Ending violence against children: A new international standard to foster data availability

Claudia Cappa; Roberta Cecchetti; Isabel Jijon

doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106330

Ending violence against children: A new international standard to foster data availability

Child Abuse Negl. 2023 Oct:144:106330. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106330. Epub 2023 Aug 9.

Authors

Claudia Cappa¹, Roberta Cecchetti², Isabel Jijon³

Affiliations

¹ Data and Analytics Section, Division of Data, Analytics, Planning and Monitoring, UNICEF, New York, NY, United States. Electronic address: ccappa@unicef.org.
² International Bureau for Children's Rights, Montreal, Canada.
³ Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States.

PMID: 37566972
DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106330

Abstract

Interest in data on violence against children has been gathering momentum in recent years. Nevertheless, data collection efforts overall are sporadic and national data systems remain underdeveloped. What is more, definitions of violence are inconsistent and unclear. What 'counts' as violence against children varies across data collection efforts, negatively impacting data quality. Significant investment - in the form of guidance as well as tools and other resources for capacity-building - is urgently required to respond to countries' data needs. The newly released International Classification of Violence against Children (ICVAC) holds potential for bringing the world one step closer to filling data gaps and thus promoting accountability towards the ambitious global goal of ending violence against children.

Keywords: Children; Classifications; Data; Definitions; Violence.

MeSH terms

Child
Data Collection
Humans
Violence* / prevention & control