Gender-Based Violence & Violence Against Children
Gender-based violence and violence against children are widespread and destructive. Female genital mutilation, child marriage, and homophobic and transphobic violence are pervasive in many parts of the world. ICCLR produces culturally aware, reliable research and provides strong evidence on best practices that are needed for ending violence against children and gender-based violence.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights enshrines the right to life, liberty, and security for everyone. Yet gender-based violence and violence against children are pervasive and destructive. According to UN Women (2016), “55 percent of victims of forced labor and 98 percent of the victims of sexual exploitation” are all women. Today more than 200 million women and girls have undergone female genital mutilation in 30 countries and 700 million have entered a child marriage. Homophobic and transphobic violence is pervasive in many parts of the world, with actions ranging from aggressive sustained psychological bullying to physical assault, torture, kidnapping and targeted killings. The World Health Organization (2017) estimates that half of the world’s children – 1 billion aged 2-17 years – experienced some form of violence in 2016.
Governments have a commitment to galvanize action to end violence, exploitation, and abuse against children and on gender grounds. Combating gender-based violence and violence against children requires adopting gender-responsive and child-sensitive strategies through sustained engagement with multiple stakeholders. However, developing interventions that ultimately work with and for all people, women and men, girls and boys as well as individuals of diverse gender expression, sex characteristics, sexual orientation or gender identity is extremely challenging. To make headway, Government strategies need to be informed by reliable research, cultural awareness and strong evidence.
ICCLR has a long history of integrating gendered perspectives and clear understandings of child victims to illuminate best practices through the delivery of research and programs in Canada and abroad. The expertise and experience of ICCLR is extensive ranging from articulating and strengthening responses to victims’ needs in the context of sexual assault to developing training materials focused on prevention of exploitation of children by violent extremist groups. In all of its work, ICCLR incorporates gender and child sensitive perspectives into criminal justice systems. ICCLR helps build capacity to prevent and respond to violence that targets children and violence that is gender-based.
