Childhood Violence Initiatives - Prevent Physical or Sexual Violence

Violence in Childhood

Every day, millions of boys and girls around the world experience severe forms of violence – physical, emotional or sexual. Violence of any kind is unacceptable, but it is particularly reprehensible when directed against helpless and powerless children. Children exposed to violence not only suffer immediate injury, but also live in fear, and are unable to realise their full potential. The Ending Violence in Childhood: Global Report 2017 published by Know Violence in Childhood: Global Learning Initiative in September 2017 makes a strong case for the prevention of childhood violence.

An essential starting point for State action is robust and regular measurement of violence indicators, which in turn can help to track progress over time. Ideally, such measurement should cover children across different age groups and record all forms of violence across different settings. The requirement of countries to report on progress towards the SDGs provides an excellent opportunity for governments to start strengthening their data gathering systems on violence.

Reliable data on inter-personal violence in childhood are difficult to obtain. This is partly because such violence takes place within relationships and is hidden by a strong culture of silence. Fearing potential stigma or retribution, many children and women are reluctant to report abuse. There are also significant gaps in the availability of comparable international data.

To address the problem of data gaps, Know Violence in Childhood has estimated missing values of prevalence rates for six indicators of violence against children: child homicide rate, corporal punishment at home, violence among peers (an indicator each on bullying and physical fights) and violence experienced by adolescent girls (physical violence since age 15 and forced sexual violence including in childhood). Drawing on these estimated indicators, the Ending Violence in Childhood: Global Report 2017 provides global estimates of the burden of interpersonal violence experienced by children.

In 2015, at least three out of four of the world’s children – 1.7 billion – had experienced interpersonal violence in a previous year. This figure includes:

About Know Violence in Childhood

Know Violence in Childhood (2014-2018) was established as a time-bound global learning Initiativeby individuals from multilateral institutions, non-governmental organisations and funding agencies concerned about the global impact of violence in childhood and the lack of investment in effective violence prevention strategies.

It builds on three central premises:

Violence is preventable. Strategies for prevention can help build better lives for boys and girls — optimising their well-being and their development to adulthood.

Sound evidence and effective communication should inform policy and programme strategies — which will help global, regional and national policy-makers focus attention on this major international issue and take effective action.

Countries can learn from each other — exchanging knowledge across national boundaries and transferring experience between different contexts.

Strategy

Over nearly three years, the Initiative has gathered evidence on violence in childhood and on the linkages with health, education and poverty. This body of work presents the case for greater global investment in violence-prevention and recommendsessential public actions for ending violence in childhood.

Know Violence in Childhood has gathered global support – forging partnerships with leading organisations and international experts from the fields of child protection, health, education, justice, international development, human rights and economics.

The Initiative has also brought together a diverse, multi-sectoral group of researchers who prepared 44 research papers covering three key settings where children experience violence: in the home; in schools or institutions; and within the wider community and in public spaces.

The aim of the Initiative has been to promote learning across boundaries – national, sectoral and disciplinary. This should inspire global advocacy and action – and encourage greater investment in violence prevention.

Know Violence in Childhood acts on three broad fronts: building evidence and showcasing solutions; engaging leadership; and energising national, regional and global advocacy.

Evidence

Investigating the underlying causes and consequences of violence in childhood and gathering information on effective methods of prevention.

Every year, as many as 1.7 billion children around the world experience severe forms of physical, emotional and sexual violence. This not only harms children directly, it also adds to inequality. Children who experience violence at home or at school are more likely to be absent from school or to drop out and thus, are deprived of a full, high-quality education. There are also major financial costs. Each year up to 8% of global GDP is spent on repairing the damage caused by childhood violence yet most governments fail to invest in tackling the root cause. As a result, they are failing to protect their investments in areas such as education, health and justice.

Expand

Leadership

Convening and engaging leaders across academia, policy-making, politics and practice

The Initiative is in a strong position to mobilise global political attention. It is shaped and guided by two authoritative co-chairs. Baroness Vivien Stern isa member of the UK House of Lords who is actively and internationally engaged in the fields of diplomacy, politics, human rights and the rule of law. Dr AK Shiva Kumar is a human development economist who is deeply connected with rights-based development and social policy in many parts of the developing world.

Expand

Advocacy

Advocating for solutions to end violence in childhood

The Initiative is poised to take advantage of the increasing global momentum for preventing violence in childhood. This includes the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which provide an opportunity to generate greater awareness and political commitment, and create new entry points for action.

Expand