process were also clearly explained to young participants. For example, the selection criteria for selecting 40 participants amongst the 200 research informants and then 20 participants out of the 40 were made clear to all participants and were discussed. The limited time frame and possible outcomes of the project were also made clear to minimise the level of unattainable expectations that the young people may have.

8 Finally, in the monitoring and technical support to the partner, Save the Children ensured that the participation of the young people remained responsible and was appropriate to preparing the children to be able to develop their own actions. 2.4 The Process of Participation The Workshops: During Phase 1, the group of 40 children and young people met every Saturday for the duration of the project for a full 8 hour day of socioeducational workshops. During Phase 2, 20 workshops were held with the participants. These included: 4 workshops on developing the manual content 1 workshop on gender and the International Day of the Woman 2 workshops on communication and how to run a campaign 8 workshops on sexuality and gender 2 psychology workshops focusing on self esteem and identity 1 workshop on labour rights with the domestic workers union 2 workshops on how to disseminate the manual and run workshops using it.

The aim of these workshops was to gradually build up the young peoples capacity for participation, rights awareness, self and peer education and advocacy, through providing them with information and opportunities to develop and practice their newly developed skills in a safe environment. These workshops were important preparation for the young people to be able to engage more effectively and confidently in the development of the campaign and the manual. In addition, one socio-educational workshop was held with parents to inform them as to the aims of the work with the young people and to provide them with some rights awareness training, to enable them to better support their children. The advocacy campaign: This was developed in an educational and participatory manner. A private advertising company developed the promotional campaign materials, on the basis of consultations with the young domestic workers: We had a communication workshop with them to develop the campaign. We talked to them about the different steps involved in developing a campaign and the importance of their participation in the process. They were the clients but also part of the target group. We asked them to draw how they felt when they were working, what they wanted to show. They told us that they were losing their childhood and the opportunity to play, to go to school. They also told us that photos have a greater impact to express their feelings than a cartoon representing a doll. They chose to show themselves as sad rather than happy, as although they didnt want to manipulate people their reality is sad. For us it was very important to have this contact, to see what they were feeling. To understand the contrast between the dark worlds they live in and the lighter world of play and school (Advertising company staff member). In terms of methodology, the first action was to explain the different steps to developing a campaign and how selling a message is different to trying to sell a brand.

9 The young workers were shown examples of advocacy campaigns used to promote various ideological concepts, as opposed to selling particular products. These included breast cancer and cervical cancer awareness campaigns and others. Different dissemination mediums were examined, such as posters, T-shirts, radio and TV campaigns and newspaper articles. Discussions were held around the strengths and weaknesses of each of these campaigns/materials. Discussions were then held around child domestic work campaigns used in other countries. Examples were shown and vivid discussions were held around the messages portrayed. At the end of these discussions the children were quite clear about what they did and did not want the campaign to include. The overriding theme that came out, above the need to access education, a safe working environment, to stop working or other ideas that adults often come up with, was the theme of a lost childhood, of a lack of recreation. The slogan thus became trabalho domestico nao e brincadeira or Child Domestic work is not Fun6. The central aim of the campaign was primarily to raise general awareness amongst a society that normalises child domestic work and to show that there are serious consequences to childrens engagement in such a form of work- not only are they working in difficult conditions and missing out on schooling but they are also missing out on their fundamental childhood rights to recreation and leisure. In terms of the specific content of the campaign, the young people were very clear that they did not wanted to be portrayed by cartoons or dolls. They wanted the campaign to be based on photographic images to reveal that their problems are real and concrete. Staff saw this as a successful indicator of the growing sense of self that the young people were gaining through their involvement in the programme. The logo of Phase 1 had been a doll and the domestic workers had made no objection to this at the time. Through the awareness raising workshops and the recognition by the workers that they had rights and that they need not be ashamed of their work or of their need to work, the young workers came to take ownership of their situation and wanted to portray its dramatic reality vividly, without recourse to suggestion, as the portrayal of themselves as a doll or cartoon appears to do. They now wanted to be recognised by the community as having a face, a body, a gender and an ethnic identity. The specific layout of the tools (TV and radio spots, posters etc.) was developed by the private advertising company on the basis of ideas developed by the young domestic workers in the workshops. The storyboard for the publicity television spot was shown to the young participants and their approval was solicited before filming. Posters were then displayed in buses, trains, churches, supermarkets, schools and NGO offices. Agreements were made with the different bodies that they would display the posters for free for one month. 3 radio spots were developed, along with a longer 15 minute radio programme which is still being used by community radio. A short television advert was also developed, highlighting the difference between the childhood of young domestic workers and that of those belonging to the families for whom they work. Seeing the results of their participation was extremely empowering for the young people (see Impact in Part 3 below).
6

This is also a play on a popular local expression which is used in a complimentary way to refer to adults who take their work seriously and which can be translated as He/she doesnt play/ have fun at work. The irony is that children should be having fun, as opposed to working.

