Preventing Violence Against Children

One in two children has experienced some form of violence in the past year around the world, whether at home, school or in their community. Children living in crisis are at higher risk of experiencing such violence, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated these risks.  Prolonged exposure to abuse, violence and traumatic events is likely to impair children’s emotional and social development, with devastating long-term impact on children and societies.  Thus, working to prevent and addressing violence against children everywhere, including in humanitarian settings and protracted crisis, is key.

Overview of the Initiative 

The Global Child Protection AoR and World Vision Germany, under the partnership on prevention of violence against children in humanitarian and fragile contexts, worked together in 2021 with child protection partners at the country level to accelerate preventing violence against children in humanitarian settings.  The partnership included both capacity building opportunities for child protection coordination groups and their members as well as small grants for local partners to adapt and implement various component of violence prevention, based on evidence based methodologies.  

Capacity Building with Child Protection Coordination Groups

Through this initiative, child protection coordination groups benefited from technical support and capacity building on this issue, ensuring access to resources and expertise. Presentations from these capacity building sessions can be found here: https://www.cpaor.net/Capacity-Building-Violence-Prevention 

Get Inspired by Good and Promising Practices in Humanitarian Settings

A number of case studies have been produced, documenting good and promising practices related to preventing violence against children.  These include: 

1. Reducing stress and preventing violence through a Strategic Arts-based Approach by First Aid Arts
2. Supporting parents and caregivers during times of lockdown and social distancing by Friends in Village Development Bangladesh (FIVDB)
3. Strengthening the protection and reintegration of children through parenting programs by the International Rescue Committee (IRC)
4. Strengthening access to GBV prevention and response services and assessing the impact of COVID-19 on the rights of women and girls to peace and security by the Somali Women Development Centre (SWDC) - available in English and Somali
5. Adapting child protection programming to prevent additional risks or harm during pandemics by World Vision Uganda

All case studies can be found here: https://www.cpaor.net/Preventing-Violence-Against-Children-Case-Studies 

Digging into Violence Prevention: Additional Resources 

INSPIRE The INSPIRE Framework describes seven strategies to end violence against children. INSPIRE is an evidence-based multi-sectorial technical package to support countries in their efforts to prevent and respond to violence against children. Here you can find the official webpage by the Global Partnership to End Violence, with all the INSPIRE documents (available in multiple languages). WHO also provides a webinar series about each of the strategies.  There is also an INSPIRE working group organized by the CPC Network. Linking Humanitarian and Development Contexts The work of the INSPIRE Framework links closely with violence prevention approaches highlighted in the Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (CPMS). A practical guidance on how the CPMS and INSPIRE are complementary is also available: CPMS / INSPIRE complementarity guide.   Prevention Initiative by the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (CPHA) The Alliance set Violence Prevention as one of their strategic areas to focus on in the coming years. A Framework on Primary Prevention specifically for CPHA was developed in early 2022 to support prevention programming. The framework provides practical steps to consider for prevention programming according to the humanitarian program cycle.  More resources from the Alliance for CPHA on violence prevention, including the Primary Prevention Framework, can be found on their Prevention Initiative webpage (materials available in multiple languages). If you want to know more about what Primary Prevention is, then have a look at Sarah´s Story: https://youtu.be/wOW2rIk6ndc

Interested in learning more?

Contact Joyce Mutiso, Global CP AoR Deputy Coordinator, at jmutiso@unicef.org.