Violence Against Children: A Critical Issue for Development

Violence against children is a human rights challenge. According to the UN Sustainable Development Goal 16.2, all violence against children should be eliminated. This paper discusses how violence against children can be defined and which forms it takes. Parental violence in the form of physical discipline is highly prevalent, particularly in low-income countries. This violence causes suffering, has serious health consequences and reduces human capital. This article estimates that 311 million children are subjected to severe forms of physical punishment, equivalent to 17.5 per cent of all children worldwide. In contrast to other forms of violence (e.g. civil wars and terrorism), ‘every day’ violence against children receives little attention in development research, despite the high prevalence rates and resulting adverse consequences for societal development. This special issue presents evidence from promising parenting interventions for violence reduction in low-income settings in Kenya, Liberia and Uganda

Interventions that address institutional child maltreatment: an evidence and gap map.

Purpose: This evidence and gap map collates evidence reporting on the effectiveness of interventions aimed to prevent, disclose, respond to, or treat child maltreatment occurring in institutional settings. Methods: A comprehensive and systematic literature search identified primary studies and systematic reviews meeting the review’s eligibility criteria. Literature screening, data extraction and critical appraisals were undertaken independently by multiple reviewers. Data extracted and reported from the included studies included information about the institutional setting, target population, type of maltreatment, intervention type and outcomes. Results: Seventy-three studies were identified, including 11 systematic reviews and 62 primary studies. Overall, the methodological quality of the studies was low to moderate. Most evaluated curriculum-based interventions delivered in educational settings, primarily aimed at preventing sexual abuse. Fewer studies examined other institutional settings or intervention types. Conclusions: This review highlights a need for high-quality studies evaluating a more diverse range of interventions across more varied institutional contexts