Strengthening Global Systems to Protect Children: A multi-national analysis of HIV risk and violence against children

Violence against children continues to be one of the leading human rights violations worldwide. Protecting children is a key priority area for governments and global organizations including the United Nations and the World Health Organization. This is particularly relevant to countries with generalized HIV epidemics that have strained the national capacity to protect children. In response to the need for rigorous evidence to inform policy and programming for the protection of children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed and conducted the National Violence Against Children (VAC) Surveys in Swaziland, Tanzania, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Haiti, Cambodia and Indonesia. The VAC Surveys systematically measure physical, emotional and sexual violence against children and have documented that almost 60% of children have experienced violence before the age of 18 years. To date, the CDC has produced technical reports that describe the epidemiological patterns of child violence, evaluate health systems and make recommendations for interventions to prevent violence against children, however the multi-national datasets remain largely unexplored. In collaboration with Columbia University and the University of Ottawa, this research program will use the multi-national VAC Surveys to explore the linkages between individual, relationship, community and societal factors to investigate how violence against children is a product of multiple features of a childs environment. Results of these analyses are designed to inform programming and policy in child protection and HIV/AIDS prevention to promote safer societies for children.