Violence Against Children in the Time of COVID-19: What We Have Learned, What Remains Unknown and the Opportunities that Lie Ahead

The emergence of COVID-19 as a global pandemic has disrupted the daily lives of children and families around the world, with impacts both immediate and likely long-lasting. Even before the COVID-19 outbreak, the international community recognized violence against children to be both universal and widespread, affecting children in every country, regardless of wealth or social status (UNICEF, 2014). We also know that girls and boys experience violence across all stages of childhood, often at the hands of trusted individuals with whom they interact on a daily basis (UNICEF, 2017). Sadly, most child victims never disclose their experiences of violence to anyone or seek help (Pereira et al., 2020).

Now, several months into the pandemic, researchers across the globe are attempting to find out how the health and socioeconomic crisis brought about by the coronavirus is affecting children’s exposure to violence.