A global initiative to end violence against children

Each year, one billion children experience violence at home, at school, online or in their communities, says child safety advocate Howard Taylor. The problem is social, economic, political -- and urgent. In an eye-opening talk, Taylor shows why we have an unprecedented opportunity right now to end violence against children and create a better future for every child.

[This talk contains mature content]

I'm often asked what do I do.

To which I reply,

"I work to end violence against children.

All violence against every child
in every country."

There's usually a pause.

Sometimes, depending on the setting,

"Whoa, that's a conversation killer."

And then the questions:

"What sort of violence
are you talking about?"

"How much violence is there?"

"Where is it happening,
is it happening here?"

And when I answer those questions,
people tend to be shocked.

Shocked at the scale of violence,

shocked at the nature of violence.

But I'm always quick to make sure

that people aren't left
with a sense of doom and gloom.

I believe we have an unprecedented
historical opportunity

in this generation

to end violence against children.

There's a nascent movement
building around this.

Governments, national governments,
city governments,

provinces and others
are joining that movement.

And when we succeed --
and it will take all of us --

we will change the course
of human history.

What do I mean by violence
against children?

I mean all of the physical violence,

sexual, psychological
and emotional violence

that happens to children at home,

at school, online
and in their communities.

We work with partners
right across the world

and from those partners,
we hear disturbing stories

of individual children.

For example, Sarah, age 10.

Raped repeatedly by her stepfather

and threatened with violence
if she tells anyone.

Faisal, hit across the knuckles
at school with a cable,

shamed and called a donkey,

made to stand outside in the cold
when he gets the answers wrong.

And from the partners we work with
to make the internet safer for children,

we hear stories like that of Angelika.

Twelve years old,

and forced to commit
sexual acts on her uncle,

which are live-streamed to paying adults
the other side of the world.

One in 10 girls experiences sexual abuse
before the age of 20.

Half of children live in countries

where corporal punishment
has not been fully prohibited.

And last year alone, in the US,

45 million reports were made

of images and videos of violent
and sexual abuse of children online.

Twice the number the year before.

Now these forms of violence
and other forms of violence

roll up into some
truly staggering numbers.

One billion children globally every year

who experience some kind of violence.

That's one in two children.

This is a universal issue.

So what gives me optimism?

Let me talk about Sweden and Uganda.

Probably about as different
as two countries you might imagine.

If you speak to an economist,

they might tell you that Sweden
has a per capita average income

of around 50,000 dollars a year.

In Uganda, it's 2,000 dollars.

A historian might tell you

Sweden hasn't been in a national conflict
for about 200 years.

Uganda is still struggling
with an insurgency

in the north of the country.

A musician might tell you

that Uganda, the national anthem,
"Oh Uganda, Land of Beauty,"

is one of the shortest in the world.

In fact, so short,
it's often played more than once.

I believe Swedes play theirs
and sing theirs for a little longer.

But more seriously,

Sweden and Uganda have made a commitment,

they have a common bond
and shared purpose,

a commitment to end violence
against children,

and they are taking action
to try and get their countries

on a pathway to zero violence
against children by 2030.

And many other countries,
cities and states are joining them,

all over the world.

But what does it really mean,
what does it mean in practice?

When they make that commitment,
what do they do?

It means high-level political
commitment and leadership.

Enacting and implementing legislation.

And launching initiatives,
changing policy,

starting a national conversation

that begins to raise awareness
on a journey to changing attitudes

and making it socially unacceptable

to have any violence and abuse
of children in a country.

It means recognizing
that violence against children

cuts across many sectors,

and therefore the response, the answer,
has to be a systems approach.

You can't just do one piece of it.

It requires multiple agencies
within and beyond government.

It requires faith groups,
the private sector, media,

academia, civil society
organizations and others.

And it requires drawing
on what the best practice

and the best evidence globally tells us,

but using national-level data

to shine a light on the often hidden story
of violence in any given country.

And using that data
to inform the national response,

but also using it to measure
and track progress.

And share what's working,

being honest about
when things aren't working.

And sharing inspiration

when we see success
and violence declining.

But can we really do this
on a global scale?

One billion children a year
experiencing violence.

I think we can.

In 2015, 193 world leaders
committed their countries

to end violence, abuse
and neglect of children by 2030.

Violence against children

undermines all the other
investments in them:

in their health, in their education.

