Where we live and learn

Highlights

Both experiencing and witnessing violence have a devastating effect on children. From the immediate threat to a child’s life and well-being to the long-term – even lifelong – repercussions, it undermines a child’s sense of self-worth and disrupts their emotional, cognitive and physical development.

Violence against children is often part of a wider cycle of inter-personal, family and community violence and can span generations. It has strong gender dynamics that shape the risks for boys and girls and how they are affected. Children who grow up surrounded by violence may come to see it as ‘normal’, increasing the likelihood that they too will become victims or perpetrators in adulthood. Abuse of power, gender inequality, poverty and resulting economic stress, peer pressure and harmful social norms are among the main causes and drivers.

The global community, including the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region, has committed to end all forms of violence against children (VAC) by 2030. Yet without having a clear understanding of the extent, cause, and nature of acts of violence against children, this is an exceedingly difficult challenge to meet. Indeed, the region, like the rest of the world, is not on track to keep this promise to children.

In this new report, UNICEF has conducted both a mapping of indicators and a new analysis of data on VAC prevalence and incidence across the region (second part of this report). The purpose of this analysis is twofold:

• to better understand which VAC indicators countries and territories in ECA use to report VAC prevalence and incidence, and
• to analyse the data on VAC in the region, which will help determine where to direct investments.
   

The structure of the indicator and data analysis in this report follows the main categories of VAC defined by the International Classification of Violence Against Children (ICVAC) – including physical, sexual and psychological VAC, as well as neglect and violent killing. Selected indicators capturing various forms of VAC, such as  “bullying” (physical, psychological, and sexual violence), have also been analysed for countries and territories in the region with available data, as well as so-called “composite phenomena”, such as “child marriage”.  

Drawing from the indicator map, databases, national administrative records, and international and national surveys, this analysis, conducted between July 2024 and May 2025, has revealed that, despite progress, violence against children across the ECA region remains widespread. Available data indicate that:

• For many children, the most dangerous place is home. Nearly 1 in 3 children experience physical punishment at home by caregivers, in 15 countries and territories with available data across the region. The prevalence of psychological aggression against children by caregivers is even higher, ranging from 40 to 69 per cent in these countries and territories. Children as young as 1-2 years old were reportedly exposed to physical punishment and psychological aggression.
• Many caregivers are not parenting in the way they would like. In 14 countries with available data, most caregivers believe physical punishment and psychological aggression are not necessary for raising children – but many are resorting to it regardless. For instance, in Tajikistan’s 2023 Demographic and Health Survey, only 4 per cent of adults stated that physical punishment is necessary to raise/educate children, while 34 per cent of children reportedly experienced physical punishment by caregivers in the past month of the survey.  Further investigation is needed to determine which factors are preventing parents from interacting with their children the way they want, whether that is stress, a lack of awareness of alternative parenting strategies, or other causes. In families where intimate partner violence takes place, the use of physical punishment or psychological aggression against children is also more likely.
• Sexual violence is one of the most underreported forms of violence in the region. Across 19 member states of the European Union (EU), between 1 and 14 per cent of women reported having experienced sexual violence during childhood. But due to various reasons, which may include societal stigma, victim-blaming and a lack of effective mechanisms and processes for detecting, assessing, accurately recording and appropriately responding to incidents, the actual number is likely far higher. According to global estimates, for instance, around 37 million women and girls experienced rape and sexual assault before age 18 in Europe alone.
• Peer violence is pervasive in the region. On average in 42 countries and territories, around 7 per cent of children recently have bullied others, 11 per cent have been bullied and 10 per cent engaged in physical fights.
• Digital technology is opening new venues for violence. An even higher proportion of children in the 42 countries and territories in the region report experiencing this behaviour online, including an average of 12 per cent who report cyberbullying others and 15 per cent who are cyberbullied.
• While the estimated rate of intentional homicide in the general population has steadily decreased since 2016, this progress is not mirrored for children. Instead, in the child population, the homicide rate has remained relatively stable. More than 1,000 children were registered as killed intentionally in this period in ECA.
• Neglect is prevalent in the region, but data required to conduct a comparative analysis are lacking. This may be due to resource constraints, systems failing to define neglect as a type of VAC, and the absence of international standardized indicators for neglect, among other reasons.
• Gender, age, and intersecting vulnerabilities, such as disability status, being in alternative care, or being affected by migration and humanitarian crises all contribute to which children are more likely to face violence, as well as to be identified and supported.
   

The analysis identified almost 1,500 VAC prevalence and incidence indicators used by countries and territories in the region that could be matched with the main ICVAC categories. The VAC indicator repository compiled based on the analysis is not exhaustive, given both accessibility issues and budget and time constraints. However, it provides a strong foundation.

While many countries and territories in the region collect and report VAC data, using these data for a regional comparative analysis was challenging due to issues  with data quality and comparability, insufficient data coverage and lack of disaggregated data, among other reasons. 

For instance, most of the VAC data that were used in the report’s analysis were produced by only a few countries and territories in the region. This means that countries and territories without available or comparable data had to be omitted from the analysis, which can give a misleading account of the regional VAC data landscape. 

Many countries and territories in the region are also failing to collect data on certain types of violence at all, especially neglect and psychological violence. Few countries and territories systematically disaggregate the VAC indicators they use by variables deemed “indispensable” or “minimum” by the ICVAC, such as the age and sex of the child victim and the perpetrator, though this information is crucial for planning and implementing an effective VAC response. 

