#CutTheViolence
Violence is always violence. Nothing and no one justifies it.
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In Latin America and the Caribbean, violence has become part of the everyday life of children and adolescents.
Our region is considered one of the most violent in the world. It is time to stop the cycle of violence.
Two out of three children and adolescents in Latin America and the Caribbean
suffer violence at home as a form of parenting.
Violence is always violence
Violence does not occur in isolation. Acts of violence should not be treated as stand-alone incidents but as events rooted in the lives of children and adolescents.
Violence is a cycle that generates more violence.
Children and adolescents who experience violence are more likely than others to experience other types of violence later in life or to act violently themselves in the future.
Violent environments favour the development of early violent behaviour, which gets worse over time in an unending cycle. We must break this cycle.
How does violence get hidden?
There are many ways of justifying and thereby hiding violence. If people can make it seem natural, it will carry on happening.
It can be disguised as affection, custom, or a form of parenting or education. It might even be disguised as a practice within sports, fashion, music, or a challenge on social media, among many other things.
It also hides in a phrase we hear all too often: "...because that's how I was raised and that's how I learned."
From the most commonplace acts such as shouting, slapping and pushing, to situations of sexual abuse, harassment, shootings and homicide, attempts are often made to justify and hide the violence.
But ultimately, it is always violence.
What do you need to know about violence to make it stop?
There are three forms of violence:
| Sexual violence. |
| Violent death, especially as a result of armed violence. |
| Corporal punishment and psychological aggression, used as disciplinary methods. |
Definitions:
| Violent discipline | Corporal punishment | Severe corporal punishment | Psychological aggression |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any corporal punishment or psychological aggression. | Shaking, hitting or slapping; whipping or striking on the buttocks or another part of the body; slapping on the face, hear or ears; or hitting hard and repeatedly. | Hitting or slapping on the face, head or ears, or hitting hard and repeatedly. | Shouting, screaming, scolding, or offensive name-calling. |
If you need help
What we need to do?
To end violence against children in Latin America and the Caribbean, UNICEF urges governments to:
- Adopt laws that fully prohibit corporal punishment in all settings.
- Amend national legislation to align with international standards regarding the criminalization of child sexual abuse and exploitation and protection of child victims.
- Invest in programmes to prevent violence, including positive parenting programmes that provide caregivers with the support and resources they need.
- Implement social and behaviour change interventions to address the normalization of violence against children.
- Strengthen the capacity of the social service workforce to prevent, recognize and respond to violence against children.
- Improve data collection on violence against children, using standard measures specifically by implementing the International Classification on Violence against Children, to fill data gaps on different issues such as sexual violence in childhood.