Violence against children and natural disasters: A systematic review and meta-analysis of quantitative evidence

Abstract

Objectives Reviews of violence against children in disaster settings focus on armed conflict. Little is understood about natural disasters which has implications in planning humanitarian response. We examined the magnitude and direction of the association between exposure to natural disasters and physical, emotional, and sexual violence against children, and assessed the quality of the evidence. Methods We searched 15 health and social science databases from first record until May 16, 2018. Publications describing all types of quantitative study design were eligible for inclusion. We presented study characteristics and quality in a narrative form and generated pooled estimates using a three-level random effects model. We evaluated Cochrane’s Q with p -values below 0.10 and radial plots to assess heterogeneity. Planned subgroup analyses explored differential results by violence form, study design, and analysis method. Results 11 publications met inclusion criteria. The majority were cross-sectional studies examining physical or sexual violence in the United States. We found no evidence of a consistent association or directional influence between natural disasters and violence against children. Combined categorical violence outcomes had substantial heterogeneity [ Q (df = 66) = 252.83, p < 0.001]. Subgroups without evidence of heterogeneity had confidence intervals that included a possible null effect. Our findings were mainly limited by inconsistencies in operational definitions of violence, a lack of representative sampling, and unclear establishment of temporal order between natural disaster exposure and violence outcomes. Conclusions Based on the available evidence, we cannot confidently conclude that natural disasters increase the level or severity of violence against children above non-disaster settings, however heterogeneity and study quality hamper our ability to draw firm conclusions. More nuanced and rigorous research is needed to inform practice and policy as natural disasters increasingly affect human populations.

Natural hazards, disasters and violence against women and girls: a global mixed-methods systematic review

“…However, the limited methodological rigour of this review and the outcome not specific to VAWG means there remains a gap in the literature. Contrary to these findings, a systematic review by Cerna-Turoff et al 22 on natural disasters and violence against children found no evidence for positive association, even when adjusted for gender. Other reviews on VAWG in emergency settings focus primarily on armed conflict, 27 28 indicating a need for robust evidence on postdisaster VAWG within the development sector as well.…”

“…As with other emergency settings, disasters can increase risk factors for VAWG, like trauma and mental health issues; substance abuse; breakdown of family structures and social isolation; collapse and failure of law enforcement and services; and stressors from loss of housing and livelihoods. 19 22 Prolonged recovery and reconstruction can also leave displaced women and girls in camps and shelters where they are at heightened risk of experiencing violence. 19 20 22 Disaster exposure may also exacerbate existing drivers of VAWG, like socioeconomic and gender inequalities, rigid social norms, and unbalanced power structures at various levels of the social ecology: household, community and macrolevels of society.…”

“…29 Our search strategy applied terms associated with three concepts: (1) violence; (2) women and girls; and (3) disasters caused by natural hazards (climatological, geophysical, hydrological and meteorological hazards) (online supplemental appendix 2). 22 28 We also conducted a manual search using Google Scholar, as well as a grey literature search of the websites of organisations including AMT and MR screened the titles and abstracts of articles, with full texts retrieved for articles that met the inclusion/exclusion criteria and both reviewed them against the same criteria.…”

Conséquences psychopathologiques du confinement

“…La fermeture des écoles dans les situations de catastrophes intervient alors comme un facteur qui vient accroître le risque de violences sur enfants. Les contraintes supplémentaires que subissent les familles du fait de la crise du Covid-19 comme la perte d'emploi ou la chute des revenus, l'isolement social, le confinement excessif dans des locaux souvent exigus, la peur engendrée par la situation de pandémie et les préoccupations liées à la santé, accentuent le risque de violence à la maison qu'elle soit infligée entre partenaires ou aux enfants par les adultes qui s'occupent d'eux (124,125). Des solutions de téléconsultations se sont mises en place à travers le pays, comme par exemple le site https://covidecoute.org/ .…”

Child maltreatment online education for healthcare and social service providers: Implications for the COVID-19 context and beyond

“…Collectively, the limited and low quality evidence available precludes the ability to say with any certainty that COVID-19 has contributed to changes in child maltreatment. However, it is important to reiterate that up to one-third of Canadians self-report a history of child maltreatment in non-pandemic circumstances ( Afifi et al, 2014 ) and there are longstanding concerns related to increases in the risk factors for child maltreatment exposure during viral pandemics and extreme events ( Cerna-Turoff, Fischer, Mayhew, & Devries, 2019 ; Green, Chase, Zayzay, Finnegan, & Puffer, 2018 ; United Nations, 2020 ; Seddighi, Salmani, Javadi, & Seddighi, 2019 ; Serrata & Alvarado, 2019 ). Thus, as during pre-COVID times, and perhaps more-so given the increase in risk factors, there is a need to identify and provide evidence-based, educational interventions that can continue to prepare HSSPs during COVID-19 to safely recognize and respond to child maltreatment in their practice encounters.…”