Most countries and territories in the region use surveys and administrative registers to collect VAC data – essential VAC data sources. However, while some countries and territories in the region use standardized international surveys or survey modules – enabling comparative data analysis despite some country-specific variations – not all do. There are also differences among standardized international surveys and survey modules used by different sub-regions, hampering comparability across the region and leading to limited data coverage. For example, various countries and territories in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia use Multiple Indicator Cluster surveys (MICS) or Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) to collect data on specific forms of VAC. These are not used in Western European countries and territories. Moreover, the EU has recently started collecting data on violence against women (VAW) including violence experienced during childhood using a gender-based violence survey (EU GBV), which differs in survey design and methodology from the MICS and DHS modules on VAC.  

National statistics in the region, which are based on data from administrative registers and databases, are even harder to compare than survey-based data. This is due to considerable variations in concepts and definitions of the different forms of VAC and of many disaggregation variables (such as age group, disability and migration status, etc.) used across and within countries and territories in the region, particularly when there is more than one sector producing and reporting VAC data. 

Even when comparable data are available for analysis, global evidence and the findings of this report show that both survey and administrative data underreport VAC prevalence and incidence. Surveys rarely cover all forms of VAC and all sub-categories of one form of VAC, for example. Administrative registers are hindered by low levels of disclosure and help-seeking from formal sources by the children affected. These challenges often are coupled with the lack of systematic detection, registration and reporting of VAC incidents by systems including social services, health, education, justice and law enforcement. They are further hampered by the lack of systematic production and publication of VAC statistics by many countries and territories. 

What governments and other stakeholders must do

The following recommendations are based on a large – and growing – evidence base regarding VAC data gaps and what works in violence prevention and response. Many of these are already being implemented by governments in the region and around the world. Yet, all too often, implementation is too slow to help  the children who need protection now. 
To make an impact, they must be scaled quickly. 
 

1. Ensure a protective environment for all children.

• Invest in quality parenting and family support interventions and services and ensure that they are readily available for all parents and caregivers, and promote gender equality.
• Ensure schools are safe and inclusive spaces where children feel safe to learn and express themselves, free from violence by peers and teachers, by implementing whole-school approaches to prevent peer violence and bullying, build socio-emotional skills, and provide effective referral and
  response mechanisms.
• Integrate online risks into violence prevention strategies, and ensure that children’s rights are placed at the forefront of digital governance. This includes updating legislation, regulating tech companies and online platforms, and reforming child protection systems for the digital age.
• Support schools to build teacher and staff capacity through training so they can address sensitive issues, challenge harmful gender and social norms, and guide children to services.
• Provide specialized support for children who show harmful behaviours, including tailored psychosocial interventions, restorative justice approaches, and age-appropriate, trauma-informed therapeutic support for children exhibiting harmful sexual behaviours.
   

2. Respond and prevent recurrence

• Invest in hiring and training an adequate number of social workers who can respond to the needs of children and families – including in sudden onset emergencies and in the context of migration and displacement – and equip the wider social service workforce with the skills, tools, attitudes and resources to prevent and respond to VAC.
• Reform justice systems and services to ensure that they are child-sensitive, restorative and trauma-informed.
• Establish and strengthen multidisciplinary and interagency services (such as Barnahus-type models) to prevent re-traumatization and ensure coordinated support to child victims and witnesses.
• Establish clear, structured mechanisms for collaboration and coordination among child protection services, law enforcement, the judiciary and health services to ensure efficient case management and safeguard the child’s best interests while balancing confidentiality and interagency collaboration, and also promoting coordination with VAW response mechanisms. 
   

3. Leave no child behind

• Accelerate childcare reform to prevent family separation, end institutionalization, and ensure every child grows up in a safe and nurturing family environment – including in emergency responses.
• Prioritize investments in early intervention and family support services, expand quality family- and community-based care alternatives, and set clear time-bound targets for deinstitutionalization.
• Consider the gender dynamics of VAC, and safeguard the needs of children with disabilities, infants and young children, and those in migration and displacement contexts.
   

4. Improve VAC data collection and monitoring

• Invest in VAC data improvement and bridge the VAC data gap.
• Support and fund country-specific, regional and subregional initiatives to strengthen data and information management systems on VAC.
• Adopt ICVAC and existing guidance on VAC statistics, and apply lessons from prior and ongoing data-improvement projects.
• Conduct a systematic review and assessment of the VAC data landscape and ecosystem to identify what exists, what is missing, what works (or not), and where targeted improvements are needed to build a comprehensive cross-sectoral national VAC data collection and monitoring system.
• Stay engaged with UNICEF’s ICVAC implementation and the Steering Group on Statistics on Children under the Conference of European Statisticians, and participate in expert consultations, technical working groups and knowledge-sharing forums  to align practices and mobilize technical support.
• Integrate VAC modules in regular national household survey programmes to facilitate collection of trend data and reporting against violence-related SDGs.
   

Unless ending violence against children is prioritized across sectors, systems, services and budgets, even the most well-intentioned policies and promises will fall far short of protecting children. When it comes to being protected, children experiencing violence don’t have another minute to lose – and neither do we.