10

The manual: The life stories of young domestic workers were collected and collated into an advocacy manual. The process leading up to the development of the manual is an interesting example of the participatory process in action. A variety of methods were used to engage and empower the participants. These included theatre, puppet theatre and drawing to open the children up to discussion, to help them relax and express themselves. The puppet theatre brought up issues and questions to stimulate discussion. In terms of developing the manual, story telling had been seen to be a valuable method for engaging young people, and was thus chosen to be the method used for the manual: Before using this methodology we tested it with the young people. We invented some stories and used them as a tool for engaging them in focus group discussions. They responded very well to these and we saw that short stories based on realities worked. We saw how they participated enthusiastically and remembered stories rather than dryer more technical information. They could associate with the characters which helped their memories. We could see that their participation increased as they became more concentrated and focused. With other methods they would be fidgety or bored but with the stories they concentrated and engaged more in discussions, disagreeing or agreeing with certain points. They were also more relaxed. (Project Staff member). Thus it was agreed that stories would be used as a basis for the advocacy manual. While the children did not themselves define this method, their response to it enabled the adult staff to choose it as a tool. The young people were informed of this aim and were then asked to relate their own stories, using a pretend microphone to formalise the event and to make them feel valued. These stories were recorded with permission of the young people and the most common scenarios and phrases were used to develop a series of new stories, which would be anonymous to protect the individuals involved but which would reflect the majority of experiences. The young people were then trained in using the manuals to facilitate their own workshops. They developed their own agenda and have so far led two workshops. In the first workshop, 16 project participants facilitated a workshop for 139 other child domestic workers. The funds were provided by IPEC and logistical support was provided by CENDHEC. A second workshop was also held, funded by SC UK, for 20 other domestic workers. Three children have also been invited by an NGO supporting a community radio station run by children and young people, to disseminate the manual contents to the young journalists for them to then disseminate the information by radio. The process was felt to be extremely successful, with the participatory process ensuring that the end product was a valuable tool for all involved, particularly the young participants. As one staff member stated: We wanted to do a useful piece of work, not something that is just pretty. We wanted a tool. We can now see that it is a useful tool, this is wonderful. You ask people about the manual and they remember its content, then you know it is reaching them. It is a tool for the girls to use for dialogue, to talk, to feel

11 represented. Everyone loves the way it looks and is presented. We met with the girls to show them the first draft. They didnt like the colour or the presentation. They showed this by their silence and their expressions. It was more expensive to use colour but we saw that this was what they wanted and thought it important that they use the document. When they saw the coloured version they loved it, they were delighted. We could see this in their pride of the document. They also commented on the first draft of the cartoons and gave some important feedback. For example, in one of the diagrams the girl is up a ladder, they didnt like this as felt it diminished her and made her work look less worthy than others, so we removed the ladder. A workshop was held for them to comment on the texts. One girl read the manual in 3 nights after full days of working. She also remembered the content. This showed the extent to which she enjoyed it. (Project staff member) This pride in the document was also very clear during participant observation of one of the workshops facilitated by two of the young participants during the research for this case study. Cost Benefit Analysis of the participation process: Overall, Phase 2 had a budget of $R19, 384/ 4, 601, although staff costs were funded from elsewhere 7. This is a relatively low sum compared to impact, highlighted in Section 3 below. There were two main costs8 involved in engaging the young people in the participatory process: Cost of Workshops: These involved meeting staff time, cost of materials, food and transport for the participants. The costs of running these workshops was far higher than expected in terms of staff time and workshop costs. As a result of this, less workshops could be held than hoped for, in order not to run over budget. Despite this, all involved felt that the value for money of the participatory process was clear, with a far wider impact than could have been obtained, for the same monetary value but without the participation of the young people. A monthly grant of $R 40/ 8.90 was given to each participant to ensure that they could participate if they chose not to continue working as a result of their engagement in the Programme. This grant was essential to enabling the young people to participate in the process and overall was a relatively small sum, compared, for example, to the costs of printing materials for the campaign. The benefits of the participation of the young people in the process far outweigh the small costs of providing the grant.

