Violence against children - some as young as one year old - is pervasive in homes, schools and communities, new report with disturbing data reveals
Staggering numbers of children - some as young as 12 months old - are experiencing violence, often by those entrusted to take care of them, UNICEF said in a new report released today. UNICEF prioritises efforts to end violence across all its work, including supporting government efforts to improve services for children affected by violence, developing policies and legislation that protect children, and helping communities, parents and children to prevent violence through practical programmes like parenting courses and actions against domestic violence.
"The harm inflicted on children around the world is truly worrying," said UNICEF Chief of Child Protection Cornelius Williams. "Babies slapped in the face; girls and boys forced into sexual acts; adolescents murdered in their communities - violence against children spares no one and knows no boundaries."A Familiar Face: Violence in the lives of children and adolescents uses the very latest data to show that children experience violence across all stages of childhood and in all settings:
Violence against young children in their homes:
Sexual violence against girls and boys:
- Three-quarters of the world's 2- to 4-year-old children - around 300 million - experience psychological aggression and/or physical punishment by their caregivers at home;
- Around 6 in 10 one year olds in 30 countries with available data are subjected to violent discipline on a regular basis. Nearly a quarter of one-year-olds are physically shaken as punishment and nearly 1 in 10 are hit or slapped on the face, head or ears.
- Worldwide, 1 in 4 children under age five - 176 million - are living with a mother who is a victim of intimate partner violence.
Violent deaths among adolescents:
- Worldwide, around 15 million adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 have experienced forced sexual intercourse or other forced sexual acts in their lifetime.
- Only 1 per cent of adolescent girls who had experienced sexual violence said they reached out for professional help.
- In the 28 countries with data, 90 per cent of adolescent girls who had experienced forced sex, on average, said the perpetrator of the first incident was known to them. Data from six countries reveals friends, classmates and partners were among the most frequently cited perpetrators of sexual violence against adolescent boys.
Violence in schools:
- Globally, every 7 minutes an adolescent is killed by an act of violence.
- In the United States, non-Hispanic black boys aged 10 to 19 years old are almost 19 times more likely to be murdered than non-Hispanic white boys of the same age. If the homicide rate among non-Hispanic black adolescent boys is applied nationwide, the United States would be one of the top ten most deadly countries in the world.
- In 2015, the risk of being killed by homicide for a non-Hispanic black adolescent boy in the United States was the same as the risk of being killed due to collective violence for an adolescent boy living in war-torn South Sudan.
- Latin America and the Caribbean is the only region where adolescent homicide rates have increased; nearly half of all homicides among adolescents globally occurred in this region in 2015.
To end violence against children, UNICEF is calling for governments to take urgent action and support the INSPIRE guidance which has been agreed and promoted by WHO, UNICEF and the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, including:
- Adopting well-coordinated national action plans to end violence against children - incorporating education, social welfare, justice and health systems, as well as communities and children themselves.
- Changing behaviours of adults and addressing factors that contribute to violence against children, including economic and social inequities, social and cultural norms that condone violence, inadequate policies and legislation, insufficient services for victims, and limited investments in effective systems to prevent and respond to violence.
- Focussing national policies on minimizing violent behaviour, reducing inequalities, and limiting access to firearms and other weapons.
- Building social service systems and training social workers to provide referrals, counselling and therapeutic services for children who have experienced violence.
- Educating children, parents, teachers, and community members to recognise violence in all its many forms and empowering them to speak out and report violence safely.
- Collecting better disaggregated data on violence against children and tracking progress through robust monitoring and evaluation.
UNICEF has saved more children's lives than any other humanitarian organization. We work tirelessly to help children and their families, doing whatever it takes to ensure children survive. We provide children with healthcare and immunization, clean water, nutrition and food security, education, emergency relief and more.
UNICEF is supported entirely by voluntary donations and helps children regardless of race, religion or politics. As part of the UN, we are active in more than 190 countries - more than any other organization. Our determination and our reach are unparalleled. Because nowhere is too far to go to help a child survive.
- Half the population of school-age children - 732 million - live in countries where corporal punishment at school is not fully prohibited.
- Three-quarters of documented school shootings that have taken place over the past 25 years occurred in the United States.
The Videos:
THE SCRIPT:
TEXT ON SCREEN:
Unsuspecting parents walked into a furniture store
Watch what happened next Customer A: Hi! Customer B: Hi how are you doing? So, we're looking for a bed for my five-year-old daughter. Customer A: We have a brand new line of furniture that I'm really excited about. It has a really amazing feature that kids, especially, love, because you might have the creepy uncle that comes over one day and starts to chase your kid around and make him feel uncomfortable, so he wants to escape. He can run away from the uncle! Associate: Oh..... You know what I mean? Or, like the caregiver who's maybe hitting her a little too hard. Because a lot of times children feel unsafe in their own home. Customer B: I'm not even sure how to respond to that. Associate: Do you get a lot of people looking for that? It's so prevalent these days that you really need a place to escape and hide. Customer C: Why are those things happening at home? I don't think that would happen... Customer B: This crib is one of our best sellers. And I'm sure you know...you know. You get so tired, so impatient and you just shake your baby and just throw him in the crib! The foam that comes on the crib...? Associate: Yes, it's to protect the baby. Let me show you one other option. This is our highchair. Now sometimes, the chair will go over as you're hitting your child. This time, the chair is secure because it's weighted. All four legs have weights, and it won't move. You've spend hours making the macaroni and cheese and what do they do? They throw it on the floor! Customer D: Well, you know what? No one is trying to hurt my child. Three out of four young children worldwide are violently disciplined at home. Associate: We saw you were really upset. Do you want to talk about it? Customer C: I thought I was just going to get some furniture for a five year old, and I ended up getting a reality check. It's hard to even hear numbers like that, you know...three out of every four... Associate: Violence is closer than you think Recognize it. Report it. Customer E: #ENDviolence TEXT ON SCREEN Director: Customer C: Customer B: TEXT ON SCREEN