Latin America and the Caribbean: An opportunity for the region to step up the global response to violence against children
29th October 2024
The Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, happening in Bogotá, Colombia on November 7-8, is an unprecedented, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to garner a global response to violence against children.
With 110 Member States and 80 Ministers in attendance, we must make the most out of this moment to share solutions we know exist and collaborate to secure financial and policy commitments from governments to ensure children are safe, wherever they may be.
Several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have taken key steps in addressing violence against children. The conference taking part in the LAC region is a sign of the increasing government awareness and prioritization of this issue in the region – and the hard work of advocates to get their governments to further prioritize this issue.
Ahead of the Global Ministerial, we want to highlight the work of three countries that are at different stages of their journey to end violence against children, and that have the potential to make key pledges that can make a difference in the lives of millions of children.
Working to keep children safe in Colombia, Honduras, and Bolivia
Colombia
The Government of Colombia, one of the hosts of the Conference, is a leader in the region in tackling violence against children. Colombia conducted its Violence Against Children and Youth Survey (VACS) in 2018. The survey findings allowed its government to estimate the magnitude of different forms of violence that impacts children and youth. Some of the key findings include:
41% of males and 42% of females – experienced sexual, physical, or psychological violence at any point in their childhood.
About 15% of females and 8% of males experienced sexual violence before age 18.
Among those who experienced sexual violence in childhood, 54% of females and 48% of males told someone about their experience. Knowledge of services was relatively low; only 49% of 18-24-year-old females and 54% of males who experienced childhood sexual violence knew of a place to go for help.
27% of females and 38% of males experienced physical violence before age 18.
At the national level, females ages 18-24 who experienced sexual violence in childhood were significantly more likely to have ever thought of suicide than those who never experienced childhood sexual violence (49.9% versus 14.0%).
As part of the VACS Data to Action process, the Government of Colombia used these findings to develop and implement its National Action Plan to end violence against children and youth.
Honduras was the first country to conduct a VACS in Latin America in 2017. The report results allowed the government to estimate the magnitude of different forms of violence that affect its children and youth and informed key policy commitments to address this issue. Some of the key findings from the 2017 Honduras VACS include:
About 16% of females and 10% of males experienced sexual violence before age 18.
About 32% of females and 30% of males experienced physical violence before age 18.
Many victims of sexual violence did not tell anyone about their experiences, and the majority did not seek or receive services.
Violence is associated with significant health problems, including mental distress, excessive alcohol use, smoking, self-harm and suicidal ideation, and STIs.
Experiencing violence in childhood was significantly associated with violence perpetration, documenting the cycle of violence that often occurs in families and communities.
Among 13-17 year-olds, 21% of females missed school as a result of sexual violence.
Among 18-24 year-olds, 23% of females missed school due to sexual violence in childhood, and 18% of females and 17% of males missed school due to physical violence in childhood.
As part of the VACS Data to Action process, the Honduran government used the VACS report findings to develop its 2021-2026 National Action Plan to prevent violence against children and adolescents. As part of this process, this year Honduras conducted Data to Action workshops with key municipal-level stakeholders to develop local action plans to address the nature, prevalence, and consequences of violence against children and youth revealed by its 2017 VACS.
Participants of Data to Action workshop for municipal governments in Honduras, March 2024.
Participants of Data to Action workshop for municipal governments in Honduras, March 2024.
Bolivia
Bolivia has not yet conducted a VACS. Therefore, quality evidence on the prevalence of this issue is scarce, but recent data from UNICEF that children experience high rates of violence.
A key driver for change in Bolivia – specifically on sexual violence against children – was the case Brisa the Angulo won against the State of Bolivia in the Interamerican Court of Human Rights, which was found to be “internationally responsible” for violating Brisa’s rights when she was unable to find justice in the country’s courts when aged 15, she repeatedly experienced sexual violence by a relative.
I want to use my story to ensure that no other child has to suffer the atrocities that I suffered. I hope to elevate the perspectives and experiences of survivors from around the world and to celebrate the tremendous diversity of the global community. I dream of a world where all children grow up in loving, nurturing families, and communities.
Brisa is a co-founder of the Brave Movement at the global level, and was recently elected as Chair of the Brave Movement Latin America and the Caribbean independent regional platform (Valientes). She is also a member of the Global Survivor Council, which brings together a group of survivors from different forms of violence against children that will play a crucial role in ensuring robust survivor representation, engagement, and leadership at the Global Ministerial and its final political declaration.
As an adult survivor and as an activist with years of public and collective experience in Argentina and in different parts of the world, I am convinced that our voices, our views and our struggles are fundamental to change the reality of childhood and adult survivors.
Valientes, which was launched in early 2024, has already made strides in its advocacy work to end childhood sexual violence in the region. Comprised of survivor leaders who are also experts, activists, scholars, psychologists, and lawyers, they are spearheading the charge for justice in the region.
Its launch was marked by the publication of two key new reports about the nature and prevalence of childhood sexual violence in the region, and the statutes of limitations for sexual crimes against children in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Utilizing a comprehensive neuro-psycho-social framework, the first report examines the repercussions and impacts of sexual violence on infants, girls, boys and adolescents. It exposes the significant failings of the justice systems in Latin America, spotlighting the relentless efforts of those committed to advancing justice and children’s rights in the region.
The second report is a collaborative effort by the Global Statute of Limitations Taskforce – CHILDGlobal, the Brave Movement and Fundación Derecho al Tiempo. It provides country-specific rankings and insightful analysis of SOL reform efforts at local, national, and regional levels across Latin America and the Caribbean.
There is so much silence and shame around abuse and violence. I started sharing my own story over a decade ago because I was done carrying the shame. There are so many survivors out there and I was driven to be the voice breaking the silence so that others feel less alone and know that there is hope and the ability to heal.
