Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

Sustainable Development Goal 16 addresses violence against children.

Education and Early Childhood Development

Schools can be the setting for forms of violence such as bullying, corporal punishment and sexual exploitation and abuse that must be addressed directly. But schools can also be an early detection mechanism for violence and neglect that happens in a child’s home or community. Children exposed to violence and other adversities at home or at school are more likely to drop out of education, compromising their chances of becoming productive citizens. Realizing the right of all children to a safe, 6 inclusive7 and quality education plays a foundational role in creating more productive, equal and inclusive societies.

Experiencing toxic stress and violence in early childhood can alter the development of the brain structure and function, such as language acquisition and cognitive functioning, which can result in deficits in social and emotional competency. Later in life, these can decrease economic productivity, increase the likelihood of intergenerational poverty, and perpetuate violence in personal relationships.

Children as agents of change

A successful national development plan requires inclusive partnerships – at the global, regional, national, and local levels – that are based on shared visions, principles and values that place all people, including children, at the center. Children are agents of change15 and need to be a part of participatory and representative decision-making processes.

When children engage with their peers and adult counterparts in civic activities, it helps to strengthen their protection against violence, as well as the prevention of and response to that violence. Children’s meaningful participation as peaceful agents of change is empowering not only to each child individually but also collectively to their entire generation. Participation strengthens their sense of self-confidence and citizenship, deepens their understanding of their rights, creates an environment that is conducive to speaking up and helps to redress the injustices suffered by themselves and their peers. Safe, inclusive and accessible public spaces17 are essential for the creation of such an environment.

Peaceful, inclusive and just societies

The risks of violence against children are heightened by poverty and inequality, forced displacement, ongoing humanitarian crises, conflicts and violence, and the impact of the climate crisis, which can expose them to forms of violence such as trafficking and deprivation of liberty in the context of detention related to migration and peaceful protest. These risk factors even normalize violence against children. Organized criminal activity, underpinned by evolving technologies such as the darknet, encryption and the use of cryptocurrencies, make the detection of crime and the pursuit of justice even harder.

Achieving justice for children means ensuring that penal, civil and administrative justice systems are child-friendly and that they prioritize children’s well-being. At the same time, justice for children also encompasses the broader concepts of social and environmental justice as an integral part of promoting peaceful and inclusive societies.

Child-friendly justice systems guarantee the right to a remedy for child victims, are accountable to children, use the deprivation of liberty of children in conflict with the law as a measure of last resort, and prioritize restorative justice approaches.

Social justice must be afforded to all children. This also includes migrant and stateless children who often live in inadequate living conditions and lack access to essential services such as education, health and justice.

Children on move

Without legal status and the protection and access to services that come with it, children on the move are at increased risk of various forms of violence, exploitation and abuse. Strengthening social, economic and political inclusion can help to address some of the push factors for migration, while policies and practices that support orderly, safe and regular migration can help to mitigate the risks of violence for children and their families.

Gender equality and discrimination

Gender inequalities and discrimination increase the risk of violence, putting girls and women at particular risk and inhibiting their ability to seek protection. Social and cultural norms and practices that condone violence11 and the unequal treatment of girls limit their access to education. This reduces their choices and opportunities in life and, therefore, drives cycles of poverty and deprivation.