Half of world’s children affected by violence, experts warn
Globally, approximately 1 billion children each year are affected by physical, sexual or psychological violence “because countries have failed to follow establish strategies to protect them,” WHO and other organizations warned in a new report.
That represents half of the world’s pediatric population.
“There is never any excuse for violence against children,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, MSc, said in a news release. “We have evidence-based tools to prevent it, which we urge all countries to implement. Protecting the health and well-being of children is central to protecting our collective health and well-being, now and for the future.”
The report, which was co-authored by UNICEF, UNESCO, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Violence against Children and the End Violence Partnership, included the first global homicide estimates specific to children aged younger than 18 years.
According to the report, in 2017, 40,000 children were victims of homicide. Previous estimates were based on data that included information on those aged 18 to 19 years.
The report notes that 88% of 155 countries have laws to protect children against violence, although only 47% reported that the laws were being “strongly enforced.”
“Violence against children has always been pervasive, and now things could be getting much worse,” UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta H. Fore, MS, said in a statement. “Lockdowns, school closures and movement restrictions have left far too many children stuck with their abusers, without the safe space that school would normally offer. It is urgent to scale up efforts to protect children during these times and beyond, including be designating social service workers as essential and strengthening child helplines.”
The report charted progress of countries against the INSPIRE framework — a list of seven strategies for ending violence against children. Among the strategies, only access to schools through enrollment showed the most progress, with 54% of countries reporting that a sufficient number of children in need were being reached, according to the release. Between 32% to 37% of countries were considered to have adequate access to support services for victims of violence, and 26% of countries provided programs with parental or caregiver support. Programs to change harmful norms had the support of 21% of countries, whereas 15% had modifications to provide safe physical environments.
Most countries — 83% — have national data on violence against children, although only 21% of the countries use the data to set baselines and goals for protection and response.