Tackling violence against children as a public health issue
Country-level case studies assessing the state of play of public health approaches to reducing violence against children
What is the issue?
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While ending violence against children by 2030 is a UN sustainable development goal (SDG), the current update on progress towards that goal notes that 1.6 billion children – two-thirds of all children – regularly experience violence at home. Further, 38 per cent of all trafficking victims detected in 2022 were children – a substantial increase from 13 per cent in 2004. The UN continues to describe sexual violence against children as ‘pervasive’, with 1 in 8 young women and 1 in 11 young men experiencing some form of sexual assault before the age of 18.
The negative outcomes associated with early experiences of violence are not limited to childhood: those affected are also at increased risk of mental health problems and physical morbidity in later life, as well as being more likely to perpetuate violence themselves.
Despite being a key global priority, progress towards ending violence against children has been slow. This has sometimes been attributed to the lack of prioritisation from governments and decision makers. One approach that has been gaining traction is framing violence against children as a public health issue. The public health approach understands violence against children not as an isolated problem, but as something more akin to an epidemic, with a range of social, cultural and economic causes. This extends prevention responsibility beyond the justice system and into sectors like healthcare and education, allowing better care and safety for entire populations. The World Health Organization (WHO) sets out four main steps as part of this approach, which include:
- Conducting surveillance through the systematic collection of information and data
- Identifying risk and protective factors
- Developing and evaluating interventions to see what works and for whom
- Implementing effective interventions in a wide range of settings
How are we helping?
RAND Europe has been commissioned by the WHO to produce case studies of countries where violence against children has been framed and tackled as a public health issue. Those included in this study are Brazil, Kenya, Sweden and the Philippines. For each of these countries, we will be exploring the key elements, enablers and barriers of public health approaches.
Case studies will be produced through a review of secondary data sources and interviews with policy professionals, academics and practitioners in each of the countries.
The end goal is to support policymakers and relevant stakeholders globally in efforts to implement public health approaches to reducing violence against children.
