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Violence against children in humanitarian settings: A literature review of population-based approaches

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  • Stark, Lindsay
  • Landis, Debbie

Abstract

Children in humanitarian settings are thought to experience increased exposure to violence, which can impair their physical, emotional, and social development. Violence against children has important economic and social consequences for nations as a whole. The purpose of this review is to examine population-based approaches measuring violence against children in humanitarian settings. The authors reviewed prevalence studies of violence against children in humanitarian contexts appearing in peer-reviewed journals within the past twenty years. A Boolean search procedure was conducted in October 2014 of the electronic databases PubMed/Medline and PsychInfo. If abstracts contained evidence of the study's four primary themes – violence, children, humanitarian contexts and population-based measurement – a full document review was undertaken to confirm relevance. Out of 2634 identified articles, 22 met the final inclusion criteria. Across studies, there was varying quality and no standardization in measurement approach. Nine out of 22 studies demonstrated a relationship between conflict exposure and adverse health or mental health outcomes. Among studies that compared rates of violence between boys and girls, boys reported higher rates of physical violence, while girls reported higher rates of sexual violence. Children in infancy and early childhood were found to be among the most under-researched. Ultimately, the body of evidence in this review offers an incomplete picture regarding the prevalence, nature and impact of violence against children in emergencies, demonstrating a weak evidence base for some of the basic assumptions underpinning humanitarian practice. The development of standardized approaches to more rigorously measure violence against children is urgently needed in order to understand trends of violence against children in humanitarian contexts, and to promote children's healthy development and well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • Stark, Lindsay & Landis, Debbie, 2016. "Violence against children in humanitarian settings: A literature review of population-based approaches," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 125-137.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:152:y:2016:i:c:p:125-137
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.01.052
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Panter-Brick, Catherine, 2010. "Conflict, violence, and health: Setting a new interdisciplinary agenda," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(1), pages 1-6, January.
    2. Tilman Bruck & Kati Schindler, 2009. "The Impact of Violent Conflicts on Households: What Do We Know and What Should We Know about War Widows?," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(3), pages 289-309.
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    Cited by:

    1. Erin K. Fletcher & Seth R. Gitter & Savannah Wilhelm, 2022. "Generational Norms of Reporting Violence in Nyarugusu Refugees Camp," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1419-1440, June.
    2. Jane Ndungu & Rachel Jewkes & Magnolia Ngcobo-Sithole & Esnat Chirwa & Andrew Gibbs, 2021. "Afghan Women’s Use of Violence against Their Children and Associations with IPV, Adverse Childhood Experiences and Poverty: A Cross-Sectional and Structural Equation Modelling Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-14, July.
    3. Jagoda Grzejszczak & Agata Gabryelska & Agnieszka Gmitrowicz & Magdalena Kotlicka-Antczak & Dominik Strzelecki, 2022. "Are Children Harmed by Being Locked up at Home? The Impact of Isolation during the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Phenomenon of Domestic Violence," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-13, October.
    4. Singh, Risha & Goli, Srinivas & Singh, Abhra, 2022. "Armed conflicts and girl child marriages: A global evidence," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    5. Unni Marie Heltne & Ragnhild Dybdahl & Suleima Elkhalifa & Anders Breidlid, 2020. "Psychosocial Support and Emergency Education: An Explorative Study of Perceptions among Adult Stakeholders in Sudan and South Sudan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-19, February.
    6. Camila Perera & Shivit Bakrania & Alessandra Ipince & Zahrah Nesbitt‐Ahmed & Oluwaseun Obasola & Dominic Richardson, 2021. "PROTOCOL: Impact of social protection on gender equality in low‐ and middle‐income countries: A systematic review of reviews," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(2), June.
    7. Bermudez, Laura Gauer & Parks, Lauren & Meyer, Sarah R. & Muhorakeye, Liberata & Stark, Lindsay, 2018. "Safety, trust, and disclosure: A qualitative examination of violence against refugee adolescents in Kiziba Camp, Rwanda," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 83-91.

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