‘Turning the tide’ on childhood violence

“Despite being highly preventable, violence remains a horrific day to day reality for millions of children around the world – leaving scars that span generations,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General.

“Today countries made critical pledges that, once enacted, could finally turn the tide on childhood violence,” he added.

One billion children affected

Over half of all children aged two to 17 worldwide – some one billion – are estimated to suffer some form of violence, such as child maltreatment (including corporal punishment, the most prevalent form of childhood violence), physical or emotional abuse and sexual violence.

Some three in five children are regularly punished by physical means in their home, and one in five girls and one in seven boys experience sexual violence.

For some of these children, violence results in death or serious injury. Every 13 minutes, a child or adolescent dies as a result of homicide – equating to around 40,000 preventable deaths each year. Moreover, violence, often involving firearms or other weapons, is now the leading cause of death among adolescent males.

For others, experiencing violence has devastating and life-long consequences. These include anxiety and depression, risky behaviours like unsafe sex, smoking and substance abuse and reduced academic achievement.

Violence against children is also often hidden, with WHO estimates that fewer than half of affected children tell anyone they experienced violence and under 10 per cent receive any help.

Enacted prevention strategies

At the Bogotá conference, countries committed to a range of evidence-based strategies aimed at preventing childhood violence.

Key measures include expanding parenting support programmes to encourage positive, non-violent discipline. School-based programmes targeting bullying and enhancing social skills also play a crucial role in fostering safer learning spaces.

Additionally, governments pledged to improve child-friendly health and social services to support young survivors, while new digital safety initiatives aim to protect children from online exploitation.

Research shows that implementing these strategies could reduce violence against children by 20 to 50 per cent, underscoring the importance of these new commitments in turning the tide on childhood violence.