Prevention of violence

Despite the existence of legal instruments, policies and programmes for childhood well-being, there are still social and cultural standards that contribute to violence against children and adolescents. According to MICS (2014), 36 per cent of surveyed families use a combination of violent disciplinary practices; 21 per cent of children and adolescents aged 1 to 14 years have suffered physiological aggression and 28 per cent, physical punishment; 2.5 per cent of children and adolescents are subjected to severe physical punishment. Four per cent of female respondents and seven per cent of male respondents justify the use of violence.

In 2014, about 26 per cent of women aged 20 – 24 years reported their first marriage or union before the age of 18. In 2017, 8,898 female adolescents and 107 males got married.

In 2018, 56 per cent of the population had network connection; 1,879,000 Cubans have mobile data connection in their cell phones, with 5,000 new users joining every day. The growing and accelerated access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and social networks exposes children and adolescents to different contents and digital risks.

It is necessary then to strengthen capacities and spaces for the comprehensive protection of children and adolescents, through visibility and prevention of different kinds of violence, including gender-based and exercised by professionals, institutions and communities. Likewise, granting visibility and addressing protection in digital scenarios becomes important as it is an emerging issue in Cuban society.