INSPIRE

Launched alongside the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children in 2016, INSPIRE is a set of seven evidence-based strategies for countries and communities working to eliminate violence against children. Created by ten agencies with a long history of child protection work, INSPIRE serves as a technical package and guidebook for implementing effective, comprehensive programming to combat violence.

The World Health Organization (WHO) initiated preparation of INSPIRE, in collaboration with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Together for Girls, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the World Bank.

In 2016, ten agencies collaborated to develop INSPIRE, a technical package of seven key strategies to end violence against children. This technical package, which can be found in more detail on the sidebar at right, pulls together proven strategies which, in the past, have successfully reduced violence against children. Learn more by listening to our country engagement lead, Sabine Rakotomalala, in the video below. 

Implementation and enforcement of laws

INSPIRE encourages laws that ban violent punishment of children by parents, caregivers, teachers and other adults, along with laws criminalizing perpetrators of sexual abuse and exploitation of children. INSPIRE also found that laws preventing alcohol misuse and youth access to firearms (and other weapons) have been proven to decrease violence. 

Norms and values

INSPIRE emphasizes the importance of changing harmful societal norms, which can target gender, ability level, age and other indicators. INSPIRE provides examples of effective community mobilization and bystander intervention programmes.

Safe environments

INSPIRE has found a reduction in violence by addressing "hotspots." Making environments safer can halt the spread of violence throughout a community. 

Parent and caregiver support

To truly stop violence against children, it is essential to engage parents and caregivers. INSPIRE provides ways of doing so, including home visits, group activities in community settings, and other evidence-based programmes that target praents and caregivers. 

Income and economic strengthening

Violence can often be prevented if a family's financial status improves. INSPIRE outlines interventions that strengthen families' economic standing, including cash transfers, group savings and loans programs combined with gender equity training, and microfinance initiatives combined with gender norm training. 

Response and support services

INSPIRE provides examples of effective counselling and therapeutic approaches, screening combined with interventions, and treatment programmes for juvenile offenders in the criminal justice system. In addition, the package includes foster care interventions that involve existing social welfare services. 

Education and life skills

INSPIRE provides recommendations for increasing enrollment in preschools, primary schools and secondary schools, and relays the importance of safe, enabling school environments. By increasing children's knowledge about violence and sexual exploitation, children are less likely to become victim to such abuses, making life skills and social training an essential part of the INSPIRE package.

In July of 2018, the INSPIRE Fund was launched to increase awareness of the INSPIRE strategies in low- and middle-income countries across the world. The Fund, which was made possible by the New Venture Fund and Ignite Philanthropy: Inspiring the End to Violence Against Girls and Boys, also helped leaders in these countries shape and drive the INSPIRE agenda globally. 

Map

A total of $750,000 USD was available within the Fund, supporting projects that ranged from $5,000 to $30,000. Fund-supported projects supported rapid INSPIRE promotion and dissemination activities such as workshops, events, promotional videos, translations, webinars, radio talk shows, participation support and more. The Fund is widely credited for rapidly raising awareness on the INSPIRE package and engendering the desired momentum behind more evidence-informed practices in preventing violence against children.

Funding was dispersed in 38 countries, including Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Chile, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Georgia, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Kosovo, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay and Vanuatu. Highlights of each Fund-supported project can be found below.

The fund was managed by the CPC Learning Network, Colombia University Mailman School of Public Health, and a diverse group of 13 review committee members who were also members of the INSPIRE Working Group.

Argentina

Fundación Red por la Infancia launched a number of advocacy campaigns linked to leveraging INSPIRE to prevent violence against children. They also hosted a national conference with 263 participants to launch INSPIRE with the participation of several ministries.

Armenia

Child Protection Network held 11 workshops on INSPIRE and to develop of recommendations to the National Action Plan to End VAC which attracted 254 participants. The group is forming partnerships with local stakeholders on implementation.

Armenia, Chile, Georgia, Lithuania, Paraguay, Peru, the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Uruguay

Bureau Internatinal Catholique de L’Enfance held a meeting in Uruguay bringing together 19 representatives of partner organizations (Paraguay, Peru, Chili and Uruguay) and held a number of worshops in Paraguay, Peru and Chile. The INSPIRE strategies are well known and understood by all 10 partners of BICE program Combating Violence Against Children, in Particular Sexual Violence.

Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Moldova and Romania

Childpact supported national level working groups and started the design and implementation of an online dissemination campaign for INSPIRE. The ChildPact Regional Coalition for Child Protection in the Extended Black Sea Region reported that their members reached 670 organizations through training and knowledge dissemination on the INSPIRE package.

Brazil, Kenya, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, India

Arigatou International facilitated the access and understanding of INSPIRE among religious communities, government representatives and grassroots organizations. A set of five roundtable discussions were organized in Brazil, India, Kenya, Lebanon and Sri Lanka, which gathered more than 600 leaders to discuss INSPIRE strategies.

Bulgaria

National Network for Children in Bulgaria formed a task force and held multiple trainings for key experts from various Ministries, agencies and other stakeholders. They also co-hosted a national conference and multiple advocacy meetings and regional workshops to build political will, leadership and commitment to implement INSPIRE in Bulgaria.

Cambodia

Child Helpline Cambodia conducted eight workshops and trained 107 members of the Commune Committee for Women and Children (CCWC) in four districts on INSPIRE Strategies. 11,206 beneficiaries received community education service, home visits and violence mediation from the trained 107 CCWCs in four provinces.

