Children's Advocacy Centers: Tsunagg Aims to Establish CACs Nationwide in Japan!

Certified NPO Children's Support Center Tsunagg (Naka Ward, Yokohama City; Co-representatives: Koji Tanoue, Kei Tobita; hereinafter "Tsunagg") supports April Dream, a project that aims to make April 1st a day for announcing dreams. This press release is "Tsunagg's" dream.

What is a Children's Advocacy Center (CAC)?

Since its establishment in 2019, "Tsunagg" has been operating as a Children's Advocacy Center (CAC), supporting children who have suffered abuse and sexual violence by providing neutral interviews, advocacy procedures, support, and physical and mental care in a one-stop, long-term manner.

Children who have been victimized often have to repeatedly recount their experiences to various stakeholders, including judicial and medical professionals, which subjects them to severe stress.

A Children's Advocacy Center (CAC) is a facility where multiple agencies and professionals collaborate to provide one-stop services for interviewing, examining, and providing mental care to children who have experienced abuse or sexual violence.

Problem Solving

While there are over 960 CACs in the United States, there are currently only two in Japan, including our organization.

With the "Act on the Prevention of Child Sexual Exploitation" and other related laws scheduled to take effect on December 25th of this year, attention is gradually shifting towards supporting children. In this context, "Tsunagg" aims to build a social system for Children's Advocacy Centers (CACs) that aligns with Japan's legal framework and social practices, through collaboration among multiple agencies and professionals.

To achieve this, we are also focusing on publishing the Japanese version of the forensic interview guidelines through the New Forensic Interview Project and providing training to cultivate specialists.

We participated in "April Dream" with the goal of establishing CACs nationwide for the sake of the children who will shape our future, and to make the existence of CACs a matter of course.

About Certified NPO Children's Support Center "Tsunagg"

We support children who have suffered abuse and sexual violence by providing neutral interviews, advocacy procedures, support, and physical and mental care in a one-stop, long-term manner.

Please visit our website for more information on "Tsunagg's" various activities: https://tsunagg.org/

"April Dream" is a project by PR TIMES where companies and organizations announce their future dreams on April 1st.

We are seriously committed to realizing this dream.

[Contact Information]

Certified NPO Children's Support Center Tsunagg Secretariat

TEL: 045-232-4121/ E-mail: [email protected]