Logo UNICEF Innocenti
Office of Research-Innocenti
menu icon
Research Watch

Violence against children: a silent threat

NEW FINAL UNICEF 3
UNICEF

Violence against children: a silent threat

Worldwide estimates show that 1 billion children experience abuse in their lives. In Eastern and Southern Africa recent data indicates that 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 5 boys will be sexually abused before the age of 18. Important progress has been made in deepening the understanding of violence against children. More has been learnt as well when it comes to solutions to the problem and what can be done to address it. And yet, violence against children still lacks traction on the public policy agenda and responses are not always effective. Why and what can be done? In our studios we bring Ms Michele Moloney-Kitts, Managing Director, Together for Girls; Ms Amie Kandeh, a leading voice on violence in Sierra Leone; Mr Oswaldo Montoya, Global Coordinator of the MenEngage Alliance; Ms Nduku Kilonzo, Executive Director of Liverpool VCT; and Ms Diane Swales, UNICEF's Child Protection Advisor for East Asia and the Pacific Region.

Expert View

Adolescents with HIV speak out against stigma and discrimination
Article

Adolescents with HIV speak out against stigma and discrimination

Nicola Willis, Africaid, Harare, Zimbabwe
The Missing ‘C’: Sexual Violence against Children in sub-Saharan Africa
Article

The Missing ‘C’: Sexual Violence against Children in sub-Saharan Africa

Chi-Chi Undie, Saiqa Mullick, and Ian Askew - Population Council
Child helplines - a crucial tool for protecting children from abuse and violence
Article

Child helplines - a crucial tool for protecting children from abuse and violence

Nenita La Rose and Ravi R. Prasad, Child Helpline International
Rhetoric and Reality of Mobile Telephones Usage to Fight Violence against Children in Africa
Article

Rhetoric and Reality of Mobile Telephones Usage to Fight Violence against Children in Africa

Irene K. Nyamu, Executive Director, Childline Kenya
Stress as a Factor in Family Violence
Article

Stress as a Factor in Family Violence

Aaron J. Miller, MD, MPA - Executive Director of BRANCH - Building Regional Alliances to Nurture Child Health
The Importance of Integrating Efforts to Prevent Violence Against Women and Children
Article

The Importance of Integrating Efforts to Prevent Violence Against Women and Children

James A. Mercy, PhD; Janet Saul, PhD; and Susan Hillis, PhD
Preventing violence against children - a child rights approach
Article

Preventing violence against children - a child rights approach

Associate Professor Shanaaz Mathews, Director Children’s Institute, University of Cape Town
Preventing violence against children: what approaches work?
Article

Preventing violence against children: what approaches work?

Alexander Butchart, Coordinator, Prevention of Violence, World Health Organization
Breaking the Cycle: Understanding and addressing the intersections of violence against children and violence against women in Latin America and the Caribbean
Article

Breaking the Cycle: Understanding and addressing the intersections of violence against children and violence against women in Latin America and the Caribbean

Alessandra Guedes, Regional Advisor, Pan American Health Organization & Sarah Bott, Independent Consultant
Protecting Children in the Age of HIV and AIDS
Article

Protecting Children in the Age of HIV and AIDS

Gretchen Bachman, Senior Technical Advisor and Team Lead, Orphans & Vulnerable Children - USAID Office of HIV/AIDS PEPFAR OVC Inter-Agency, Technical Working Group Co-chair

Look Out For

Men’s perpetration of violence against women and girls and what it means for the prevention of gender-based violence
Article

Men’s perpetration of violence against women and girls and what it means for the prevention of gender-based violence

Violence against women and girls is prevalent in every corner of the globe but recently the world’s media has turned its spotlight on the Asia-Pacific region after the rape of young woman in New Delhi in December 2012. Holding more than half of the world’s population, it is not surprising that the Asia-Pacific region has particularly diverse rates of violence, with between 15% of women in Japan to 68% of women in the Kiribati reporting having ever experienced physical and/or sexual partner violence.