China

In addition to translating materials and promotional videos, World Vision China held INSPIRE dissemination workshops with 120 key representatives from local CSOs and government bodies. By the project’s end, a total of 1,224 key actors were reached (872 CSO participants, 66 government representatives, 200 community members, 64 children, 22 academic participants) across 353 CSOs from four provinces and one municipality. These actors acquired basic knowledge about the INSPIRE package, and how it can be applied in the local context.

Côte d’Ivoire

In Côte d’Ivoire, the Global Initiative to End Corporal Punishment for All Children partnered with the Ivorian Child Rights Coalition, Save the Children Côte d’Ivoire and the Ministry in charge of child protection to host a training on INSPIRE involving a diverse group of local stakeholders.

Georgia

In addition to translating INSPIRE publications into Georgian, Initiatives for Social Changes successfully established a local INSPIRE Working Group Georgia (IWGG), consisting of all the stakeholders from the field of child protection and welfare, including representatives of the relevant Ministries, Georgian Parliament, Supreme Court, Prosecutor’s Office, Public Defender’s Office, international and 11 local NGOs, who organized a two-day INSPIRE training.

Haiti

Idette, a local organization, trained 93 key protection actors from the education, health and justice sectors and community leaders on the INSPIRE framework, through community forums, focus groups, and webinars. The group also had sensitisation activities with 112 heads of households.

India

Youth for Social Development sensitised the package with close to 1652 stakeholders, including senior public and elected officials and trained 94 local CSO representatives and grassroots group on the INSPIRE strategies.

Indonesia

In Indonesia, the Global Initiative to End Corporal Punishment for All Children partnered with Aliansi Penghapusan Kekerasan Terhdap Anak (the Alliance for the Elimination of Violence Against Children) for an INSPIRE training that attracted representatives from a wide range of children’s rights NGOs, the Asean Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC), and the Ministries of Law and Human Rights, and Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection.

Jamaica

In Jamaica, the Violence Prevention Alliance designed and implemented “Be the Peace,” a youth-based peace day campaign during Peace Month in March. The project was rolled out through schools and social media campaigns. Through collaboration with partners, the Violence Prevention Alliance facilitated activities and workshops to disseminate INSPIRE package with local stakeholders.

Kenya

LVCT Kenya held multiple sensitization workshops with policy makers to advocate for the adaptation of INSPIRE strategies into the Kenya National Prevention and Response Plan 2019- 2023. Close to 114 representatives from 46 local CSOs and duty bearers in child protection were sensitized on INSPIRE.

Montenegro

Center for Children’s Rights of Montenegro and NGO Juventas joined efforts to host a three-day training on INSPIRE with local stakeholders and produced a number of promotional publications and videos in local language.

Nigeria

The Institute of Child Health at the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan engaged more than 800 participants through a variety of workshops and trainings with postgraduate students, paediatricians and child protection experts.

Peru

World Vision Peru trained 95 child protection authorities on the INSPIRE technical package and held INSPIRE dissemination workshops with 150 children and adolescents, who participate in the Child and Adolescent Consulting Council (CCONNA) and the National Transformational Leaders’ Alliance (ANALIT) in Metropolitan Lima and Ayacucho.

Senegal

ChildFund Senegal used a variety of media and artistic channels to engage young people, civil society, local authorities and community members on issues of child abuse. This included a training with 50 child protection leaders where young people also shared their INSPIRE-related artistic works.

South Africa

Save the Children South Africa collated the outcomes of a number of sector-level workshops with civil society, academia and government on preventing violence against women and children into a comprehensive INSPIRE report, which was shared with the department of Social Development as a contribution to South Africa’s country report for the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children. 

Turkey

In addition to translating three documents and a promotional video into Turkish, the Nirengi Association partnered with UNICEF Turkey to host a range of workshops, webinars and meetings on INSPIRE reaching 120 participants from local CSOs and government agencies. Following the workshops, the Nirengi team was invited by the Turkey State Statistical Institute to prepare a technical concept note on the collection of national survey data on violence against children in light of the INSPIRE Seven Strategies.

Uganda

Global Social Service Workforce Alliance collaborated with the local Child Protection Working Group in Uganda, to host a 2.5-day media and advocacy training to equip frontline workers with tools, skills and messages for increasing public awareness of the role of the social service workforce and creating norms change toward ending violence against children.

Ukraine

In addition to translating three documents into Ukrainian, Odessa Charity Foundation held a training with 40 stakeholders and decision-makers in the region and reached over 10,000 individuals through dissemination campaigns.

Vanuatu

World Vision Vanuatu designed the curriculum to reduce the level of social tolerance towards gender-based violence in Vanuatu adolescents, and equipped them with skills to develop and maintain healthy relationships throughout their lives.

INSPIRE: Seven strategies for ending violence against children reflects the contributions of technical experts from many partners. The INSPIRE Working Group Advisory and Operational Support team is convened by the World Health Organization (WHO), United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Care and Protection of Children (CPC) Learning Network at Columbia University, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children.

This diverse group of global experts advises on and guides global INSPIRE dissemination, learning & development, and implementation efforts. Members include representatives from:

  • African Partnership to End Violence Against Children
  • Care and Protection of Children (CPC) Learning Network, Columbia University
  • Child Protection Network Foundation
  • Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children
  • Ignite Philanthropy
  • Impact and Innovations Development Centre
  • Pan American Health Organization
  • PEPFAR
  • Plan International
  • Red por la Infancia Argentina
  • Together for Girls
  • United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
  • United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
  • United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
  • Violence Prevention Alliance Jamaica
  • World Bank
  • World Council of Churches
  • World Health Organization
  • World Vision International | CSO Forum Representative
A baby smiles with his father in Cote D'Ivoire.

Image Credits

Header: © UNICEF/UNI177576/Richter
What is INSPIRE?: © UNICEF/UN0289229/Sokol