Regional conference on the prevention and elimination of violence against children to gather international experts in Sofia

The event will take place on June 27-28

Violence against children exists in every nation, community, ethnic or religious group, irrespective of the social status of the child or their family. Violence can happen anywhere, and no one is secure. The consequences of that can be enormous, both for the children and their families, and for society as a whole. The global economic cost of such violence amounts to some 7 trillion US dollars on an annual basis.

The high-level regional conference on "Smart investments in strategies and partnerships for preventing and eliminating violence against children" is organized by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Bulgarian State Agency for Child Protection, UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Child Protection Hub, and the Childhood without Violence Platform in Bulgaria.

140 experts and representatives of state institutions from 10 countries, as well as renowned academics from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Bulgaria, will participate in the regional conference.

Objective:

The conference will review what measures for addressing violence exist globally as well as the actions taken by the countries in the region of Eastern and Southeastern Europe to deal with the issue. The main focus will be on the exchange of good practices and provenly effective and working expertise. The conference will also discuss the importance and need to collect detailed data and information about violence.

The facts:

On a global scale, close to 1 billion minors aged between 2 and 17 have suffered physical violence or emotional or sexual abuse, according to WHO data for 2017.

In Europe, WHO estimated that 18 million children were victims of sexual abuse, 44 million children - of physical abuse affects, and mental abuse affected 55 million children in 2013. According to UNICEF, around half of all children in East and Central Europe and Central Asia experience violent discipline at home. 

The global experience:

Aware of the long-term consequences of violence against children, the WHO, UNICEF and the other international organizations and partners have developed a tool, based on scientific evidence and good practices, to identify what really works in preventing and addressing violence against children and young people. INSPIRE targets everyone: from governments to parents, and from civil society to the private sector. Each country can take advantage of INSPIRE, provided that it is applied by means of a national program for action with the active involvement of all stakeholders: the government, civil society, parents, children and young people, the media, and the business community. A solution to the all-pervasive phenomenon of "violence against children and young people" requires nothing less than constructive dialogue and concerted action on the part of everyone.

Global Partnership to End Violence against Children:

In July 2016, the United Nations Secretary-General launched the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children and its Fund. The Partnership unites all stakeholders: governments, UN agencies, international organizations, parents, civil society, religious groups, the private sector, researchers, scholars and the children themselves. Its sole purpose is to end violence against all children. Every country can join the Partnership, thus gaining access to an abundance of resources (incl. financial) and specific, tested and working solutions.

 

Photo credit: © Tdh/ Malavika Sattler
Countries this relates to
Projects and thematic pages

Childhub

You might like..

0
20
More than 250 experts from universities, institutions and non-governmental organizations from Europe, Australia, Central Asia and the US discussed childcare reform at the International Conference on ‘Deinstitutionalization of Childcare: Investing in…
0
5
The annual conference of the Center for Inclusive Education will be held on 9th December 2017 at the Inter Expo Center, Sofia. The Forum presents and opens to discussion current topics and trends concerning inclusive education in Bulgaria and around…
0
18
The Bulgarian Family Therapy Association (BFTA) has opened registration for its Conference on Systemic Psychotherapy "20 Years Later: Local and Global". The event will celebrate 20 years of BFTA and will take place on December 15th and 16th, 2018 at…
0
The Inter-Parliamentary Union and UNICEF have collaborated to produce this handbook supporting efforts by States to move rapidly towards the elimination of all forms of violence against children. The handbook seeks to promote active and effective…
0
24
Days of Informal Education 2018 will be held from 04.11 to 06.11, as part of the program of the international conference Non-Formal Education in the Context of the Challenges of the 21st Century, dedicated to the 130th anniversary of Sofia…
0
8
A lecture and workshop on the topic of Creating Self-Organized Learning Communities and facilitating Intentional Culture Creation" - at home, in the classroom, and in the world will be held on 27th and 28th July in Sofia, Bulgaria. The event is…
0
31
‘The most important thing adults can do is to love children more and listen to what they say.’ This opinion was shared by 9 out of 10 children when asked what they thought was the most important thing adults can do to end violence against children.…
0
14
Child, early, and forced marriages are still widespread. In 2017, the United Nations Children’s Fund estimated that there were 726,000 child brides around the world. At the root of the problem, many brides are victims of commercial sex and sex…
0
According to the WHO, Countries, all over the world are failing in securing children with both a healthy upbringing and a safe environment for their future. 180 countries have been ranked based on both their carbon emission levels and…
0
61
Last month we shared news about the results of the UNICEF survey, which confirmed that every second child (47%) in Bulgaria has experienced some form of violence by the age of 18. The in-depth document is available on the UNICEF Bulgaria website,…
0
94
The Bulgarian Psychological Society (BPS) shared the following invitation to the 8th National Congress of Psychology in Sofia: "It is our pleasure to invite you to participate in the work of the largest scientific forum on behalf of the…
0
8
Violence against children can best be portrayed as a pyramid, with all but its tip buried in the deep sands of adult ignorance, self-deception and apathy. The tip represents the tiny proportion of violence which comes to official notice. The…
0
3
IPSCAN's Denver Thinking Space will be virtual this year and will feature four free webinars on the topic "Positive Parenting: Preventing Violence Against Children" on March 24 and 25, 2015. The webinars will explore the following topics:…
0
Children have been protesting and calling governments to address climate change, with strikes organized around the world on 15 March. UN experts have voiced their support for these efforts to protect the environment by approving the Human Rights…
0
30
Non-Governmental Organizaion Praxis presented the report “Prevention and Elimination of Child Marriages and Economic Empowerment of Roma Women at the Local Level in Serbia -analysis” at the final conference held on 19 April 2023 in Belgrade. The…