The end results achieved through the participatory process are felt to be of extremely high quality and are more likely to be sustainable over time. For example, the development of the manual was produced at low cost and has had an important impact so far. It could be argued that adult staff could have developed a similar manual at a far lower cost. The end product would, however, have been very different. It would have just been one document, which potentially could have missed the needs of the
7

While the project was mostly funded by Save the Children UK, it is important to note that most of the staffing costs for this project were funded by ILO- IPEC who were also funding the partner organisation to carry out intervention activities with families and children, as well as funding the provision of school grants to the children involved in the Multiplicando Direitos e Saberes project. 8 Printing the campaign materials and manual, while based on a participatory process, are costs which would have existed regardless of whether their design had been participatory or not.

12 young advocates who would need to use it. Through the participatory process, not only has a manual been developed but it is owned by the young people who developed it and is therefore more likely to not only be used but also to be used effectively. Furthermore, the young participants are more likely to be able to develop their own future actions as a consequence of the learning that they have gained in the process. The impacts on their personal development have also been important (see section 3 below). The development of the manual was thus a process of learning, empowerment, and participation in organisation and protagonism, as opposed to just the preparation of a single document. Staff interviewed confirmed that the results in relation to the costs are excellent value for money, and in fact cheap. Simply producing documents in a vacuum is not seen to be effective, as people often do not read, let alone use, them. Use is increased with the production of a high quality document, developed through a long term participatory process. The manual will be used in many different actions and future phases of the Programme and therefore has a longevity which makes the value for money even better. 2.5 Challenges of the Process The short duration of the Project: The concept of childrens participation as more than consultation is relatively new. Staff felt that they need more time to develop the concept and consider what the best ways to organise young people are. They suggested that the Programme needs time to mature and that it is important to ensure that there is a next phase of consolidation on using the manual to multiply rights and knowledge as well as in the development of the network of multiplicadores who can share information and train others up to also be multiplicadores. Furthermore, the short timeframe has been problematic as the demand for expansion is massive, not only from participants but from the peers and families. The intense nature of participatory activities of this type mean that the numbers that can be engaged at any one time are limited. If reaching large numbers of young people is important, then a longer term time frame is needed to ensure that larger numbers of young people can be engaged. Logistical needs of the young people: The Programme has created a somewhat false situation for the growth of a participatory movement in that the logistical and support needs of the young people have all been met by the Programme. The young people are now determined to develop their own independent network but are reliant on staff for logistical support in the development of this network. For example, most dont have access to telephones to make calls to each other or the finances to pay for transport to meet each other as they all live in different locations. The most important issue that came up for the young people when asked what they would need to set up their own autonomous network was space, a place to meet, as well as other forms of logistical support. The desire is there and through the projects the young people feel that they have been sufficiently empowered and capacity built to be technically and emotionally able to develop their own advocacy work. The logistics remain problematic for them, however. Once the Programme cannot support the young people any longer it will be difficult for them to provide such logistical support themselves. One on the one

13 hand, it is important not to create a dependence on this and to ensure that participants can find creative ways to tackle logistical needs. On the other hand, it is also essential that the organisations instigating the development of participatory capacities ensure that they have a long term commitment to the group of young people so that they can support them until the group can find alternative sources of logistical and financial support. The importance of ensuring that childrens rights to participation do not supersede their rights to protection. This is an important concern which relates to some of the risks associated with participation, and the constant tension (evolving with age and maturity) between the childs right to protection, guidance, and sound preparation for adult life, and his/her right to be consulted and express his/her views. The Programme attempted to address these tensions in the following ways: Financial Protection: Participants were provided with a grant to protect them from losing out on financial resources through their engagement in the programme. This loss could have occurred through the young people losing their jobs as a result of time taken out to participate in activities or the employer refusing to allow the participant to engage in activities of this nature. Working with families: A workshop was held with participants families to encourage acceptance of childrens growing capacity to participate, to reduce the risks of dispute and to ensure that families are aware of the risks facing their children and of alternatives. Linking young people with other social protection programmes: For example, the governments school grants programme and the ILOs vocational training programme. Providing responsible adult support: Staff have learnt that it is important to ensure the presence of a responsible adult to ensure that the children are protected at all times. Society as yet does not have a culture of respecting the rights of children so there can be important negative consequences for child participants. It is thus essential to ensure that children are adequately prepared for their preparation and that they have a safe forum to raise any concerns that they may have or to seek redress for any negative consequences that they may experience. Transparency and clarity: It was important to ensure that expert facilitation was provided and that there is transparency and clarity around objectives and processes.

