Kick-off meeting of the global EVAC knowledge network

Ending violence against children (EVAC) by 2030 is among the most important goals for children in the Sustainable Development Goals. While advocacy and political will is on the upswing, improving the availability of quality evidence, and building cooperation to scale up promising programmes to end violence represent major challenges.

More than 40 experts from international organisations, universities, and leading organizations across the world—the EVAC Knowledge Network—gathered at UNICEF Innocenti in Florence in March 2019, to discuss and explore critical issues on building the evidence base for ending violence against children.

Participants in the two-day meeting highlighted the challenges in reporting about violence against children, as well as some of the progress made across sectors and different stakeholders. The keynote speech was delivered by Professor Jeremy Shiffman, of the Johns Hopkins University, who identified the major challenges that networks working on social issues commonly face:

1. Problem definition - generating consensus on what the problem is and how it should be addressed; 
2. Positioning - portraying the issue in ways that inspire external audiences to act; 
3. Coalition building - forging alliances with these external actors, and; 
4. Governance - establishing institutions to facilitate collective action.