Down to Zero / Building Back Better- Dominican Republic SUMMARY: 

The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the sexual exploitation of children (SEC) in the Dominican Republic.  To strengthen child protection systems and mechanisms, and build back better from the aftermath of Covid-19, the Down to Zero alliance will implement the Building Back Better programme. It is implemented by Plan International and DCI ECPAT and we will work with children and youth, parents and community leaders, actors in the child protection system and businesses. We will push for specialized services for victims and will support children, youth mobilizers and families by raising awareness, improving life skills and increasing economic resilience in the fight against SEC. The programme will help ensure that reporting, referral and coordination happens safely and effectively and that services are gender sensitive. This activity forms part of the Building Back Better (BBB)  in times of Covid-19, Fighting SEC on the Rise programme. The programme will work in 12 countries in Latin America and South and South East Asia: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, and the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Bangladesh and Nepal. The selected countries have particular high risks of SEC as well as compromised capacity of the child protection system. Root causes are lack of livelihood causing poverty, community norms and values with regard to gender and sexual exploitation of children and youth, particularly girls, disrupted family structures,  authorities that neglect the issue and weak reporting of cases, increasing tourism and ICT's. 
They are highly affected by the Covid-19 related trends, with the impact of travel and tourism being an integral part of their context. The programme will also address cross-border SEC such as along the Colombia Peru, Brazil-Bolivia-Peru and India-Nepal-Bangladesh borders. The overall impact of the program is that  children and youth are better protected when at risk or victim of sexual exploitation, during and in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.

There are 5 outcome areas defined in our Result Framework.  

1. Children (in particular victims and those at risk of SEC) are able to access specialized services that protect them, help them rehabilitate, reintegrate and reduce their vulnerability to SEC in the context of Covid-19
2 Children and youth are able to advocate for continued SEC prevention and response in the context of Covid-19
3 Parents, caregivers, and community leaders are strengthened to provide a protective shield around children against SEC, in the context of Covid-19
4 Actors in the Child Protection System are strengthened in multi-stakeholder settings to prevent and advocate for protection from SEC, in the context of Covid-19
5 Intergovernmental bodies at regional and international level, governments and the private sector prioritize SEC within the wider child protection agenda in building back better during and in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic

The intervention strategies range from direct service delivery, to capacity building and lobby & advocacy. The BBB program builds on the DtZ 1 and the VfC program in which youth have been mobilized against SEC, youth structures have been strengthened and other CPS actors, such as families, community leaders and authorities have been mobilized to create safer environments for vulnerable children and youth. Drawing on a system's approach, the activities target multiple stakeholders all part of the Child Protection System, ranging from children and youth themselves, parents, teachers and community leaders, authorities local and national government institutions and the private sector. 

In the Dominican Republic, Plan programs mostly to strengthen the l&a  skills of youth groups to advocate for child and gender sensitive protection services to duty bearers and building capacity authorities part of CONANI, the Council of child protection to improve reporting services and case management. The key target group (and final beneficiaries) of the programme are girls and boys up to 18 years old, who are victims and survivors and those at risk of SEC. We will mostly work with them through children and youth groups. The CO in Dominican Republic will work in outcome area 2, 4 and 5.

In practice this means that the activities in the DR will focus on: 

Outcome area  2: Children and youth are able to advocate for continued SEC prevention and response in the context of Covid-19:
- Formation of a network of adolescents for the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse . 130 adolescents (111 F, 19 M) from the provinces of Azua, San Juan, Elías Piña, Pedernales and Barahona in the southwest region of the country will be  identified to be trained as multipliers to work on topics such as: Prevention and reporting of violence online and in person, Leadership, Organisational and multiplication tools, Youth articulation, gender transformative advocacy. At the end of the training process, adolescents will be able to replicate/sensitise among peers and join efforts to integrate them in the prioritised actions to advocate for their protection and participation.
In addition, the adolescents will develop municipal and regional advocacy plans, based on their interests and agenda. Sustainability of these groups will be assured since they will be integrated in a regional youth-led organization called Voces Activas del Sur, an organised structure, made up of and led by young people from various provinces in the southwest, supported by Plan. 

Outcome area 4: Actors in the Child Protection System are strengthened in multi-stakeholder settings to prevent and advocate for protection from SEC, in the context of Covid-19

- Capacity building  on prevention and attention of child and adolescent victims of abuse.  Two groups in Azua and Pedernales with a total of 52 participants (41 F, 11 M) that will conclude in December 2021. The participants include members of municipal and regional offices of CONANI, Local Child Protection Boards and members of the Municipal Directory from the areas of intervention of the project. 
-	A  CAP (knowledge, attitudes and practices) study aimed at actors in the child protection system on prevention, care and response to cases of violence with a focus on inclusion and responsive to gender and age. The results of the CAP will be used to improve training tool for child protection system actors. 
-	Coordination for the development/adaptation of a virtual tool for referral of cases from Local Protection Boards to the local protection system. In which we have shared the experience of Plan Kenia with Wurugumapper (a tool for digitalizing data collection and case management for child protection in Kenya) and also a similar experience in Plan Bolivia using a simple form for case alerts at community level. This capacity building and use of friendly tools will also have an impact on better community coordination with the local boards responsible for referring cases to the protection system at the municipal level. Capacity strengthening: The programme strengthens CPS (at national and community levels) to deliver positive lasting change for children at risk or victims of SEC and their families, beyond the programme’s lifetime. Strengthening the agency of children, parents and community child protection committees will last beyond the programme as well. 

Policy and practice change: The programme works towards institutional monitoring, referral and coordination mechanisms across stakeholders, e.g. by developing National Action Plans to which partners commit. It further aims for policy change and implementation. Businesses adhering to The Code will do so beyond the duration of the programme. 

Social change: The programme contributes to dismantling the culture of silence and impunity surrounding SEC and promotes attitude change among communities and stakeholders in support of zero tolerance for SEC. Instilling new social norms around preventing and eradicating SEC, including deeply entrenched taboos around boys and SEC, will create an environment in which children, their families and communities oppose to and stand up against SEC.