Publications

More than 1 billion children – half of all children in the world – are exposed to violence every year.  It is clear that violence has a severe impact on the mental health of children. Exposure to violence is often traumatic, and it can evoke toxic responses to stress that cause both immediate and longterm physiological and psychological damage. The consequences of violence include depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, borderline personality disorder, anxiety, substance use disorders, sleep and eating disorders, and suicide.

The cumulative impact of violence on children’s mental health is shaped by the way in which children experience violence as they move from early childhood to adolescence, with variations in both the forms of violence to which they are exposed and the consequences for their mental health. These consequences can be passed from one generation to the next, particularly for children whose childhoods have been characterized by exposure to intimate partner violence, and for mothers who experienced violence as they grew up.

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The current discourse on violent extremism focuses largely on young adults, thereby overlooking key drivers, influences and causal pathways that are specific to children. These include children’s biological tendency towards risk taking and heightened vulnerability to polarized message content. It is also clear that when children become associated with violent extremist groups, this can reflect an age-specific psychological response to their surroundings or circumstances. For example, where children grow up being exposed to chronic marginalization, violence or social injustice, joining an extremist group can represent an act of agency, or a means to feel connected, assert power or exact revenge.

When these insights are applied to programing, a key message is the importance of children not entering adolescence with underdeveloped social bonds or socio-behavioural deficits. This is because regardless of why a child joins a violent group, once engaged, this pathway is rapid, unidirectional, often hidden, and highly resilient to interruption.

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The risk of violence faced by children affected by deprivation of liberty has been a priority for the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children since the outset of her mandate in 2009. In an effort to shed further light on the impact of deprivation of liberty on the enjoyment of children’s rights, the Special Representative partnered with UNICEF, the Governments of Paraguay and Uruguay and the Latin American and Caribbean Regional Platform for Children with a Parent deprived of Liberty (NNAPEs Platform) to document the views and experiences of children affected by the deprivation of liberty. A total of 504 children deprived of liberty and those who have parents and caregivers in detention were consulted between mid-2017 and early 2018. Guided by the UN Study, the 2030 Agenda and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, this report describes the impact of deprivation of liberty on children, both when they are deprived of liberty themselves and when they are affected by the deprivation of liberty of a parent or a caregiver. 

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This report aims to help us keep that promise to children. It documents what has been achieved to date through collective action, reminds us of the prevalence and nature of violence, sets out the evidence on solutions, and charts a course for accelerated progress. Violence against children is widespread and pervasive but is not inevitable! By placing children at the heart of the 2030 Agenda, and at the centre of all we do, we can realize its noble vision of a world free from fear and violence for all. 

From foreword by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres

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