SEXUAL ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION OF BOYS IN SOUTH ASIA A ...

constraints with the intention of improving subsequent programming. As with planning,
evaluations are seldom intended to provide insight into the programme’s evolution because
short funding cycles often mean that it will be scaled down, stopped or altered according to
the donor’s agenda.
Programme evaluations are often constrained by the absence of criteria for judging what
constitutes ‘effectiveness’. The term can comprise both individual and collective
characteristics, for example, how it has improved outcomes for children and what has
changed in the wider community and society, respectively. These criteria are usually
identified through preliminary assessment, planning and strategizing and by evidence-based
information on the programme’s ongoing achievements and difficulties. However,
‘effectiveness’ is difficult to assess when the programme addresses intangible objectives such
as improvement of mental health, resistance to abuse or strengthened family protection. In
South Asia as elsewhere, measuring mental health and social health outcomes is challenging,
and it often takes longer than one funding cycle to show results.
Children can provide important information for evaluating project outcomes, but this research
found that few programmes include children in the monitoring or evaluation process. Hence
many evaluations depend on reporting physical outputs and numbers, not outcomes such as
changes in the quality of life.
The primary constraints to project implementation appear to be limitations in funding and
human resources. Funding constraints arise primarily due to inadequate planning. The
budgets in project proposals are often simple, generic and hastily constructed. They tend to
overestimate the output of project workers and underestimate the financial resources needed
to accomplish the objectives. In South Asia, as in much of the developing world, programmes
often have difficulties securing and retaining adequately trained and motivated staff.
Training itself is a considerable constraint across South Asia, due to lack of resources and to
poorly defined and frequently low standards. The trainings offered in South Asia in areas such
as counselling, research, interviewing and family intervention are usually little more than
orientation on the background of the subject; they tend to lack focused development of skills.
Job competencies and training standards are lacking as ingredients for human resource
development. At the same time, awareness of the need for improved human resources
capacities across South Asia is increasing among NGOs and the donor community. The
quality of training is improving. Some governments, such as Afghanistan and Bangladesh, are
moving towards establishing training standards and job competencies for individuals working
with abused and exploited children.
Implementation is also constrained by insufficient interaction between service providers and
between NGOs and government. Addressing sexual abuse and exploitation is by definition a
multidisciplinary task, requiring collaboration from the disciplines of health, education,
psychology, law, vocational training and social work, among others. No organization can ‘do
it alone’, but with a few exceptions, active participatory linkages among stakeholders in
South Asia are inadequate, and little improvement in integration has been seen recently.
Competition within government agencies and between NGOs, as well as differing agendas
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