- States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child.
- Such protective measures should, as appropriate, include effective procedures for the establishment of social programmes to provide necessary support for the child and for those who have the care of the child, as well as for other forms of prevention and for identification, reporting, referral, investigation, treatment and follow-up of instances of child maltreatment described heretofore, and, as appropriate, for judicial involvement.
– UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
Overview of Article 19
Violence is broadly defined to include all forms of harm beyond the common meaning associated with intentional harm and physical harm [1]. It encompasses mental violence, neglect, sexual and other forms of exploitation, as well as non-intentional forms of harm. The Committee has been careful to guard against restrictive interpretations of the term violence. Hence, Article 19 asserts a broad principle regarding the child’s right to be free from all forms of harm [1], as such, it articulates full respect for the human dignity and physical and personal integrity of children as rights bearing individuals.
The rights and protections provided by Article 19 go well beyond the provisions of Article 37 [2], as it comprises the substantive rights guarantees recognized for children in relation to alternative forms of care, adoption and those seeking refugee status[1]. This broad principle articulated in Article 19 is closely linked to the child’s right to life and maximum survival and development guaranteed under Article 6, and informs many of the protection rights set out in the Convention, particularly those in Articles 32 to 40. It also informs the articles incorporated into children’s provision and participation rights, such as Articles 24(3) (abolishing harmful traditional practices) and 17(e) (protection from harmful information). The above listed articles along with articles 3(2), 5, 9, 18 and 27 are all closely linked to the guarantee of freedom from violence.
[1] United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Articles 20, 21 and 22 and also 25.
Core attributes of Article 19
The core attributes of Article 19 are:
- Protection from all forms of violence
- While in the care of parents, legal guardians or any other person who has the care of the child
- All appropriate measures
- Effective identification, reporting, investigation and treatment of harm
Each of these attributes can be measured in terms of structural or process implementation or in terms of outcomes achieved through implementation as outlined in the table below. Some indicators, for instance the structural ones, may be common to all attributes. Others are common to two or more attributes, while some indicators may be relevant to one attribute only. An attempt has been made to balance the use of objective and subjective data indicators as well as qualitative and quantitative ones.
What did children say?
These are some ideas that children from around the world shared with us during the Global Child Rights Dialogue (GCRD) project:
Relevant provisions within the SDGs
- Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
- Target 5.2 Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.
- SDG indicator 5.2.1 Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by form of violence and by age.
- SDG indicator 5.2.2 Proportion of women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to sexual violence by persons other than an intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by age and place of occurrence.
- Target 5.3 Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation
- SDG indicator 5.3.1 Proportion of women aged 20–24 years who were married or in a union before age 15 and before age 18.
- Target 5.2 Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.
- Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
- Target 11.7 By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities.
- SDG indicator 11.7.2 Proportion of persons victim of physical or sexual harassment, by sex, age, disability status and place of occurrence, in the previous 12 months.
- Target 11.7 By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities.
- Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.
- Target 16.1 Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.
- SDG indicator 16.1.2 Conflict-related deaths per 100,000 population, by sex, age and cause.
- SDG indicator 16.1.3 Proportion of population subjected to (a) physical violence, (b) psychological violence and (c) sexual violence in the previous 12 months.
- Target 16.2 End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children
- SDG indicator 16.2.1 Proportion of children aged 1-17 years who experienced any physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by caregivers in the past month.
- SDG indicator 16.2.3 Proportion of young women and men aged 18–29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18.
- Target 16.3 Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.
- SDG indicator 16.3.1 Proportion of victims of violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanisms.
- Target 16.1 Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.
Potential sources of data for users of the indicators sets
- Government Departments, universities, and other training institutions
- Primary research by National Human Rights Institutions for Children
- Primary research by universities and NGOs
- Qualitative research with children on their knowledge of and experience in the exercise of their rights
- Save the Children. Child Protection Outcome Indicators. Available from https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/library/child-protection-outcome-indicators
- United Nations agencies/thematic and country monitors/ other UN treaty body monitoring work (e.g concluding observations about the jurisdiction)
- United Nations Children’s Fund. (2018). INSPIRE Indicator Guidance and Results Framework. Ending Violence Against Children: How to define and measure change. Available from https://www.unicef.org/protection/files/UNICEF-INSPIRE-Book.pdf
- United Nations General Assembly (2015) Sustainable Development Goals.
- United Nations General Assembly. Resolution adopted by the General Assembly. Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children. Available from https://www.unicef.org/protection/alternative_care_Guidelines-English.pdf
References used for the overview
- United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. (2011). General Comment No. 13, The right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence (CRC/C/GC/13) (para 4 (sub-para 7(a))). Retrieved from https://www.refworld.org/docid/4e6da4922.html
- United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). (2007). Implementation Handbook for the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Fully Revised 3rd Ed., p.249). Geneva, Switzerland: UNICEF.
References used to create indicators
- Fundamental Rights Agency, European Union Agency For Fundamental Rights. (2010). Developing indicators for the protection, respect and promotion of the rights of the child in the European Union (Conference Edition). Retrieved from https://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2012/developing-indicators-protection-respect-and-promotion-rights-child-european-union
- General comments from regional child rights monitors (e.g. African Children’s Committee)
- General Comments of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Available from https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/TBSearch.aspx?Lang=en&TreatyID=5&DocTypeID=11
- Government of British Columbia. (2017). The B.C. Handbook for Action on Child Abuse and Neglect: For service providers. Retrieved from https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/public-safety-and-emergency-services/public-safety/protecting-children/childabusepreventionhandbook_serviceprovider.pdf
- Hart, S. N., Lee, Y. & Wernham, M. (2011). A new age for child protection – General comment 13: Why it is important, how it was constructed, and what it intends? Child Abuse & Neglect, 35(12), 970-978.
- Office of the Child and Youth Advocate. (2017). State of the Child Report 2017: Special focus: Youth criminal justice (ISBN: 978-1-4605-1915-8).Retrieved from https://www.cyanb.ca/images/State_of_the_Child_2017/State_of_the_Child_Report_2017.compressed.pdf
- Research studies on corporal punishment to develop a more targeted indicator for that specific type of violence.
- The Child Protection Initiative, Save the Children. (2014). Child Protection Outcome Indicators. Retrieved from https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/library/child-protection-outcome-indicators
- United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). (2007). Implementation Handbook for the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Fully Revised 3rd Ed., pp.264). Geneva, Switzerland: UNICEF.
- United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). (n.d.). Manual for the Measurement of Indicators of Violence against Children (pp.11, note 7). Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/violencestudy/pdf/Manual%20Indicators%20UNICEF.pdf
- United Nations General Assembly. (2010). Resolution adopted by the General Assembly. Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children. Retrieved from https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/673583?ln=en
Glossary/key words
Violence – Violence Against Children (VAC)
Violence against children (VAC) is a widely prevalent phenomenon in all parts of the world which affects 100s of millions of children. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) defines violence as “all forms of physical or mental violence, injury and abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child” (Article 19 CRC). VAC has dire consequences on girls and boys with respect to their ability to enjoy rights and freedom, and it can have devastating effects on their social, physical and emotional well-being and development.
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