Often with multi-year,

sometimes lifelong and intergenerational
consequences and transmission.

But it's not just about
international agreements and governments.

They really matter.

I think something's also
changing more fundamentally,

and we as societies around the world

are finally calling out
unacceptable behaviors

which for too long have been tolerated.

Think of the #MeToo movement,

and how sector after sector,
industry after industry,

calling out perpetrators,

bringing and holding them to account.

It's a journey,
but we've embarked upon it.

Look at what's happened
in the aid industry.

Following some abuses of power,

the aid industry
is now taking very seriously

the safeguarding of children
across the world.

But maybe even more than that.

Children and young people themselves,

part aided by technology,

but they have a voice now

that they may not, I don't think,
have had before.

And they are using that voice,

not just to advocate for the situation
they see around them

or what they know needs to improve,

but to be part of the solutions of things

that actually inform
and affect their lives.

Think of those young activists

who speak out against
female genital mutilation,

child marriage, cyber bullying,
safe schools, harming conflict --

the list goes on and on.

Those children really matter.

So we have political leadership,

we have youth activism,

we have evidence-based solutions,

we have public awareness growing --

we're on that pathway,

beginning that journey
to get to zero by 2030.

But what are those solutions?

Three years ago, in 2016,

10 global institutions came together
and aligned behind a framework

which is a comprehensive,
step-by-step approach

to ending violence against children.

It's called INSPIRE.

It looks at the need
for the relevant legislation,

addressing social norms,

parent and caregiver support,

responses for children
who have experienced violence and abuse.

And safe schools,

so children can be in a learning
environment where they thrive.

In Uganda, four years ago,

an eight-year-old girl
could be married to a 30-year-old man.

That can no longer happen.

In 2016, the Children Act
made that illegal

and set the minimum age of marriage at 18.

That's the I of INSPIRE:

enact and implement legislation.

Cambodia is rolling out parental support,

parent and caregiver support
across the country,

so parents are equipped
to raise their children

and to have discipline
in a nonviolent way in the home.

That's the P of INSPIRE,

parent and caregiver support.

In the Philippines,

there are 100 centers set up
to protect women and children nationwide.

Women and children who are either
at high risk of abuse and violence

or have experienced violence.

That's the R of INSPIRE,
response and support services.

And in Uganda, a safe schools toolkit
has been rolled out now

to half of teachers in Uganda,

equipping them to control a class
with nonviolent discipline.

That's the E of INSPIRE,
education and life skills.

That's just some bits
within some of the INSPIRE framework.

But more and more countries
are committing to implement it,

adapt it locally,

inform it with the relevant data,
put a plan together,

work across sectors,

and begin that journey to zero.

Canada, Mexico,
United Arab Emirates, Tanzania --

I mentioned Sweden and Uganda already --

Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia,

more and more countries,
and now cities, too.

And right here in Scotland,

University of Edinburgh
is establishing a learning lab

that's going to track the journey
that cities in Scotland

and the Philippines
and Colombia go on together.

See what works in a city,

take something that's being prepared
for implementation at a nationwide level

and bring it down to the city level,

where we believe

that we can actually make probably faster
and demonstrable progress

in a shorter space of time.

And when we do that,

that success will be shared
through the learning lab and beyond

at Edinburgh University.

Ending violence is the right thing to do,

it's a smart investment to make,

we have evidence-based solutions,

and we have the beginnings of a journey.

But what would happen

if we actually end
violence against children?

Let's just imagine for a moment.

First of all, think of
the children I mentioned.

Sarah would no longer
lie in her bed at night,

fearful of the sound
of her stepfather's footsteps

coming up the stairs.

Faisal would go to school
and he would thrive.

He would no longer fear being at school

and being bullied and hit
and shamed by the teachers.

And Angelika and those like her

would no longer be something,
a commodity brought online

for the enjoyment of adults
thousands of miles away.

But then multiply the social,

the economic, the cultural
benefits of that.

Multiply those by every family,
every community,

village, town, city, country

and suddenly, you've got
a new normal emerging.

A generation would grow up
without having experienced violence.

It will take us all.

But we do have an unprecedented
opportunity to try,

and I believe we also, as adults,
have a responsibility to do this.

And then when we're all asked,

"What do you do?"

each and every one of us can say,

"I'm changing the course of human history.

I'm doing my bit to end
violence against children."

Let's do this and do it now.

Thank you.

(Applause)