The risk of overburdening child participants: Staff were very clear that the children were rights holders as opposed to duty bearers and that while they had an important role to play should they choose it, they were not responsible for social transformation: Social change is not the responsibility of children. It is thus important to ensure that one does not replace child domestic work with social work. This is a risk of engaging children in advocacy and other participatory activities. It is essential to be clear to the children that the situation is not all their responsibility. They can take certain actions, but this does not excuse adults of their responsibility to ensure that the children do not feel overburdened. For

14 this reason, workshops were also held with the parents of the child participants to inform them of the rights of their children and of the protection that they are entitled too. The parents can thus share some of the burden of their children (Save the Children staff member, Brazil programme). The inclusion and exclusion of certain groups and/or individuals; issues of negative and positive discrimination: singling children out.

The Programme tackled one of the most socially excluded groups in Brazil. Child domestic workers are discriminated against by virtue of the fact that they are young and that most are black, female and from the poorest social classes. The children were selected during the original Onde Esta Kelly research. Researchers went to public places where domestic workers could be found, such as the market areas or public squares, and also contacted schools and social/ health workers to identify the children. Families were also approached directly. The aim was to target the most vulnerable. Staff interviewed felt that this was successfully achieved. Ensuring that there was no sense of discrimination within the group was an important element of the development of the programme. In fact, a key outcome of the Programme was the development of a sense of group for the children, rather than developing their skills to act as individuals, with the consequent risk of them becoming isolated stars. As one staff member revealed: Often protagonism can lead to estrellismo (star sensation). It is thus essential to ensure that we develop the capacity of participants to think collectively, as a group, as opposed to as individual stars. It was important that all members of the group felt included and part of a mutually supporting group, which would eventually become a bigger movement or network. Efforts were made to ensure that all participants felt equally valued and that when some participants were selected for participation activities, such as the Congress in Brasilia, the selection criteria were clear and that the final selection choices were discussed to ensure that all felt comfortable with them. As one girl interviewed stated: I was obviously upset not to be going but when we discussed it and I thought about it I realised that the others had made more efforts, had gone to all the workshops, and deserved it more than I did. I think that the right choices were made and that my time will come. In terms of discrimination within the group of participants itself, outside of their relationships with the adult staff, the young people interviewed affirmed very strongly that they felt that there was no discrimination or exclusion within the group, as the group identity was so strong: Some of us may have greater affinity with others but we are a group and we all support each other and help each other. If someone is too shy to talk we help them. We all respect each other. (Young participant).

15 This was confirmed by those children who had felt unable to participate at the beginning of the experience due to shyness or other reasons (see Part 3 on Impact below). Scope for Improvement: Stakeholders interviewed felt the participatory process had been an important learning experience for all involved. There were only a few recommendations for improving the process: Greater resources should be budgeted for to enable the children to facilitate more multiplicador workshops and other activities and to ensure that the multiplicadores can then train other multiplicadores to the same level. The young participants felt that the process should be widened to include towns outside of Recife. Future phases should involve children more actively in the design of the proposal. In terms of methodology, staff would like to see children more involved in public spaces to widen their protagonism activities to include Regional Forums on Childrens Rights, and Councils for the Protection of human rights.

16

3. The impacts of childrens participation

It is important to note that this section is not looking at the impact of the programme generally, but is specifically exploring the impact of Participation activities within the programme on the children themselves, on Save the Children and partner organisations and on the wider society. 3.1 Impact on the lives of children and young people This section will explore the benefits and disadvantages of childrens participation for the lives of participants. Impact on Work Most children stopped working once they started participating in the Programme. There are two complementary reasons for this and it is worth highlighting them both, as although only the second reason is directly related to the impact of participation activities, the first reason is a necessary pre-condition to enabling the participation activities. The first reason is that each participant received a stipend or a grant of 8.90 per month to ensure that they could dedicate at least one day a week to project activities. This educational grant enabled participants to stop having to work to meet their basic survival needs. The fact that this minimal sum did enable them to stop working reveals that they really were only working to meet their basic needs, as opposed to for any other reasons9. The second reason, more relevant to exploring the impact of the participation activities, was that the young people felt that the activities were so engaging and valuable to them that they preferred to take the risk of not working and earning money to be able to participate in the programme. Their increased self esteem and sense of a future, as detailed below, enabled them to feel that they could engage in other activities, such as schooling, and that they were not limited to a life in domestic work: Through the project I realised that domestic work wasnt giving me a future and that I needed to study to have options in the future, so I stopped work and the grant helped me to do this. The knowledge that I have is more important than the grant though. I would continue schooling even without the grant (Young participant). Thus, while the immediate reason for children being able to stop work was the stipend, their consequent engagement in the programme activities and their increased sense of self and of future options, has resulted in their continued withdrawal from work, with or without the stipend. In terms of childrens employment prospects, both the children and their mothers felt that the development of the young peoples participation skills meant that they now have far better options for the future as they have the confidence to be critical of their work and believe that they do have alternatives. The mothers interviewed stated that they had all started working, mostly in domestic work, from a very early age and had
9

Mothers interviewed also suggested that the children stopped working as they didnt have time to work anymore due to project activities and, more importantly, to the fact that through the project many had also gone back to school (the Programme linked participants in with the government school grant programme and with the ILO school grant programme).