Daniela LigieroChief Executive Officer & President, Together for Girls
The Movimiento de Valientes regional platform for Latin America and the Caribbean policy asks for governments in the region at the Global Ministerial Conference
Movimiento de Valientes led a thorough and participatory process to develop the following policy asks from survivors across the region:
1. Become a pathfinding country and implement INSPIRE strategies.
These strategies are based on proven evidence to reduce violence against children and include the implementation and enforcement of laws, changing norms and values, creating safe environments, supporting parents and caregivers, improving the economic stability of households, providing response and support services, and ensuring that children develop personal and social skills through education.
2. Create National Survivor Councils.
We strongly encourage the governments of Bolivia, Colombia, and Honduras to create and fund national survivor councils, modeled after Germany’s national survivor’ council, as part of their national commitments at the Global Ministerial.
Survivors have firsthand experience and insights into the complexities, challenges, and needs of those who have suffered from childhood sexual violence. Through the creation of national survivor councils, Member States are better equipped to effectively address violence against children, especially childhood sexual violence.
Learn more about the power of national survivor councils in these blogs by Brave co-founders Rosalia Rivera and Mié Kohiyama.
3. Develop a survivor-focused, trauma-informed pathway for the prevention and response of childhood sexual violence that integrates all relevant government agencies, programs, ministries, and departments.
VACS data from the Colombia and Honduras reports highlights the societal impact of violence against children. This issue has negative consequences on children and adolescents’ education outcomes, physical and mental health, and access to justice. The response to violence against children cannot be designed and implemented by a single ministry; it must be a cross-ministerial effort.
We need a multidisciplinary and coordinated approach to address the complex and interrelated aspects of violence against children and integrate protective measures throughout government policies and programs. We are calling on the Governments of Colombia, Bolivia, and Honduras to adopt and fund a holistic, cross-ministerial strategy and coordination mechanism to tackle violence against children, involving their Ministries of Finance, Health, Education, Gender, and Justice, among others.
4. Become signatories to and ratify the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (The Lanzarote Convention).
5. Conduct nationally representative research on child sexual violence and make the findings publicly available.
In 2006, then-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on all Member States to begin addressing the epidemic of violence against children by collecting robust, nationally representative data to inform policies and programming. Almost 20 years later, we encourage the Bolivian, Colombia, and Honduran Governments to fund and regularly implement critical data- and evidence-gathering initiatives on violence against children in their countries.
The lack of sufficient and reliable data on violence against children limits the ability of different child protection stakeholders to design, implement and evaluate any prevention and response initiatives, programs and policies. Currently, the VACS hold most of the evidence on violence against children globally, and have proved to be a critical resource for over 20 countries in their efforts to keep their children safe.
When they conducted their respective surveys, Colombia and Honduras acknowledged the need to collect more comprehensive data on violence against children and youth in order to strengthen a data-driven response and to better plan, implement, monitor, and evaluate policies and child protection programming. As part of the VACS Data to Action process, Colombia and Honduras used the results from their respective surveys to develop national action plans to end violence against children and carry out further research into this issue using VACS data.
While these two countries have made some considerable progress in addressing violence against children, there are several key actions they must make the ensure the long-term sustainability of the VACS Data to Action process.
The cost of the VACS and its resulting commitments must be included in these countries’ national budgets.
Commitments resulting from the VACS should be a national policy – not just a government one– to ensure that they remain in place even after changes in local and national level administration.
A second VACS in Colombia and Honduras would provide unique insights into the impact of each country’s measures following the first VACS. Additionally, conducting a new survey would provide an opportunity to include additional modules in the survey, for instance on migration or school-related gender-based violence, that can provide more evidence into specific areas of interest for each country.
The municipal and departmental plans in Honduras and Colombia respectively must provide an opportunity to gather further data and evidence on the prevalence of violence and the work being conducted by the observers of violence against children appointed in the different municipalities.
Finally, we call on the Governments of Colombia and Honduras to allocate specific budgets for the prevention of violence against children and appoint a focal point to coordinate all country efforts and support municipal and departmental level needs.
In regard to Bolivia, we call its government to follow the steps of Colombia and Honduras and conduct a VACS to understand the magnitude of different forms of violence that affect young populations in the country, as well as take part in the associated Data to Action process that has been so instrumental in protecting children from violence in other countries in the region.
6. Ensure full compliance with human rights standards and with adequate due diligence mechanisms.
Align national legislation with the most advanced international human rights norms and standards through at least three specific legislative reforms
Elimination of provisions in criminal law that have discriminatory effects on the victim's right to access justice (e.g., provisions on statutory rape, prescription of crimes)
Adapt all criminal, administrative, and/or disciplinary regulations that sanction sexual exploitation and violence against children and adolescents in accordance with the concept of consent developed by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
Criminalize incestuous sexual violence as an autonomous and separate penal provision.
Ensure that the judicial process takes into account the particular situation of vulnerability and the needs of child victims, integrating a gender and intersectional perspective and maintaining the enhanced standards of protection to which child victims are entitled.
7. Require specialization and certification in trauma-informed and sensitive handling for justice system staff who interact with child victims of sexual violence in line with international human rights standards.
8. Ensure forensic interviews with high standards of quality, properly specialized and certified personnel, and with appropriate contexts and methodologies, including video recording, Gesell chamber, or closed circuits.
9. Develop a special government fund dedicated solely to the prevention and reparation of cases of sexual violence against children guided by a National Annual Plan for Prevention, Healing, and Justice.
Learn more about Valientes’ demands in English and Spanish. Valientes will be hosting an in-person event at the Global Ministerial to present their demands on November 6th, 2-6pm COT. Register here.
