Give to children

Main findings

The study concludes that violence against children happens everywhere, in every country and society and across all social groups. Violence does not discriminate between rich and poor nations.

Extreme violence against children may hit the headlines but children say that daily, repeated small acts of violence and abuse also hurt them. While some violence is unexpected and isolated, most violent acts against children are carried out by people they know and should be able to trust: parents, boyfriends or girlfriends, spouses and partners, schoolmates, teachers and employers.

Violence against children includes physical violence, psychological violence such as insults and humiliation, discrimination, neglect and maltreatment. Although the consequences may vary according to the nature and severity of the violence inflicted, the short- and long-term repercussions for children are very often grave and damaging.

Additionally, the Report highlights the following findings:

Much violence remains hidden or unreported, and figures therefore often underestimate the scope of the problem;
Violence is part of the economic, cultural and societal norms that make up many children’s environment;
Violence against children occurs in schools, orphanages, detention centres and other residential care facilities, on the streets, in the home as well in the relatively new context of the internet where children are both abused and exploited by the production of pornography, and risk being exposed to images of violence and degradation;
Violence in all its forms has its roots in issues such as the power relations between men and women, exclusion, absence of a primary care giver and in societal norms and values that often disregard the rights of children; and,
Other factors contributing towards the unacceptable prevalence of violence against children include drug and alcohol abuse, unemployment and youth disenfranchisement, crime, and a culture of silence and impunity.

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Say No to Violence!

The UN Secretary-General's Study on Violence Against Children

Main findings

Call to action

What you can do

Meeting the challenge through partnerships

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Where violence occurs