17 remained isolated in this highly stigmatised work for the rest of their lives. Through the development of their participatory capacities, the children have now seen that they are able to choose their futures and to engage in other employment: The children have become more critical of their work and of the possibility of negotiating labour conditions. They have become aware that they are subjects of rights and consequent responsibilities. Their capacity to engage in dialogue with employers has improved. I dont think that this has had an immediate impact in terms of gaining appropriate contracts and minimum wage as there is not a culture of respect for domestic work but in little ways there have been differences. For example, the children can say to the employer OK you are not giving me the minimum wage but how about time off for school? (Mother of a young domestic worker participant). This is confirmed by the girls interviewed for this report, who stated that they can now ask for time off to attend school and project activities. The problem is that the demand for informal domestic work is significantly higher than the demand for formal domestic work. With more and more women working, but with extremely low wages, the demand is increasing but without the resources to pay for the legalisation of employees i.e. through paying their NI contributions and minimum wage. The linking of the unions with the young people was thus important to ensure that they are aware of their labour rights. It also showed them that domestic work can be a respectable form of work, entitled to the presence of a union and legal support. It is also important to note that the engagement of children in participatory activities linked to the programme may also have an indirect impact on their work and the work of other young domestic workers through their influence on wider society, such as the trade unions and employers associations, as detailed in 3.3 below. Impact on Psycho-social, emotional and cognitive development The impact on young participants development was felt to be extremely important: - Increased self-esteem, knowledge, assertiveness, and higher aspirations The girls interviewed stated that as a result of the development of their participation capacities they now feel more important and valued. They have realised that they are making an important contribution to society and need not be ashamed about their work. They now have a mutually supportive group, who can listen and advise on problems. The following quotes reveal the extent to which they feel more valued and confident: Before the project I felt that domestic workers had no value. Now I know that they do. We have learnt to respect domestic work and other forms of work. We have also learnt that people have the right to be different, to their own religion, to music tastes. (Young Participant). Now she speaks to everyone, before she was very shy. Now she even spoke to people in Brasilia! (Mother of participant). She was a very difficult teenager. Now she has hope. She was a rebel before but now she is calmer (Mother of participant).

18

She has more of a sense of self, of responsibility for her future. Before she felt humiliated by her work. Now she goes to school, she can get a better job to sustain herself and to sustain me. (Mother of participant). In terms of racism I always thought that white people thought they were superior to me. Now I know that many dont. (Young Participant). I was supershy before. Now I am more open and can express myself. I have learnt that there is a Day for the Domestic Worker. I never knew this. Being in the group I realised that I couldnt let the others do the talking for me always. I had to take the risk to talk out, and take my turn. Young Participant. Childrens access to information has also increased through their involvement in the workshops and they have been able to share this information with others: Before we couldnt talk about sexually transmitted diseases and things because I was her mother. Now she teaches me! (Mother of participant). - Increased capacity to advocate for their rights/ that of their peers Through their involvement in the project, the young domestic workers have developed a strong commitment to advocacy work and to sharing their knowledge with others. Along with their increased knowledge, participants feel that their increased self esteem and confidence has greatly increased their capacity to run successful advocacy and peer education work. The experience of leading workshops was a major contrast from who the girls felt they were at the beginning of the project. We were shy and timid and felt worthless. Now we are running workshops and going to Brasilia! (Young Participant) The launch of the media campaign was conducted by the young multiplicadores to an audience of over 200 adults. Groups of them presented different items, the advert, the poster, the manual, the radio spots and this had a strong impact on the adult participants. Furthermore, the young people have attended and presented at other events, including the Day of the Domestic Worker. They also requested posters and other materials to take to school, without having to be asked by staff, and have made presentations to their classes and have been asked to do more. These are extremely important indicators of the positive sense of self and of empowerment that the young people have gained through their engagement in the project. Finally, the workshops held so far for dissemination of the manual have revealed that the young people not only have the capacity to engage in advocacy work but are proud to do so: We are very proud to present our manual, it is a very serious piece of work. (Young Participant) - Increased Opportunities for leisure and play

