U.S. Speakers Share Expertise on Child Abuse Prevention

Thomas Lyon makes presentation on the Ten Step Interview

Dr. Victor Vieth, Executive Director of the National Child Protection Training Center, and Dr. Thomas Lyon, Professor of the University of Southern California, visited Belarus December 9-14, 2012 through the Embassy’s U.S. Speaker Program at the invitation of the INGO “Ponimanie.”  Dr. Vieth and Dr. Lyon presented current U.S. best practices in the field of child abuse prevention at the international conference “Safe Belarus for Children.  Child Protection from Violence System: Progress and New Approaches.”  The conference brought together over 200 professionals from six countries to share their experiences and discuss new approaches in combating and preventing violence against children.  Both U.S. experts took part in the pre-event Training Institute where they conducted master classes on “Establishing Infrastructure to Combat Child Abuse,”  “Investigation and Prosecution of Crimes against Minors,” and “Effective Approaches to Interviewing Children.” The organizers and participants of the Training Institute and the Conference expressed their appreciation of the Embassy’s effort to contribute to this professional exchange.  In addition, the U.S. Speakers gave presentations at the Academy of Postgraduate Education followed by a question and answer session with Belarusian psychologists, educators, and lawyers.