Governments Join Forces in Colombia to Address Violence Against Children

By Leila Milani

This is a momentous week for children worldwide. 

This week, on Nov. 7 and 8, governments, young people and survivors, civil society organizations and donors have joined forces at the first-ever Global Ministerial on Violence Against Children in Bogotá, Colombia.

Together they are tackling the question: what will it take to protect children and prevent the violence that half of the world’s children experience in their lives – up to 1 billion girls and boys. It’s a global challenge with impacts that span generations.

Convened by the Government of Colombia – with the support of the Government of Sweden, UNICEF, the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, and the World Health Organization – this Ministerial Conference will drive policy change, marshal resources and demonstrate that violence prevention is possible.

The convening will culminate in high-level pledges toward preventing and responding to violence against children.

FUTURES at the Ministerial

A team from Futures Without Violence is here in Bogotá to participate in this historic event, highlight any concerns and setbacks, and celebrate exciting developments and breakthroughs.

In particular, we are tracking U.S. government priorities while at the Ministerial Conference.

The U.S. government plays an important leadership role in ensuring child safety, health, and well-being worldwide through diplomatic engagement and foreign assistance. Regardless of who leads the U.S. government, we invite the United States to prioritize the safety and wellbeing of children at home and abroad.  

FUTURES  calls on the U.S. government to:

• Create a National Survivors’ Council to ensure those with lived-experience, representing a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences, inform the development of federal policies and initiatives.

• Prioritize Transparent and Transformative Investments, investments which should be underpinned by cost-effectiveness principles to make the most of U.S. taxpayer dollars. 

• Increase Investments for Essential Programs Abroad, including efforts to end child sexual exploitation and abuse, and the Violence Against Children & Youth Surveys (VACS), which capture the magnitude, nature and consequences of violence against children, adolescents and youth nationally. 

U.S. government priorities

The U.S. delegation includes officials from across the U.S. government, including USAID, Health and Human Services, and the State Department. The U.S. pledge, released on November 7th, was developed in collaboration with civil society. It reflects a promising commitment to increase the U.S. government’s strategic engagement in prevention and response to violence against children at home and abroad. 

We are especially encouraged by the U.S. government’s commitment to: 

• Primary prevention, including addressing upstream risk factors to prevent violence from occurring in the first place;

• Funding to expand evidence-based prevention and response;  

• Support for country-led surveys and data collection to document the magnitude and effect of violence and exploitation against children and adolescents, and to inform and promote evidence-based responses from national governments and partners; and 

• Engage in prevention of all forms of digitally enabled harm and take action to create safer online environments for youth and adults.  

With its pledge, the United States sends a strong message to other countries that accelerating progress toward ending violence against children should be a priority. 

Get updates

FUTURES will post daily updates from the Ministerial. You can follow our LinkedIn channel for updates and visit our Ending Violence Against Children page for more information. 

We know the scale of the problem of violence against children, and the severity of its impact. We also know what works and can drive down childhood violence. With political will and investment, we can deliver a breakthrough - and end violence against children.

#EveryChildProtected #EndViolence