Bridging the Gaps: A Global Review of Intersections of Violence Against Women and Violence Against Children

This article presents a review of evidence on intersections between violence against women (VAW) and violence against children (VAC)—including sexual violence by non-partners. It especially looks at low- and middle-income countries.

The review of evidence looks at six identified intersections of VAW and VAC: their shared risk factors, social norms that support violence and discourage help-seeking, child maltreatment and partner violence that co-occur within the same household, intergenerational effects of VAC and VAW, common and compounding consequences of VAC and VAW across the lifespan, intersection of VAC and VAW during adolescence, a time of heightened vulnerability to certain kinds of violence.

The evidence suggests:

1. Consolidating efforts to address shared risk factors may help prevent both forms of violence.
2. Early intervention is needed to address common consequences of VAC and VAW and intergenerational effects.
3. Adolescence falls between and within both VAW and VAC, therefore deserves greater attention.
4. There is a need for better collaboration in prevention strategies: Preparing service providers to address multiple forms of violence, better coordination between services for women and for children, school-based strategies, parenting programmes, and programming for adolescent health and development.
5. More coordination among researchers working on VAC and VAW is needed.