Girls of a Feather – Strengthening Child Protection in Saint Lucia

LimeCulture was engaged in September 2024 to help conceptualise, design and deliver a comprehensive programme aligned with global best practice. Our involvement included:

Strategic Programme Design

• Delivered strategic workshops to explore feasibility and adaptation of the UK ISVA and CHISVA models to Saint Lucia.
• Guided the rebranding and role definition for the Independent Child Protection Advisor (ICPA).

 

Evidence-Based Needs Assessment

• Conducted an in-depth needs assessment to understand systemic gaps, survivor pathways, agency capacity, and structural barriers.
• Generated findings that informed the training curriculum, operating procedures, and national framework.

 
Creation of a National ICPA Framework

This framework:

• Aligns the ICPA role with Saint Lucia’s legal and child-protection systems
• Defines purpose, scope, duties, competencies and professional boundaries
• Incorporates international child protection standards
• Provides the long-term structure for integration and scale

 
Specialist Training

Over two months, LimeCulture delivered training modules designed to strengthen the knowledge, skills and trauma-informed practice of the new ICPAs. Training included:

• Advocacy, sexual violence and trauma
• Risk and needs assessment & safety planning
• Multi-agency working and sustainability
• Criminal justice processes and legal support

 
Our training was co-delivered alongside local partners, ensuring cultural relevance and strong interagency alignment.

“The training transformed not only how I understand trauma, but how I communicate with children safely and effectively. It has prepared me to be a consistent advocate for children and families who would otherwise feel lost.”
– Quote from a ICPA Trainee

LimeCulture created a robust SOP suite to establish consistent, high-quality practice and clear standards across the new service.

Clear referral pathways and role definitions guide how children enter the service and how advisors support them. Robust operating principles, ethical guidelines, safeguarding protocols, and confidentiality standards protect children throughout the process. Client support agreements set expectations from the start, while structured supervision frameworks ensure advisors receive ongoing professional support.

Formal partnership agreements strengthen multi-agency collaboration, and defined case-closure and transition processes ensure every child leaves the service with a safe and well-coordinated plan.

In November 2025 the service launched with 6 fully trained Independent Child Protection Advisors and supervisors.

The Independent Child Protection Advisor (ICPA) service will provide children affected by abuse with a consistent, trained professional who guides them through every stage of the protection and justice process. ICPAs will conduct risk and needs assessments, create personalised support plans, offer emotional and practical assistance, and coordinate with agencies such as police, social services, courts and schools.

They ensure clear communication, reduce trauma, and help children and caregivers understand their options and rights. Using standardised procedures, trauma-informed practice and a digital case-management system, ICPAs provide reliable, evidence-based support from first disclosure through case closure, ensuring no child navigates the system alone aiming to ensure;

• Increased survivor confidence and clarity in navigating services
• Stronger coordination among justice, policing, education and welfare agencies
• A consistent, trauma-informed response for children across the island
• Greater professionalisation of non-governmental child-protection roles

 
The ICPA programme represents an important step toward developing a trauma-informed child protection system in the Caribbean. It demonstrates how civil society, international expertise, and government partners can work together to build a coherent, sustainable response to child abuse.

“LimeCulture is proud to have supported the development of this landmark initiative and to contribute to a safer future for children across Saint Lucia.”
– Becky York, Head if Consultancy at LimeCulture

“LimeCultures partnership has enabled us to adapt a robust evidence based system to the realities of Saint Lucia……. The team at LimeCulture  have been instrumental in shaping the development of this programme….Although the process has moved very quickly… it has been deeply meaningful and has reminded us that while our contexts differ, the experiences of survivors… are strikingly similar across continents.”
– Quote from Chelsea Foster Executive Director of Girls of a Feather