Each year, 12 million girls are married before they turn 18; that’s 22 girls every minute whose childhood, dreams and education are cut short. Thanks to the efforts of policy makers, civil society, donors, communities and children, significant progress has been made over the last two decades. During this time an estimated 25 million child marriages were prevented, but many gaps remain in regions of the world with high rates of gender inequality and in fragile and humanitarian contexts.

The COVID-19 outbreak is proving to be one of the biggest challenges across all contexts. Since the pandemic, the risks of child marriage have increased due the global interruption in education, erosion of family incomes and economic assets, and decrease in access to basic services. Most recently, UNICEF has predicted 10 million more child marriages over the next 10 years. Combined with pre-pandemic data, this means that 110 million girls will be at risk of child marriage by 2030. The time for action is now. Governments, donors, civil society, community and faith leaders need to accelerate their actions towards ending child marriage and addressing gender inequality one of its main drivers.

The opening of the 76 session of the UN General Assembly, particularly its high-level week is an opportunity to elevate this issue as a one of the global development priorities and to highlight the need to strengthen and accelerate action and implementation of SDG targets related to ending child marriage and violence against girls and boys.
 

This event is catered mainly to governments and donors. The focus is on prevention efforts to end violence against children in humanitarian settings and filling the funding gap, based on the report entitled “Still Unprotected Report”.

The desired outcome is a shared understanding of the growing body of evidence on the prevention of violence against children – as outlined in the INSPIRE toolkit and the Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (CPMS) - that cuts across the humanitarian and development spectrum. The event will take place within the Annual Meeting of the Child Protection Alliance with this year’s topic on violence prevention.

Over one billion children experience violence every year, with devastating short and long-term consequences for individuals and societies. Corporal punishment is the most common and widely accepted form of violence against children, and most likely to be experienced early in life; studies show that 3 in 4 children under five years are spanked, hit with objects, or beaten as punishment. Sadly, their vulnerability and exposure to violence have increased during the pandemic.

As well as breaching their human rights, the pervasiveness of violence against young children in the home, child care, and other settings is particularly concerning as early child development provides the building blocks for lifelong health, educational achievement, economic wellbeing, and societal progress.

To achieve their developmental potential, children need nurturing care, supportive relationships, and protection from violence. In contrast, exposure to violence can overload children's biological systems, disrupt the brain's circuitry development, and lead to a range of long-term negative consequences. Eradicating corporal punishment in early life is critical to ensuring children's health, development and rights, and in building strong, thriving, and peaceful communities.

This webinar, hosted by the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children and the Early Childhood Development Action Network offers an opportunity to learn more about the prevalence and impacts of corporal punishment in early life, to hear about global progress towards prohibiting and eliminating corporal punishment in the early years, including examples of good practice, and to discuss strategies for ending corporal punishment as a priority for promoting the rights and wellbeing of young children, and supporting the development of peaceful and strong societies.

Objectives:

• Promote the ending of violent punishment in early childhood as an urgent global priority
• Increase understanding of the prevalence and impacts of corporal punishment in early life, and the needs and rights of young children to nurturing, non-violent care
• Reflect on strategies for ending corporal punishment of young children, through legislative reform and implementation, and programmatic approaches that support parents and caregivers in the use of non-violent discipline

Speakers:

Host: Shekufeh Zonji, Global Technical Lead, ECDAN

Erinna Dia, Associate Director, Early Childhood Development at UNICEF

Bess Herbert, Corporal Punishment Advocacy Specialist, End Violence Partnership

Jorge Cuartas MSc, Harvard University

Professor Helen Baker-Henningham, University of Bangor

Lalpura Shahi, Save the Children Nepal

Elizabeth Lule, Executive Director, ECDAN

Howard Taylor, Executive Director, End Violence Partnership

Photo credit: © UNICEF/UN0383994/Pancic

As part of the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children’s Together to #ENDviolence global campaign, the Public Health Agency of Canada is hosting a webinar series focused on efforts to prevent and address violence against children across Canada. Melissa Kimber, Harriet MacMillan and James Dietrich will discuss the Violence, Evidence, Guidance, Action (VEGA) online evidence-based educational resources, developed to assist healthcare and social service providers and students in recognizing and responding safely to family violence.

The webinar will be presented in English, with simultaneous interpretation in French, ASL and LSQ. The webinar is hosted by the Public Health Agency of Canada; however, views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Public Health Agency of Canada. ________________________________________________________________

L’Agence de la santé publique du Canada organise une série de webinaires axés sur les efforts visant à prévenir et à contrer la violence envers les enfants partout au Canada. Ces webinaires sont organisés dans le cadre de la campagne mondiale Ensemble pour #Mettrefinalaviolence, dirigée par le Partenariat mondial pour mettre fin à la violence envers les enfants. Melissa Kimber, Harriet MacMillan and James Dietrich discuteront des ressources éducatives en ligne fondées sur des données probantes du projet Violence, Éléments factuels, Guidance, Action (VEGA), élaborées pour aider les fournisseurs de soins de santé et de services sociaux et les étudiants à reconnaître la violence familiale et à intervenir de façon sécuritaire.

Le webinaire sera présenté en anglais, avec des services d’interprétation simultanée en français, en ASL et en LSQ. Le webinaire sera organisé par l’Agence de la santé publique du Canada, mais les opinions qui y seront présentées ne reflèteront pas nécessairement celles de l’Agence.

Corporal punishment is a highly prevalent form of violence against children (VAC) and a breach of children’s human rights . Its widespread social acceptance means that a level of violence in childrearing is normalised, entrenching children’s low status in society and paving the way for other forms of violence and mistreatment.

Despite its prevalence, corporal punishment has struggled to gain meaningful attention within the political, policy and public health agendas. However, a growing body of research developed over five decades, including some 300 studies involving hundreds of thousands of children shows that its impacts are profound and far-reaching. Far from being trivial, research tells us that corporal punishment has significant negative impacts on the lives of children in the short and long term, with consequences and costs for society as a whole.

This webinar, hosted by the World Health Organization and the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, offers an opportunity to explore key research findings on corporal punishment of children. Hearing from some of the world’s leading academics on the topic, participants will gain a thorough understanding of the impact of corporal punishment on children’s health and well-being, and evidence-based insights into strategies for its prevention.

Speakers: 

Etienne Krug MD, MPH, Director, Social Determinants of Health, World Health Organization 

Alex Butchart PhD, Head, Prevention of Violence, World Health Organization 

Elizabeth Gershoff PhD, Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas 

Jorge Cuartas MSc, Harvard University

Joan Durrant PhD, Professor of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba

Sonia Vohito PhD, Legal Policy Specialist, End Violence Partnership

Howard Taylor PhD, Executive Director, End Violence Partnership