The study will provide an in-depth global picture of violence against children and propose clear recommendations for the improvement of legislation, policy and programmes relating to the prevention of and responses to violence against children. The study will document the magnitude, incidence and consequences of various types of violence against children.
The study will be guided by international human rights treaties, in particular the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the jurisprudence of its Committee, and other human rights treaty bodies.
The focus of the study will be on children as victims of violence, although some attention will be paid to children as perpetrators of violence against other children. The role of men and boys as advocates against violence and as agents for change will also be considered.
The concept of violence reflected in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, especially in articles 19, 34 and 37, other human rights treaties and human rights instruments, such as the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, will also inform the study. In accordance with article 19 of the Convention and the work of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, violence, for the purposes of the study, will include all forms of physical or mental violence, injury and abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse.
The study will also be underpinned by the general definition of child abuse agreed by the experts participating in the WHO Consultation on Child Abuse Prevention in The study will seek to provide an understanding of the nature, extent, causes and consequences of different forms of violence against children, taking into account the various settings in which violence takes place. It will pay special attention to violence against children in the family, adopting a broad and comprehensive approach.