19 An important positive impact for the participants was the development of friendships based on shared experiences and on the common process of empowerment and increasing ability to participate. The opportunity to be with these friends was seen to be an important opportunity for leisure and fun: Now we have more leisure. Coming to the workshops is leisure for us. We have friends. Before we were mainly indoors in the house looking after children. We play here and have fun. Outside of the project we are also more sociable. Our mothers let us out more, they have more confidence in us. (Young Participant). Also she has found new friends, they can talk together, help each other with their problems, exchange life stories, some are in better situations, some in worse. This contact is important. They can talk to each other without shame. (Mother of participant). - Improved Relationships with peers and capacity to make sound decisions The facilitation of the workshops with other young domestic workers was a powerful experience for the girls interviewed: We thought that they wouldnt respect us but they did. And they really participated even though in the morning sessions (run by adults) they didnt. They were really interested and awake in our workshop. It was great! (Young Participant) Now we are confident to demand things if things are not as they should be (Young Participant) At school I can now talk, I can ask questions in public. When my friends and teachers asked me why suddenly I started talking, I told them about the NGO and that now I dont worry about what others will think if I speak. They noticed the change. (Young Participant) At school people come up to me and ask me about what I have been doing in the project. They ask me questions. That had never happened before. I feel proud and recognised. (Young Participant) Impact on the role of children and young people in society This is closely linked to relationships with peers and family above. In addition, participants feel that their role in society has changed from that of an invisible and highly stigmatised child domestic worker, to advocate and group facilitator, teaching other children about their rights, developing campaign materials and attending regional and national meetings. 7 of the 11 Recife child domestic worker representatives invited to the Brasilia 1st National Congress for child and adolescent domestic workers were involved in the CENDHEC-Save the Children Programme and the elected representative for all the regions was one of the project participants. This reveals their growing visibility and status in society.

20 The development of childrens skills in consultation, organisation and protagonism through their engagement in the Programme has also had an important impact on their relationships with their families. She now talks to her brothers and sisters and to me. She is a lot less aggressive and more respectful of us. She now has a vision for her future, she is seeing life differently. She has higher hopes for her future (Mother of participant). Through the project she talked with people who spoke her language, who understood her stress and frustrations, now she can talk to me about her problems. (Mother of participant). She has developed a lot, she is more understanding now. It was very good that the project involved the mothers. This helped us to know about different options and how to help them. (Mother of participant). We realised that as a group we were all nervous and help each other. Before I would be in my own world, in my room, now I can meet new people and talk to my brothers and sisters. My relationships with my family and friends are better, I can talk to them. (Young Participant) Impact on children who attend workshops run by young domestic workers The young domestic workers who attended the workshops led by the young project participants felt that the fact that they were being led by their peers was extremely effective. They felt that they engaged more and understood the activities as it was in our language, run by people like us, who had also shared our experiences. They also felt that it was more an exchange than a lesson, with young facilitators learning from participants and vice versa. It was important for the workshop participants that the young facilitators had learnt information about rights and were then passing it on. This gave participants the desire to also pass it on to others. Hence the multiplier effect seems to be effective in practice. Those interviewed all retained a clear memory of what they had learnt, for example, that although they have to work for survival there are limits to what is acceptable and that there are organisations where they can go for help if they feel that their rights are being violated. This reveals that the participation of young people in organising and running workshops has been effective and has had an impact. The one weakness that workshop participants felt existed was that the young facilitators didnt have an in depth knowledge of some of the details of the content when complicated questions were asked. For this reason, they felt that it was still important to have an adult observer present to substantiate if necessary. Adult presence was also felt to be necessary to ensure that workshop attendees respected the young facilitators and remained disciplined. In terms of potential negative impacts of such a process, it is important to note that all informants strongly stated that there had not been any negative impacts of their involvement in the project10. They stated that the experience had been extremely
10

They did cite the case of one girl who attended the Brasilia conference, but from a different project, who had been told by her employer that she had to choose between work and going to Brasilia. She

