Violence Against Children in Afghanistan: Community Perspectives

Abstract

Violence against children (VAC) is a significant international problem and, in Afghanistan, is particularly complex given the country has suffered armed conflict and extreme poverty for more than 30 years. The aim of this study was to examine the level of knowledge and observation of VAC by community leaders, professional groups, and business owners in three Afghan districts. A survey of community and religious leaders; health, socio-legal, and education professionals; and business owners from Kabul, Jalalabad, and Torkham ( n = 182) was conducted. Structured interviews included qualitative and quantitative components. Questions related to knowledge and experience of VAC, and to perceptions of consequences, causes, and strategies for preventing VAC. The statistical significance of differences between participant groups and measures of association were assessed by Pearson's chi-square test, the Mann-Whitney test, and the Kruskall-Wallis one-way ANOVA. Qualitative responses were analyzed thematically. VAC was reported to occur mostly in the home, community, and workplace. The scale of the problem varied, with religious and community leaders underreporting VAC by 30% to 40% compared with other participant groups ( p < .001). Business owners also significantly underreported VAC in the workplace, despite admitting to acts of discipline that included physical contact. There were some regional differences, with lower reporting of violence in Jalalabad compared with the two other locations ( p < .001). Causes of VAC were consistently attributed to poverty, lack of education, and the effects of war. The findings of this study indicate that VAC is a serious and complex problem in Afghanistan. Decades of armed conflict and entrenched poverty influence how violence is perceived and recognized. Consideration should be given to initiatives that build on the existing strengths within the community while raising awareness and recognition of the nature, extent, and burden of VAC in the community.

Barriers to implementing learning from child protection training in Saudi Arabia

“…The overall lack of ‘readiness’ (Almuneef et al, 2014) of society was demonstrated through examples of denial of abuse, taboos, fear of challenging predominant beliefs (Cameron et al, 2018), family structure – namely polygamy, and the perceived role of women (Afshar, 2016). These effects were evident throughout the reporting, assessment and intervention process, continuously hindering practitioners’ attempts to engage with families in order to protect vulnerable children and women.…”

The effect of childhood traumatization on close relationships of first year university students

“…Öğrencilerin %57.3'ü anne ve babasının çocuk yetiştirme tutumunu "koruyucu" olarak nitelemektedir (Tablo 1). etmeye çalışan ebeveynler çocuklarını ihmal edebilmekte ve böylece örselenme meydana gelebilmektedir (Altıparmak et al, 2013;Cameron et al, 2018;Guedes, Bott, Garcia-Moreno, & Colombini, 2016;Sarı, Ardahan, & Öztornacı, 2016;Taşar, Özcan, & Saç, 2018). 150 üniversite öğrencisi ile yapılan bir çalışmada, ailesi alt gelir düzeyinde olan öğrencilerin duygusal ve toplam örselenme ölçek puanları anlamlı derecede yüksek olduğu belirtilmiştir (Zeren et al, 2013).…”

“…Bu nedenle anne ve baba eğitim durumu da çocukların örselenme ve yakın ilişkilerdeki yaşantıları üzerinde etkilidir. (Altıparmak et al, 2013;Cameron et al, 2018;Pekdoğan, 2016). Bu araştırmada eğitim düzeyi düşük olan babaların çocuklarının daha fazla örselenme ve yakın ilişkilerde daha çok sıkıntı yaşadığı belirlenmiştir.…”

Pilot implementation of child psychosocial framework in Kenya, Turkey and Brazil

“…This is presented in Figure 1 Meeting basic physical (water, food, shelter, sanitation) and emotional needs, ensuring physical and emotional safety, removal from conflict, clear guidelines to staff and residents on child protection and domestic violence, child protection training, adherence to national and international legislation, child-centred approaches -e.g. no punishment, child-friendly and nurturing environments, multi-purpose spaces, opportunities for engagement; and tackling stigma and negative attitudes on vulnerability such as being in care, gender, violence, or mental health (Hutchinson et al, 2015;Cameron et al, 2018). School as a central hub in the support system, emotional literacy, principles of whole school ethos, integration of family-school-community approaches, teacher and community worker/volunteer training on problem recognition and strategies, sports and creative activities within a resilience framework, peer support, mentorship, or life skills training (Jordans et al, 2010;Baum et al, 2013;Hussein and Vostanis, 2013;Mutiso et al, 2017).…”

“…It meets basic physical (water, food, shelter and sanitation) and emotional needs, ensures physical and emotional safety, removal from conflict, clear guidelines to staff and residents on child protection and domestic violence, child protection training, adherence to national and international legislation, child-centred approaches, e.g. no punishment, child-friendly and nurturing environments, multi-purpose spaces, opportunities for engagement; and tackling stigma and negative attitudes on vulnerability such as being in care, gender, violence or mental health (Hutchinson et al, 2015;Cameron et al, 2018). (Betancourt et al, 2017;Eruyar, Maltby and Vostanis, 2018;Howe et al, 2017).…”