Protecting Children from Violence in the Time of COVID-19: Disruptions in Prevention and Response Services

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Publication language
English
Pages
20pp
Date published
01 Aug 2020
Type
Research, reports and studies
Keywords
Children & youth, Conflict, violence & peace, COVID-19, Epidemics & pandemics, Gender, Governance, Protection, human rights & security, Protection, Social protection
Organisations
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
Link
https://data.unicef.org/resources/protecting-children-from-violence-in-the-time-of-covid-19-brochure/

As daily lives and communities are upended by COVID-19, concern is mounting that children’s exposure to violence may increase. Children with a history of abuse may find themselves even more vulnerable – both at home and online – and may experience more frequent and severe acts of violence. Others may be victimized for the first time.

Understanding the current status of violence prevention and response services is therefore essential to assessing risks to children. A new UNICEF publication, Protecting Children from Violence in the Time of COVID-19: Disruptions in prevention and response services, documents what has happened to such services across the world:

  • 1.8 billion children live in the 104 countries where violence prevention and response services have been disrupted due to COVID-19
  • Case management and home visits for children and women at risk of abuse are among the most commonly disrupted services
  • Around two thirds of countries with disruptions reported that at least one type of service had been severely affected; however, 70 per cent of countries reported that mitigation measures had been put into place