Violence Against Children
National study... Alarming numbers
- Available in:
- English
- العربية
The right of children to be protected from violence is enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, yet one billion children are subjected to some form of emotional, physical, or sexual violence every year; one child dies from violence every five minutes.
In Jordan, more than 40% of the population is under the age of 18, that is more than 4.221 million children, that is why Jordan was one of the first countries to sign the Convention on the Rights of the Child and issued a special law to endorse it.
Jordan attaches great importance to children’s affairs and place it among its priorities, whether it is at the level of services provided to children, legislation upholding their rights and ways to meeting them or mechanisms protecting these rights and putting them into full effect.
This National Study on Violence Against Children in Jordan aims to shed light on societal practices and trends relating to violence against children, and to provide relevant data, which will help build an integrated picture of violence against children in Jordan and contribute to determining the requirements of the child and family protection system for the coming years.
50 per cent of children were physically abused by parents/legal guardians, school teachers, administrators and siblings.
No boundaries
Violence against children knows no boundaries of culture, class, or education. It may occur against children in institutions, in schools, and at home. Peer-to-peer violence is also a concern, as is growing cyberbullying. Children exposed to violence live in isolation, loneliness, and fear, not knowing where to turn for help, especially when the offender is a family member.
Children's gender, disability, poverty, nationality, or religious origin may increase the risk of violence.
What is “Violence Against Children”?
All forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment, or exploitation, including sexual abuse against persons under the age of eighteen, whether committed by parents, other caregivers, peers, institutions or others.
Let's go over some of the key results of this study
Physical violence
of children in the national sample aged 8-17 years have experienced at least one form of physical violence in their lifetime.
of children in the sample of Syrian Camps aged 8-17 years have experienced at least one form of physical violence in their lifetime.
of children with disabilities in the 8-17 years age group have experienced at least one form of physical violence in their lifetime.
Psychological violence
of children in the national sample aged 8-17 have experienced at least one form of psychological violence in their lifetime.
of children in the sample of Syrian Camps aged 8-17 have experienced at least one form of psychological violence in their lifetime.
of children with disabilities in the 8-17 age group have experienced at least one form of psychological violence in their lifetime.
Sexual violence against children
of children in the national sample in the 8-17 years age group have experienced at least one form of sexual violence in their lifetime.
of the children in the sample of Syrian Camps in the age group of 8-17 years have experienced at least one form of sexual violence in their lifetime.
Ask for help
If you feel that you are a victim of any act of violence,
contact the Jordan River Foundation’s helpline:
110
