Earlier this fall, ChildFund Alliance spoke with children from Nicaragua to New Zealand about their perceptions of violence. Small Voices, Big Dreams is the study created from those conversations, containing the thoughts, feelings and opinions of nearly 5,500 young people in 15 different countries. The findings of the study were striking:
- 1 in 2 children surveyed said that in their country, adults do not listen to their opinions on issues that matter to them
- More than 40 per cent of children believe they are not sufficiently protected by against violence in the countries where they live
- Only 18.1 per cent of children think the people who govern act to protect them
Though many children echo one another – regardless of where they live – the report does highlight socio-economical differences based on location. For example, in Sweden and Spain, more than 85 per cent of children feel safe when they walk alone in their community, while in India and Burkina Faso, areas of transit were considered the highest-risk locations. Across the world, however, 90 per cent of children agreed: to avoid violence against children, adults should listen to what adults have to say.
"Children have wonderful brains. We have our own opinions and just because we are children it doesn’t mean that everything we say is nonsense."
ChildFund Alliance is a global network of 11 child-focused development organisations that reach nearly 13 million children and their families in more than 60 countries. ChildFund conducted this survey in Canada, Honduras, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Mexico, Brazil, Sweden, Spain, Burkina Faso, Ghana, India, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and New Zealand. To read the report, click the link below.