21 positive, although when pushed some admitted that they had experienced jealousy by peers who also wanted to be in the project but that this had not been problematic for them. One girl also said that her boyfriend got annoyed sometimes as she spent all her Saturdays in project activities rather than with him. While not a negative impact as such, it is worth noting that in response to this question, both staff and children interviewed stated that they felt there should be more time to continue building on the childrens budding capacities. They felt the project should be longer term. 3.2 Impact on the management and operations of case study programmes This was the first experience that Save the Children in Brazil has had in taking a processual approach to childrens participation, rather than engaging them in one off participatory exercises, such as the participatory evaluation of the government child labour programme. It was felt to have had a great impact on the Programme: The impact for us has been huge. We have learnt that participation must be a process and not just a one off event. You cannot just engage in participation for change in a closed room. Participation is not just a right but is an opportunity to influence policy. We therefore need to go outside of our institutional walls and take children directly to the policy makers, as we did in Brasilia (Save the Children staff member Brazil Programme). Staff stated that they have now learnt that it is possible to integrate participatory activities in all their work and that future PCPs (Project Concept Papers) will include far more participatory activities. The learning from this exercise has thus been very important for future work. Furthermore, in terms of the reputation of the Organisation, Save the Children was the first international organisation to address the issue of child domestic work in Brazil as well as to address the issue in a participatory way. This has led to it being seen as an important resource for other organisations working in the field, including ILO and UNICEF. The experience was also extremely positive for CENDHEC staff, one of whom described the participatory process as a: New, very stimulating experience. We had been used to working with adults so this was a challenge and a new approach. It was a surprise for me as I thought that it would be more difficult but in fact it was very stimulating as the responses from and discussions with the children were more rapid and dynamic than with adults. The feedback from families has also been very rewarding as they have seen changes in the ways the girls relate to other family members. During the process, the children started to open up, question, challenge us and what we were planning and giving their opinions. (CENDHEC staff member) With regard to staff attitude and skills, both CENDHEC and Save the Children feel that their capacity to encourage the participation of working children in consultation, organisation and protagonism activities has increased significantly through the experience and that they thus feel more confident to increase their experience of
chose to go to Brasilia and lost her job.

22 working in a more participatory manner with young people. They have realised that Participation is about more than consultation and that future actions should involve young people more in decision making, design and monitoring. Engagement in the participation elements of the programme served to confirm a lot of the beliefs that staff already had in the capacity of children to participate in decisions which affect them and to advocate for their own rights. In addition, however, staff realised that the theme of participation is extremely complicated and that they have a lot more to learn. For example, staff realised the responsibility that they have to provide alternatives to children engaged in participatory activities: We tell them that they have rights, that these are being abused but then what alternatives can we offer them? (CENDHEC Staff member). Furthermore: We have learnt the extent to which adult facilitators have an important role to play in the process, in preparing children to take responsibility for their participation, and in ensuring important inter-generational links. (Save the Children staff member Brazil Programme). Staff have also had to overcome some of their own prejudices. For example, the young participants wanted the t-shirts to be yellow. Yellow, however, represents the colour of the extreme right wing political party in the region and staff really did not want to be identified with this colour. They did abide with the childrens decision, however, and as a result a lot of joking comments were made to the adult CENDHEC staff in terms of the colour choice and how it was against their institutional identity and normal beliefs. In terms of staff morale, the journalist involved in developing the manual and running workshops reveals her positive experience of working in a participatory manner with the young people: It was a great experience. We adapted a methodology that we had used once before with adults. We were a diverse group, with social workers, art educators and journalists. We tried to link an emotional approach with a rational approach, usually people focus on the rational approach. The young people were very open to the work and interested. It was difficult work as we were dealing with tough topics, we therefore tried to include some games and fun, while ensuring that the focus on the topic remained. They are more open than adults, more ready to talk about their emotions and realities. We realised that they are teenagers, like we were, like others are regardless of class, race or occupation. They have the same concerns around Sex and masturbation for example. We succeeded in talking about these things so we were very happy. This was the first time that we had seen a document that really reflected the realities of the children, while fully protected them by using different names and stories. The document will also be relevant to different young working people.

