Corporal punishment is a highly prevalent form of violence against children (VAC) and a breach of children’s human rights . Its widespread social acceptance means that a level of violence in childrearing is normalised, entrenching children’s low status in society and paving the way for other forms of violence and mistreatment.

Despite its prevalence, corporal punishment has struggled to gain meaningful attention within the political, policy and public health agendas. However, a growing body of research developed over five decades, including some 300 studies involving hundreds of thousands of children shows that its impacts are profound and far-reaching. Far from being trivial, research tells us that corporal punishment has significant negative impacts on the lives of children in the short and long term, with consequences and costs for society as a whole.

This webinar, hosted by the World Health Organization and the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, offers an opportunity to explore key research findings on corporal punishment of children. Hearing from some of the world’s leading academics on the topic, participants will gain a thorough understanding of the impact of corporal punishment on children’s health and well-being, and evidence-based insights into strategies for its prevention.

Speakers: 

Etienne Krug MD, MPH, Director, Social Determinants of Health, World Health Organization 

Alex Butchart PhD, Head, Prevention of Violence, World Health Organization 

Elizabeth Gershoff PhD, Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas 

Jorge Cuartas MSc, Harvard University

Joan Durrant PhD, Professor of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba

Sonia Vohito PhD, Legal Policy Specialist, End Violence Partnership

This event is catered mainly to governments and donors. The focus is on prevention efforts to end violence against children in humanitarian settings and filling the funding gap, based on the report entitled “Still Unprotected Report”.

The desired outcome is a shared understanding of the growing body of evidence on the prevention of violence against children – as outlined in the INSPIRE toolkit and the Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (CPMS) - that cuts across the humanitarian and development spectrum. The event will take place within the Annual Meeting of the Child Protection Alliance with this year’s topic on violence prevention.

More than 90% of elementary school age children are enrolled at a school and more than a billion children are expected at school on any given school day. These children will spend up to seven hours of their day in the presence of an adult who is mandated to foster their development and has a duty of care towards them. This situation presents a unique opportunity to influence their experience of childhood and help them develop to their full potential.

Yet experience across the world has been that for many children this opportunity has been denied. Large numbers of children are intimidated, marginalised, and prevented from fully engaging at their school due to the violence against them. The problem of violence at schools is complex and widespread. In some countries, up to 95% of students experience corporal punishment at school and a third of the children report experiencing physical and psychological bullying. Given the magnitude of the problem and the far-reaching consequences, urgent intervention is needed.

The Coalition for Good Schools and Safe to Learn Initiative will host an affiliate event for the End Violence Solutions Summit, which will present an opportunity to discuss this issue in two parts followed by a facilitated discussion.

Part 1: Why prioritize prevention of VAC at schools?

Part 2: What needs to happen to prevent VAC at schools?

Through these discussions participants will:

• Gain a deeper understanding of the issue of violence against children in schools
• Prioritize the issue of preventing violence against children in and through schools
• Learn how schools can be used as a unique entry point to prevent violence
• Collectively develop key advocacy strategies, partnerships, and messaging for sufficient investment in creating violence free schools
• Appreciate the importance of voices from the Global South in leading this agenda

Speakers: 

• Dr. Howard Taylor, Executive Director, End Violence Partnership
• Dr. Chloë Fèvre, Director, Safe to Learn Global Initiative, End Violence Partnership
• Mr. Dipak Naker, Co-Founder and Co-Director of Raising Voices, and Founder of the Coalition for Good Schools
• Dr. Karen Devries, Social Epidemiologist, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
• Dr. Quentin Wodon, Main author of the Investment Case to End Violence in Schools and Lead Economist, World Bank
• Ms. Emily Esplen, Head of Ending Violence Team, UK FCDO
• Mr. Geoff Adlide, Director, Advocacy and Public Policy, Global Partnership for Education
• Dr. John Kalage, Executive Director, HakiElimu

While the first event in this series, Evidence Matters: Taking stock of the evidence on preventing and responding to violence against children, focuses on the growing body of evidence on violence against children prevention and response, this second event will focus on the intersections between violence against children and violence against women.

This event aims to share evidence and foster discussion on intersections between violence against women and violence against children, highlighting opportunities for greater collaboration to build knowledge and translate it into policy and programs. Participants will be updated on the findings of recent evidence reviews on violence against children and violence against women. They will also interact with a diverse group of panelists to share perspectives on how to address gaps in evidence that can strengthen efforts to address violence against children and violence against women at scale.

Event contacts:

• Alessandra Guedes, UNICEF Office of Research-Innocenti (aguedes@unicef.org)
• Floriza Gennari, UNICEF Office of Research-Innocenti (fgennari@unicef.org)

Hosted by the Early Childhood Development Action Network and the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, this webinar offers an opportunity to learn more about the prevalence and impacts of corporal punishment in early life, to hear about global progress towards prohibiting and eliminating corporal punishment in the early years, including examples of good practice, and to discuss strategies for ending corporal punishment as a priority for promoting the rights and wellbeing of young children and supporting the development of peaceful and strong societies.

Photo credit: © UNICEF/UN0383994/Pancic

This live event will offer participants a space to learn how to implement, evaluate, sustain, and grow the most promising upstream prevention tool, No Hit Zones.

Space is very limited. Please save your seat today and use the limited early bird code NOHITS at checkout for a 30% savings ($175)! Regular registration will be $250.

All sessions will be held in Patton Hall (305 E 23rd St, Austin, TX 78712). Conference will run from 8:30am to 5:30pm on Wednesday and run from 8:30am to 3:00pm on Thursday (optional workshops until 5:00 pm).

Faculty includes experienced No Hit Zone researchers and program developers.

Agenda to include workshops on initiating No Hit Zones, overcoming barriers, expanding, sustaining the movement, and more.

Networking, presentation, and sponsorship opportunities available. Limited seating available.

Multiple hotels are within walking distance to the meeting site:

AT&T Hotel and Conference Center have a limited number of spaces for conference attendees at a $189 per night rate. Access the registration information here. The Conference Hotel is 13 minutes walking distance from Patton Hall.

• Hampton Inn and Suites Austin at the University/Capitol (19 min walk to Patton Hall, 6 min drive)

• AC Hotel by Marriott Austin (20 min walk to Patton Hall, 6 min drive)

• Kasa Austin Campus Spaces at UT Austin (16 min walk to Patton Hall, 6 min drive)

• Moxy Austin – University (18 min walk to Patton Hall, 5 min drive)

• Hotel Indigo Austin Downtown – University (29 min walk to Patton Hall, 8 min drive)

For more information, click here!