Training for Children’s Home Staff – 18 March 2026: Sexual Abuse and Exploitation

In 2026, we are continuing one of our most popular professional programmes: training for staff working in children’s homes. We are delighted that, over the years, colleagues working in residential child protection have attended these one-day sessions with growing enthusiasm. Our priority remains to address topics that are part of their everyday work with children, offering knowledge that can support them in their roles.

Our first session of the year, held in March, opened the training programme with a particularly challenging topic: “Sexual Abuse and Exploitation”. Sadly, the large number of staff who registered from institutions across Hungary reflects how prevalent this issue is within residential child protection.

The day began with a presentation by Alexandra Takács and Mónika Márton, two experts from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), who explored the issue of child victims of human trafficking in detail. They also discussed practical tools for prevention and identification that are particularly relevant to professionals in support roles.

Closely connected to this topic was the presentation by Gergely Vaskuti from the Hintalovon Foundation, who explored ways to prevent and identify the sexual exploitation of children.

The third speaker, Dr Judit Hegedűs, Head of the Department of Law Enforcement Behavioural Sciences and Criminal Psychology at the University of Public Service, introduced participants to the principles of communicating with victims. Her presentation examined the topic in depth, covering a range of considerations of direct practical value to frontline professionals.

Following the lunch break, the day concluded with a session led by one of our returning speakers, psychologist Tamás Földi, who works with young people in several children’s homes. Drawing on his many years of experience, he shared insights from practical cases relating to the topic.

Despite the difficult subject matter, participants’ feedback was very positive. They found the presentations useful and gained valuable knowledge they could apply in their everyday work. We hope these insights will support them in practice, and we look forward to welcoming just as many open-minded and engaged children’s home staff to our future training sessions.