Violence against children is a global dilemma that cuts
across borders, class, culture, ethnicity, race, gender and socioeconomic
status.
More than one billion children experience violence and
exploitation every year. No matter where they live, and no matter who they are,
no child is immune to violence.
Understanding the many dimensions of violence against
children is key to creating a world in which children are protected. However,
it is difficult to achieve lasting solutions if we do not know what children
themselves are thinking.
Young people have much to contribute to our mission to end
violence against children, and the success of any policy or action aimed at
children depends on our ability to engage and respond to their voices, opinions
and expectations.
In this year’s Small Voices, Big Dreams study, nearly 5,500
boys and girls in 15 countries revealed their own perceptions about the violence
perpetrated against children.
The results are shocking: more than 40% believe children are
not sufficiently protected against violence and one in two feels that adults in
their country do not listen to their opinions on issues of importance to them.
Another clear message from the children who participated in
the research is that the adults who should be protecting children are sometimes
the ones harming them. The result is that children do not always trust the
adults who are responsible for them, and they do not always feel safe, even in
spaces created for and occupied by children.
Fear, low self-esteem, loneliness and suffering are just a
few of the emotions children described feeling regarding the many types of
violence that are present in their lives.
Children have the inherent right to achieve their full
potential, yet this will only be realised if they live in environments free
from all forms of violence.
As a global network of 11 child-focused development organisations helping nearly 13 million children and their families in more than 60 countries, the ChildFund Alliance works with and for children to prevent violence against children at all levels.
We played a key role in ensuring the inclusion of a
stand-alone target on ending violence against children in the Sustainable
Development Goals (Target 16.2) and we continually promote the meaningful
participation of children in decisions that affect them.
This year, as we mark the 30th anniversary of the United
Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), we can and must do better
for the millions of children left behind. When it comes to achieving lasting
change, we have a moral, legal and economic responsibility to do more.
Children are a vital part of the social change that is
needed to achieve a world free from violence. We want them to be agents of
change.
In 2015, the United Nations launched the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs); a global framework for addressing the world’s most pressing challenges.
The SDGs are a universal call to action to end
poverty, fight inequality and stop climate change, with each of the 17 goals
including targets and indicators that all UN Member States must achieve by 2030.
For the first time in history, we now have a global
target focused on increasing protection for children. SDG target 16.2
represents a ground-breaking commitment by UN Member States to end all forms of
violence and exploitation against children (EVAC).
This commitment to end violence against
children is also integrated into other global goals, such as ending child labour
(SDG 8) and achieving quality education and safe learning environments (SDG 4).
The ChildFund Alliance actively contributed to
the positioning of SDG target 16.2 as a core element within the 2030 agenda.
Our 3-year Free from Violence and Exploitation
campaign included consultations with children in over 50 countries. This gave
young people around the world the opportunity to share their vision for the
future, as well as their views on the violence and exploitation perpetrated
against them.
Their call for a safer world for children has
guided ChildFund’s efforts to promote implementation of target 16.2.
Since the adoption of the SDGs, a group of leading
agencies (including the World Health Organization, United Nations Children’s
Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank) have developed the INSPIRE
Strategies.
These present a broad range of economic,
political and social evidence-based approaches that governments and their
partners can use to turn target 16.2 into action. Already, 26 Member States
have made a formal commitment to action to end all forms of violence against
children.
Building on ChildFund Alliance’s decades of
experience in child protection programming, its 11 members are now implementing
a range of projects around the world focused on EVAC.
The ChildFund Alliance is also calling on
governments to further advance progress towards the achievement of SDG target
16.2 and other violence-related targets. In particular, we are urging
governments to take the following actions:
Analyse gaps in child protection
systems and create and implement policies to address those gaps and end
violence against children.
Increase financial commitments and
actual investment to end violence against children.
Meaningfully involve children in the
development and implementation of child protection policies, as well as within
SDG review processes.
Effectively prevent and respond to
violence against children by adopting evidence-based INSPIRE strategies and
demonstrate leadership on ending violence against children.
Report on target 16.2 and related
targets in SDG monitoring and evaluation efforts.
At the ChildFund Alliance, we know that violence against children is preventable, but action is needed by all stakeholders – governments, civil society organisations, children and youth – if we are to build safer communities and realise a world free from violence for all young people.
