UNICEF: Over 600 Million Children Live with Violence at Home

UNICEF: Over 600 Million Children Live with Violence at Home
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A new report released Tuesday by UNICEF warns that around 610 million children worldwide — more than one in four — live in households where their mothers have experienced physical, emotional, or sexual abuse by an intimate partner during the past year, Maktoob Media reported.

The findings reveal stark regional disparities. In Oceania, just over half of children live with a mother who suffered partner violence; in sub-Saharan Africa the share is 32 percent (about 187 million children), and in Central and Southern Asia 29 percent, amounting to some 201 million youngsters.

According to Catherine Russell, UNICEF’s Executive Director: “Millions of women and children are living in homes where violence is part of daily life.”

Even children who are not directly abused may suffer harm from witnessing violence—exposure linked to long-term emotional trauma, developmental problems, and a higher risk of violence later in life.

UNICEF calls on governments and civil-society partners to launch comprehensive programs to protect women and children, including better access to support services, prevention initiatives and efforts to challenge harmful social norms.