Violence against children during the COVID-19 pandemic

This paper summarizes the growing body of evidence on the links between the pandemic and violence against children. Drawing on the World Health Organization’s INSPIRE framework to end violence against children, it illustrates how the pandemic is affecting prevention and response efforts. For each of the seven INSPIRE strategies, the authors identify how responses to the pandemic have changed children’s risk of violence.

Why we like this piece

The paper offers ideas for how governments, policymakers, and international and civil society organizations can address violence in the context of a protracted COVID-19 crisis. It highlights how the current pandemic offers opportunities to improve existing child protection systems to address violence against children. It also stresses the continued need for better data and evidence to inform violence prevention and response strategies that can be effective during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

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