Training on 4Rs

(Recognizing, Recording, Referring and Reporting)

Violence
Against
Children

Forms,
Consequences,
and Causes
Every person Who is a
below 18 years CHILD?
old
Over 18 years old but is
unable to fully take care of
themselves or protect
themselves from abuse,
neglect, cruelty, exploitation
or discrimination because of
physical or mental disability
What is Violence Against Children?

“refers to all forms of

physical or mental
violence, injury and
abuse, neglect or
negligent treatment,
maltreatment or
exploitation, including
sexual abuse to children”

- Convention on the Rights

of the Child
Forms of
Violence
Child Physical Violence

➢ corporal punishment
➢ physical bullying

➢ cruel, inhuman or degrading

treatment
➢ hazing by adults or by other
children
➢ children recruited into armed
conflicts
Child Physical Violence
▪ Mild: Spanking with bare hands, rolled magazine or
small stick, pulling the hair, pinching, pushing, grabbing
or twisting of ears.
▪ Moderate: Slapping the face, kicking, hitting or beating
with a belt, paddle, hard wood, or other hard objects.
▪ Severe: Choking, smothering, putting hot chili or
peppers in the mouth, locking up in a small place, tying
or chaining to something, make to stand in one position
holding a heavy load or another burden, kneeling for a
long time on mongo seeds, pebbles or any rough
surface, made to do exercise as punishment.
▪ Most severe: Harm that requires hospitalization
Child Sexual Violence

❖coercion of a child to engage in any

unlawful or psychologically harmful sexual
activity
❖The use of children in commercial sexual
exploitation
❖The use of children in audio or visual
images of child sexual abuse
❖ trafficking for purposes of sexual
exploitation / sex trafficking

❖sexual exploitation in travel and tourism

❖sale of children for sexual purposes and forced
marriage
 Emotional/Psychological Violence
- refers to acts causing or likely to cause mental or emotional
suffering of the victim.
Denying Neglect
Scaring
emotional
responsiveness

Exposure to
domestic cyber-bullying
violence

rejecting;
terrorizing and
isolating,
threatening
ignoring and
favouritism

Placement in solitary Verbal abuse/insults,

confinement, isolation or namecalling, humiliation,
humiliating or degrading belittling, ridiculing and
conditions of detention hurting a child’s feelings
Neglect

- is a deficit in meeting a child's basic needs

e.g, psychological neglect refers to not feeling
special or given importance by parents/guardian.
feeling unloved by parents/guardian, and feelings
that child’s fears and anxieties are misunderstood
by parents/guardian
Peer violence/ Bullying is unwanted, aggressive
behavior among school-aged children that involves
a real or perceived power imbalance using force,
threats, or coercion to abuse, intimidate, or
aggressively dominate others. The behavior is
often repeated and habitual.

Cyber-bullying is done through the use of

technology or any electronic means
Economic Abuse

❑ Refusing to provide financial support to the

child

❑ Stopping a child from studying

 Who are vulnerable?

Boys and
Girls
regardless
of socio-
economic
status and
ethnicity
Where does violence usually happen?

School

Home

Community Online
 Who are the common perpetrators?

Caretakers

Family members

Other children

Teachers
 Consequences of Sexual Abuse
• Threatens a child’s physical or emotional well-being
• Affects a child’s performance in school
• Lose trust in school officials
• Becomes isolated
• Fear for personal security
• Lose self-esteem

• post-traumatic stress disorder

• depression
• obsessions
• compulsions
• fear
• suicide attempts
 Consequences of Sexual Abuse

Intergenerational Violence
❑ women who experienced childhood sexual violence are 3.5
times more likely to also experience controlling behaviour
from an intimate partner, and four times more likely to
experience physical violence.

❑ Women who have experienced childhood sexual violence

have nearly 10 times greater chance of also experiencing
sexual intimate partner violence

Experiencing childhood or familial sexual violence is a driver of

all forms of intimate partner violence victimization for females
 Consequences of Physical Violence

➢ greater risk of experiencing other types

of violence.

o ex., a child who was physically assaulted in

the past year would be five times as likely
also to have been sexually victimized and
more than four times as likely also to have
been maltreated during that period
- Finkelhor, D., Turner, H. Ormrod, R. & Hamby, S.L., 2011
National Survey on Children's Exposure to Violence
 Consequences of Emotional Violence

❑ Emotional violence in the home

impacts on children’s self-esteem.

❑ Students develop depressive symptoms

such as becoming an introvert and
lacking self-control
❑ witnessing violence had
the largest observed
effect on adolescent
aggression, regardless of
gender
 Common Causes of Violence

❑ Vulnerability
❑ Alcohol/substance misuse is a driver of
family violence
❑ Gender norms that promote subordination
of women and girls to men were identified
as risk factors for sexual violence in the
home
❑ Child “problem” behaviour is associated
with parental hostility and aggression
 Common Causes of Violence

❑ Verbal forms of violence are often perceived

as ‘natural reactions’ to situations and not
seen as violence
❑ social norms around the use of corporal
punishment as a form of discipline
- Many children also accept violence as part of school discipline
❑ Children’s previous experience of violence,
especially at home, also drives bullying
behaviour in schools.
❑ Intergenerational
Studies showed that VAC in the home Violence
was a risk factor for experiencing starts at
violence in the community. home 
THANK YOU