Adapting the Violence Against Children and Youth Surveys (VACS) to humanitarian settings
Measuring violence in humanitarian settings to improve prevention and response
Children who have been affected by humanitarian crises are exceptionally vulnerable to violence. However, rigorous studies are limited, and more data is needed to draw major conclusions that can inform effective prevention and response efforts.
Over the past decade, the Violence Against Children and Youth Survey (VACS) process has revolutionized how the world measures, understands, and responds to sexual violence against children.
The surveys are led by national governments, with technical assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of the Together for Girls partnership.
To date, they have been implemented in over 20 countries across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. The surveys provide nationally-representative data on violence against children and youth, but have generally excluded humanitarian-affected populations.
First-ever humanitarian VACS in Uganda and Ethiopia
In 2020, Together for Girls, CDC, and the International Rescue Committee (IRC), with support from experts across multiple disciplines, developed implementation guidance for adapting the VACS process to humanitarian settings.
Using the implementation guidance, the Baobab Research Program Consortium, led by the Population Council, is implementing the first-ever VACS in humanitarian settings. With funding from the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the humanitarian VACS will be carried out in Ugandan and Ethiopian refugee settings. Together for Girls and CDC, with funding from Global Affairs Canada, are collaborating with the Population Council on the humanitarian VACS in Uganda.
Uganda Humanitarian Violence Against Children and Youth Survey (HVACS) 2022
Uganda's Humanitarian Violence Against Children and Youth Survey (HVACS) is the first-ever VACS conducted exclusively in refugee contexts. This landmark study covers all refugee settlements in Uganda and establishes the magnitude, nature, and consequences of violence against children in these settings.
The survey findings provide a rigorous baseline against which progress to end violence against children can be measured, and will be used to support planning for evidence-informed programming and resource allocation and mobilization to address this issue in the country’s refugee settlements.
Lessons from the Uganda HVACS informed the second-ever Humanitarian Violence Against Children and Youth Survey, which was completed in refugee camps in Ethiopia in March 2024. Results are forthcoming.
