2022 was a year of compounding crises affecting children. The ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, conflict and a surge in the cost of living have put children around the world at greater risk of violence, exploitation and abuse.
Within this difficult context we can be encouraged by the relentless progress made to prevent and respond to violence against children. Countries from every region of the world made important advances to keep children safe at home, online, in school and in communities - supported by the unwavering commitment and collective action of civil society organisations, faith groups, UN agencies, donors, children and adult survivors of violence.
Here’s a snapshot of progress from across the End Violence Against Children community in 2022, with the most recent first:
DECEMBER
With Kenya, Botswana and the city of Buenos Aires joining in 2022, 37 countries and 4 cities have now joined the End Violence Partnership as Pathfinders, making a formal public commitment to end all forms of violence against children through national planning and action.
With Zambia and Mauritius introducing new laws to prohibit all forms of corporal punishment in 2022, 65 states now have full prohibition of corporal punishment, making over 322 million children legally protected from the practice.
With Mozambique’s endorsement in 2022, 16 countries have now endorsed Safe to Learn's Call to Action, which sets out in high-level terms what needs to happen to end violence in and through schools.
End Violence’s Safe Online initiative invested an additional $US 15 million this year, growing its portfolio to over $US 70 million through 81 projects with impact in over 80 countries. These investments are strengthening systems, building capacities and innovative technology solutions to make the internet safer for children.
Important data and analysis was generated to better understand and address violence against children:
- Counting Pennies 3 – an assessment of the official development assistance invested in ending violence against children highlights the urgent need for more investment.
- Out of the Shadows Index 2022 shines a light on the governance architecture to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse – outlining what countries are doing, not doing and could be doing to more effectively tackle this scourge.
- WHO launched a report on what works to prevent online violence – it critically studies strategies and research on tackling online violence and presents recommendations around the effectiveness of school-based educational programmes and more.
- Throughout the year, a host of reports from partners containing the latest evidence, research and data reflected on the End Violence Knowledge Platform.
NOVEMBER
The Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) Conference, hosted by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office brought together delegates from around the world to showcase progress, encourage global action and secure commitments to stop conflict-related sexual violence, including a session on the ‘Power of education to prevent conflict-related sexual violence’.
European Parliament, WeProtect Global Alliance and End Violence’s Safe Online initiative held the ‘Safe Digital Futures for Children: Data for Change’ event to shine a light upon and advocate for more robust and comprehensive data to tackle online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA).
The UN officially established World Day for the Prevention of and Healing from Child Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Violence, accepting a resolution sponsored by the Governments of Sierra Leone and Nigeria and co-sponsored by 120+ countries. It invites all stakeholders to commemorate this day through commitments that raise awareness, hold perpetrators to account, and ensure justice and healing for survivors.
The US Justice Department announced grants totalling ~ $105 Million to protect children from exploitation, trauma and abuse by funding improvements in the judicial system’s handling of child abuse and neglect cases.
Disrupting Harm, the End Violence funded flagship research project generated unique insights on how online child sexual exploitation and abuse is manifesting through studies in 13 countries. Findings provide tailored roadmaps for countries to strengthen their prevention and response systems.
OCTOBER
Australia announced the milestone National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children (2022-2032) that charts a path to end violence against women and children within a decade – it takes a reformative “whole-of-system” approach, laying out how media, schools, justice system, tech companies, and health sector could act to improve violence prevention and response.
SEPTEMBER
The UN Secretary-General’s Transforming Education Summit witnessed over 130 countries commit to “rebooting their education systems and accelerating action to end the learning crisis.” A significant concern for education systems has been ensuring safe return to schools from the pandemic and providing safe and inclusive learning environments for children.
Cuba’s Family Code 2022 was approved, bringing significant advances for children’s safety including the prohibition of corporal punishment in home and alternate care, outlawing of child marriages and better protecting children from violence within families. The historic Code took shape through a participatory process that involved 6,481,200 citizens – 75% of the Cuban electorate.
Zambia enacted the new Children’s Code Act, bringing important legislative reform that achieved prohibition of child marriage, female genital mutilation and corporal punishment of children in all settings.
AUGUST
Indonesia’s National Strategy on Elimination of Violence Against Children – which uses INSPIRE strategies to lay out a roadmap to 2024 to deal with challenges and strengthen efforts to prevent and respond to all forms of violence – was signed by the President.
JULY
The Children Act 2022 took effect in Kenya, providing enhanced legal provisions to safeguard the rights of children. The Act explicitly states the need and obligation to protect children from harm in the online world and establishes a Child Welfare Fund to support children in distress and need.
The California Age Appropriate Design Code Bill was passed by the state’s Assembly. This pioneering legislation is part of a shift towards progressive policies making the Internet safe for children and requires businesses to prioritise safety in the design of any digital product or service that young people are likely to access.
JUNE
G7 Leaders collectively committed to step up efforts to prevent and combat child sexual exploitation and abuse globally, both online and offline, and take forward the implementation of the G7 Action Plan to combat Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.
17 countries convened National government-led Policy Dialogues to further their commitment to comprehensive action to end all forms of violence against children, with 14 sharing Ministerial Statements to reiterate action on these commitments.
Together to #ENDviolence Leaders’ Event: 40+ high-level End Violence Advocates – heads of state, UN leadership, children and survivors of childhood violence, royalty, CEOs and celebrities – spoke out as one of the most diverse and influential groups of advocates that have ever come together solely around the issue of ending all forms of violence against children.
The European Commission proposed groundbreaking new legislation on preventing and combatting online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA), that will make it obligatory for technology companies to play a more proactive role in ensuring a safer digital world for children.
WeProtect Global Alliance’s Global Summit ‘Turning the Tide on Child Sexual Abuse Online’, co-hosted by the European Commission, convened government delegates alongside global leaders and experts for one of the most prominent dialogues on protecting children from sexual exploitation online. The Summit followed the #SafeOnline Network Forum that brought together Safe Online grantees and partners alongside donors and industry representatives from the Tech Coalition in a unique opportunity aligned around a common vision to end online child sexual exploitation and abuse.
MARCH
The survivor-centered Brave Movement was launched – an international advocacy movement to end childhood sexual violence and mobilise billions of dollars for programs for prevention, healing and justice around the world.
FEBRUARY
Bangladesh ratified the International Labour Organisation’s Minimum Age Convention, which requires States to take concrete measures to eliminate child labour and set a minimum age under which no one can be admitted to employment.
JANUARY
The Philippines abolished child marriage through the enactment of a new law criminalising the practice.
Learn about how the End Violence Partnership's initiatives are driving progress for children.
Use End Violence’s interactive Country Dashboard to track more milestones and progress from Pathfinding countries from around the world.
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