International Journal of Social Rehabilitation

LETTER TO EDITOR
Year
: 2018  |  Volume : 3  |  Issue : 2  |  Page : 47-

Containing Violence against Children: Global Perspective


Saurabh RamBihariLal Shrivastava1, Prateek Saurabh Shrivastava2,  
1 Vice Principal Curriculum, Department of Community Medicine, Member of the Medical Education Unit and Institute Research Council, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (Deemed University), Kancheepuram, India
2 Department of Community Medicine, Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (Deemed University), Kancheepuram, India

Correspondence Address:
Dr. Saurabh RamBihariLal Shrivastava
3rd Floor, Department of Community Medicine, Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute, Ammapettai Village, Thiruporur.Guduvancherry Main Road, Sembakkam Post, Kancheepuram - 603 108, Tamil Nadu
India




How to cite this article:
Shrivastava SR, Shrivastava PS. Containing Violence against Children: Global Perspective.Int J Soc Rehabil 2018;3:47-47


How to cite this URL:
Shrivastava SR, Shrivastava PS. Containing Violence against Children: Global Perspective. Int J Soc Rehabil [serial online] 2018 [cited 2024 Mar 28 ];3:47-47
Available from: https://www.ijsocialrehab.com/text.asp?2018/3/2/47/259326


Full Text



Sir,

Violence against children has been acknowledged as a major global public health and social problem.[1] The available estimates suggest that close to 1 billion children across the world have been subjected to physical, sexual, or emotional violence or some form of neglect in the last 1 year.[1] It is quite an alarming figure as such violent episodes are universally associated not only with violation of human rights but also with serious and lifelong aftereffects, which often result in financial load on the families, communities, and nations.[1],[2]

The problem of violence against children has been linked with a wide range of predisposing factors, that too at various levels, such as individual (such as age, gender, poor education or income, and history of being subjected to violence), close relationship (such as a problem or a broken family and insufficient emotional bonding), community (viz., poverty, more population, and quick access to alcohol or firearms), and society (such as regions with poor governance or law enforcement).[1],[2],[3] The effects of such violence can result in death, serious trauma, impaired development of brain, acquisition of high-risk behaviors, expedite development of lifestyle diseases, and even increase the incidence of school dropouts and thus minimal job opportunities in the future.[1],[2],[3]

In fact, realizing its global distribution and long-term consequences, ending all forms of violence against children has been identified as an important target under the sustainable development goals.[1],[2] To make it a reality, in the name of INSPIRE (Implementation and enforcement of legal provisions, Norms change, Safe environment, Parental support, Income strengthening, Response services delivery, and Education activities), a package of interventions has been launched in consultation with different international agencies.[4]

In addition, a global plan has been developed to support the health system to deal with violence against children and women, with focus on monitoring the global magnitude and attributes of violence, the development of evidence-based guidelines, and the distribution of the published reports to support the stakeholders to prevent, reduce, and respond to violence against children.[1],[4] Further, the outcomes of interventions can be improved by strengthening of the international collaborations.[4]

To conclude, violence against children is preventable, and it requires a systematic approach to address the potential risk factors at all levels.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.

References

1World Health Organization. Violence against Children – Fact Sheet. World Health Organization; 2018. Available from: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/violence-against-children/en/. [Last accessed on 2018 Nov 14].
2Hillis S, Mercy J, Amobi A, Kress H. Global prevalence of past-year violence against children: A Systematic review and minimum estimates. Pediatrics 2016;137:e20154079.
3Shrivastava SR, Shrivastava PS, Ramasamy J. INSPIRE: A comprehensive package to reduce violence against children and provide a safe and nurturing environment. Ann Trop Med Public Health 2017;10:507-8.
4Shrivastava SR, Shrivastava PS, Ramasamy J. Inequality in health for women, infants, and children: An alarming public health concern. Int J Prev Med 2016;7:10.