Ending the Cycles of Violence Against Children: The Power is in Our Hands

The 30th of July marked the beginning of a critical countdown: 100 days left until the first-ever Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children. To commemorate this pivotal moment, organisations from across the sector launched a campaign calling on governments around the world to step up, be bold, and make the brave commitments necessary to keep every child safe.

Today, on International Youth Day, we have less than 100 days to spark a transformative shift in child protection for billions of children worldwide. In less than 100 days, the time will come to unite and solidify the global systemic changes the child within you — and the child within me — once so desperately needed.

For so many of us, we spend our lives trying to protect the child within us and do for them what they could not do for themselves. When I first heard that one of the campaign themes leading up to the Ministerial was going to be “Childhood In Our Hands”, I immediately pictured a version of Little Me standing before me. Little Me was a leader, she was a fighter — but behind her face of strength and resilience also lay a young girl who whispered prayers of help to the Lord when no one was watching. I grasped her open hand in mine and promised to extend my other to all the children who are still waiting to be protected — who are waiting for someone to listen, for someone to ask.

We all have our own stories, but the reality is that 1 in every 2 children experience violence worldwide. If you haven’t experienced childhood violence yourself, the chances are that one of the people closest to you has. Violence against children isn’t an isolated issue — it weaves itself into the fabric of our homes, schools, and communities. It touches the streets we walk, the refugee settlements families seek safety in, and even the digital spaces where we connect. Childhood violence affects us all, and yet it continues to baffle me how rarely anyone outside of the child protection sphere ever talks about it.

Despite affecting 1 billion children every year, violence against children continues to be a taboo topic. Many cultures (including my own) do not understand why it is wrong — especially at the home — nor how severely it can change a child’s life forever. But just because this is the harsh reality of the world today, does not mean that it will be the reality of the world tomorrow or the reality of the world forever.

The current silence surrounding childhood violence is both a challenge and a call to action. Although the problem seems insurmountable, we have in our hands the opportunity and the responsibility to shape the childhoods — the futures — of children today and of the next generation. As youth, the choice is ours: Are we going to repeat the same cycles of violence that have been passed onto us? Or are we going to break the cycles and end them here, right where we stand?

This year — six years ahead of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — we have finally reached a critical point where we have the power, the tools, and the solutions necessary to ensure that every child is protected. This is a historic moment where our only option forward is to accelerate ahead, leaving no child or country behind. From the 7th to the 8th of November the Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children will be hosted in Bogotá, Colombia. There, world leaders will finally come together under one roof with the sole priority of committing to keeping every child safe.

Beyond global commitments, however, this momentous occasion is also about you and me — it’s about all of us. As we prepare to launch the first-ever global youth-led movement on child violence prevention during the Ministerial Conference, I am taking action as a Youth Mobiliser with other young people and youth-led organisations from around the globe to accelerate progress on policy change and practice in child protection.

Your voice, your actions, and your dedication matter. No matter where you are, no matter your age, no matter what you do, you have a crucial role to play. If you could meet your child self as you are now, what would you change for them? Whose hands would you protect them from? Whose hands would you guide them to? Now, more than ever, it is time to take childhood into our own hands and redefine it so that every child now and every child after us can thrive.

Amplify the call to end violence against children. You can make a difference in four steps: 

(1) DEMAND action from your government – head to globalgoals.org/endchildviolence to take part in our Message Your Minister action, urging decision-makers to act now.

(2) SHARE the campaign on your social media channels. Download the campaign image and upload it with the hashtag #InOurHands.

(3) LEARN more about violence against children, and what we can do to prevent it.

(4) JOIN the first-ever global youth-led movement on child violence prevention. Learn more and indicate your interest using this form!

Author: Bryanna Mariñas, Youth Mobiliser (Philippines), Global Youth Movement on Ending Violence Against Children