Bobbi Bear - Fighting Child Sexual Abuse in the most difficult regions
by KEEP A CHILD ALIVE
Located in South Africa, Bobbi Bear provides counseling and other support services to approximately 70,000 children and young victims of sexual violence in South Africa’s eastern KwaZulu Natal Province.
The organization offers a range of services. The Bobbi Bear team works closely with schools, police, local authorities, medical health providers, legal and other professionals and with local community groups to identity, support and represent the interests of child victims of trauma and sexual violence across the region.
Through their program, Bobbi Bear helps victims in a broad range of areas – ranging from child rescue for victims of sexual violence, neglect and trauma, to the provision of victim counseling, family support and assistance for children and families with prosecutions and court appearances.
Bobbi Bear is an advocate for the rights of young people who are victims of violence and seek to ensure that cases involving child sexual offenses are brought to trial, and successfully prosecuted.
The organization worked with 5,000 to 6,000 cases on average each month. Alongside its core work, Bobbi Bear’s weekend ‘Tree Clinic’ provided a safe space and support to over 250 children every Sunday, throughout the year.
Meanwhile, Bobbi Bear’s ‘Edu-Toy’ program delivered talks and other awareness-raising workshops at schools across the region, seeking to highlight to children the importance of coming forward and reporting incidents of abuse and sexual assault, and explaining the steps to be taken to make such reports.
