New Publication: Impact of violence on children's mental health

11 July, 2021

Hi all,

I’m just sending this across in case you haven’t seen it already. Apologies for cross-posting, I am sure many of you will have seen it and some may have been involved in the review process. But it is an important synthesis of the evidence we have to date, so I wanted to share widely.

https://violenceagainstchildren.un.org/sites/violenceagainstchildren.un....

Some important changes in this document from previous reviews are that it goes beyond the simplified focus on interpersonal violence and takes a step towards a more holistic and integrated way of thinking. I am really pleased also to see some mention of different forms of structural violence and how these intersect with risk of interpersonal violence and various child health outcomes. While it is mainly about mental health, the links between mental health, physical health, psychomotor development and social outcomes are included. It also examines risks and outcomes associated with outbreaks, including covid but also more generally, as well as other humanitarian crises.

We have a long way to go in terms of our understanding of violence and the interlinked risks and outcomes that impact the mental health, physical health, and psychomotor development of individual children and at the population level. For now, this a really nice summary of what we know.

All best,

ayesha

CHIFA Profile: Ayesha Kadir is a Consultant for the World Health Organization. She previously worked as an Emergency Paediatrician in London and as a Pediatric AIDS Corps Physician with the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative in Tanzania and Ethiopia. Her interests include human rights, child rights, and the social determinants of maternal and child health. She is collaborating with a group of colleagues internationally on developing a rights-based approach to clinical care and public health research. She welcomes contact from others with a similar interest in order to work collaboratively.

kadira AT gmail.com