23 3.3 Broader impact on the policies and practices of other stakeholders e.g. other NGOs, governments etc. Media awareness, and consequently, public access to information on child domestic work, has increased massively as a result of the Programme11. The direct engagement of children in advocacy work, alongside other programme activities, has attracted a significant level of media attention, particularly in terms of the 1st Congress of Child and Adolescent domestic workers in Brasilia. The participatory activities have thus facilitated the transformation of the issue of child domestic work from an invisible topic to one that is now far more visible. It is likely that this was an important contributory factor to the setting up of a national thematic task group on child domestic work12. An environment has thus been created for the development of greater participatory action to tackle child work. Another key impact has been showing others that childrens participation in consultation, organisation and protagonism is possible and can lead to effective results. Members of the Inter-institutional Task Group on domestic work have been exposed to the process and have learnt a lot. Time will tell, however, whether these organisations will develop their own participatory activities with children. The Programme has also had a significant impact on the trade union of domestic workers. Until the union engaged with the young people they did not realise the depth of the problem, or the risks the children were facing. Two workshops were run with the unions to familiarise the children and young domestic workers about their labour rights and to develop links between the young people and the unions outside of this limited project. We were very happy to work with them, to help them to protect themselves, to help them feel supported. It was hard for us to get hold of these young people before so this was a great opportunity. We realised that it was a serious problem, and we learnt about their hopes for alternative careers, as teachers and doctors. We didnt know this. It would appear that the Union is now committed to supporting the young workers, outside of the project itself. For example, one project participant was invited to assist the union in making a presentation to the Municipal Chambers during the week of the day of the Domestic Worker. Furthermore, the Union have now given a meeting space to meet the girls request to continue with their advocacy work once the Programme stops. An indirect impact can also be seen in the latest newsletter of the union, where, for the first time, there is a large section on child domestic workers, referring to the law which states that only over 16s can engage in domestic work. The impact of the campaign has also been important for the union itself. Before the campaign, members were not bringing up the issue of child domestic work but since the campaign, people have been asking for information and for help if their children
11

In terms of sustainability, it will be important, however, to ensure that there is a continuity to the campaign so that new domestic workers and employers remain aware of the issues. 12 Also, the government programme on the worst forms of child labour (PETI) now provides school grants to child domestic workers, as a direct result of the Save the Children- CEDHEC programme but this is not necessarily as a result of the participatory elements of the programme per se.

24 are working. The union has been able to help one woman, for example, negotiate with her childrens employer that she gets time off for schooling. A final impact in terms of wider society, has been the recent engagement of the Association of Domestic Employers. They were invited to participate from the start of the project but appeared reluctant to attend any meetings. Following the launch of the advocacy campaign, as presented by the young workers themselves, the Association has come forward and expressed an interest in taking part in the work. 4. Conclusions The Brazil case study is an extremely valuable and inspiring example of how an organisation can engage in a process of developing young peoples participation in a cost-effective, appropriate and ethical manner, in order to have a concrete impact on their current and future well being. Process: The key learning from this Brazil example is that adult-instigated participation is a process that takes time and commitment, from adults as well as young people. Participation needs to be seen to be a fluid process, whereby different types of participation, such as consultation, organisation or protagonism, may be appropriate at different times and in different contexts. A long term commitment to the participation of young people is essential. Participation takes time, and is a process whereby young people may need substantial logistical support from professional adults. An educational stipend is an important first step in enabling the young people to reduce their workload or to stop working in order to be able to engage in participatory activities. Adults need time and training to develop their capacities to ensure that the participation activities that they instigate are conducted in the safest and most appropriate manner, respecting the rights of young people to protection and the socio-cultural realities of the environment in which the young people exist. Impact: Where activities are conducted in an appropriate and responsible manner, the impact of developing childrens participation capacities can be extremely high, not only for the young people themselves but also for the organisations working with them and for different elements in the wider society. Despite the time cost, participation is an extremely cost effective intervention strategy. Where participation leads to the development of a product, such as the self-education and advocacy manual in this case, it has been seen that the product will be of a much higher quality and more appropriate to the needs of young people than if it had been developed in a non-participatory way. Where the purpose of participation is to empower young people and to develop their citizenship skills then it has been seen that young people are very capable of gaining the necessary self-esteem and confidence to be able to consequently develop their own actions and ideas and to use these to educate others.

25 Annex 1: The Implementing Partner The implementing partner, CENDHEC, is a non- governmental organisation set up in 1989. It was developed as a centre for the defense of human rights and provides psychological and socio-legal support to adults, children and young people who have been subject to violence and exploitation. The organisation has 40 associate partners with a general assembly and elected management committee of 11, an elected executive committee of 4 and an elected treasury committee of 3. The structures are thus democratic and consultative. Prior to the Save the Children project, CENDHEC had been an important actor in the regional development of the federal child labour programme. They had been engaged to act as co-ordinators of the Federal Commission on the Elimination of Child Labour which had the aim of implementing the federal Programme on the Worst Forms of Child Labour (PETI) in the Pernambuco region. The organisation was then also responsible for co-ordinating the State Forum on the eradication of child labour. The Save the Children supported Programme on child domestic work was, however, their first experience of working on the theme of child domestic work. In terms of participatory activities, Participation is one of the key themes of CENDHEC but to date this has mainly involved engaging the participation of excluded adults and developing their organisational capacities to advocate for their rights. With regard to direct work with children, CENDHEC works for children in terms of providing child victims of violence with legal and psychological support. This experience was the first opportunity that CENDHEC had had, however, to engage children directly in participation activities.