Measuring violence against children: Inventory and assessment of quantitative studies

Findings from the work of the CP MERG technical working group on violence against children

Claudia Cappa, Statistics and Monitoring Section, UNICEF HQ

Objective and content

• Present results of an assessment of VAC studies commissioned in 2012 by the Technical Working Group (TWG) on Violence against Children (VAC) of the global Child Protection Monitoring and Evaluation Reference Group (CP MERG)

• Provide an overview of data availability on VAC, methods and protocols used to collect data

• Discuss some of the challenges related to the collection of data on VAC

CP MERG Technical Working

Group on Violence

against Children

Background

• Part of the CP MERG

• Established in April 2011

• 8 members: ILO, Save the Children, Pop Council, ChildFund, Plan International, EU FRA, ICF MACRO, UNICEF

• Chaired by UNICEF

• More information available at: http://www.cpmerg.org/

Rationale

• Proliferation of different measurement efforts aimed at filling the existing gaps, primarily using large-scale population-based surveys

Absence of commonly agreed operational definitions of VAC and standardized data collection tools

• Different standards and practices for protection of respondents and interviewers, and follow-up support to victims

Absence of ethical guidelines on data collection on VAC

Goal and objectives

Goal: assist countries/partners in their efforts to gather reliable, useful, comparable and ethically sensitive data on VAC

Objectives: Development of guidelines for the collection of data on VAC

• Technical guidelines aimed at maximizing the disclosure of actual violence and at guaranteeing high quality data

• Ethical guidelines aimed at minimizing the risk of potential harm to respondents, interviewers and others, resulting from the data gathering process

2012 outputs

• Conducted a literature review on research ethics and risks associated with data collection on violence against children

• Conducted an inventory and a critical assessment of data collection efforts to identify existing self-report survey tools and methods that are being used or are under development in the area of violence against children

Two publications, first released in October (literature review) and to be released in December (assessment)

Next steps

• Development of guidelines for data collection on violence against children

• Intended for use by NSOs and other agencies that want to gather data on VAC

• Training material and workshops on the guidelines

Inventory and assessment of quantitative studies on VAC : methods

Steps and components

• Key informant interviews

• Inventory and description of quantitative studies on VAC

44 studies + leads to additional 21 studies

• In-depth assessment of 7 studies (UK, Georgia, India, Moldova, Tanzania, Eastern Caribbean, Chile)

Elements covered in the assessment

• Commissioning and implementing agencies• Definitions and indicators • Sample designs• Research protocols • Ethical protocols • Field coordination • Quality control and data processing

Limitations

• Review only includes studies that are publicly available and for which some background documentation was found = not meant to be exhaustive

• Data quality not part of the assessment (access to datasets not granted in most cases)

• Review of prevalence estimates not part of the assessment (results are largely non comparable)

• Assessment of usefulness for programs and impacts of the studies not included

Inventory and assessment of quantitative studies on VAC : content

Basic characteristics

• 36 studies had a specific focus on VAC (stand alone studies)

• 8 studies were general surveys with modules or questions on VAC- 4 national surveys - 4 part of international programs (MICS, DHS, GSHS, HBSC)

• 34/44 were meant to be representative at the national level

International survey programs

MICS surveys with a module on child dis-

cipline

GSHS surveys with questions on violence

HBSC surveys with questions on violence

DHS surveys with a module on violence

against girls and women

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

78

50

37 34

Number of surveys with questions/modules on violence by survey type

International survey programs

MICS data on child discipline

• Data on child discipline collected since 2005-2006

• Questions addressed to family relatives/mothers or primary caregivers of one randomly selected child aged 2 to 14 years old

• The questionnaire asked whether any member of the household had used any of various disciplinary practices with that child during the past month

• 8 violent disciplinary practices: 2 psychological (such as shouting and name calling); 6 physical (such as shaking, spanking and hitting with an implement)

• 3 non-violent disciplinary practices (such as taking away privileges and explaining why something is wrong)

• Assesses mother/primary caregivers’ attitude toward physical punishment

Global School-based Student Health Surveys: Methodology and questionnaire

• Developed by the WHO and CDC

• School-based surveys of children aged 13-15

• Not conducted at regular intervals but implemented upon request from countries

• Standard GSHS contain three VAC-related questions: - one about physical violence (involvement in physical fights)- two on bullying (being bullied and bullying others).

• In its expanded version, the GSHS questionnaire also includes questions on: – dating violence– physical attacks– sexual abuse– carrying of weapons– perception of safety and – physical violence by teachers

Health Behavior in School-aged Children Study

• HBSC initiated in 1983 in 3 countries and soon after became a World Health Organization collaborative study

• Now 43 member countries in Europe and North America and a network of more than 350 researchers

• Conducted at regular intervals (last round 2009-2010)

• School-based surveys of children (average sample size of 1,550 for each age group - 11, 13 and 15 year olds)

• The standard HBSC contain three VAC-related questions: - one about physical violence (involvement in physical fights)- and two on bullying (being bullied and bullying others)

DHS indicators on violence

Data first collected in 1990, standardized in 1998-1999

Collects data on women aged 15-49 through an optional domestic violence module

• Percentage of women aged 15-49 who have ever experienced different forms of violence, by current age

• Percentage of women aged 15-49 who have ever experienced physical violence since age 15 and who experienced any physical violence in the past 12 months (age group 15-19 available)

• Percentage of women aged 15-49 who have ever experience physical violence during pregnancy

DHS indicators on violence (con’t)

• Percentage of women aged 15-49 who have experienced sexual violence by age at first experience of sexual violence

• Percentage of women aged 15-49 whose first experience of sexual intercourse was forced, by age of first forced sexual intercourse

• Percentage of women aged 15-49 who have ever (including in childhood) experienced sexual violence and who experienced any sexual violence in the past 12 months (age group 15-19 available)

DHS indicators on violence (con’t)

Spousal violence

• Percentage of ever-married women age 15-49 years by whether they have experienced physical, sexual or emotional violence committed by their current or most recent husband/partner, ever and any in the past 12 months

• Further info available on frequency of violence experienced in past 12 months and help-seeking behaviour (disaggregated by age groups)

Overview of country studies

Years and frequency of implementation

• Among the 40 national studies :12 conducted in 2008 alone9 conducted after 2008, the latest in 201119 studies conducted before, the earliest in 2002-2003

• 36 of the 40 national studies were conducted just once

Coverage by region

Industralized Countries

Middle East and North

Africa

Eastern Europe

Latin America and Carribean

West and Central Africa

Eastern and Southern

Africa

Asia and Pacific

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

23

4 45

10

12

Number of national studies by region

Note: This table does not included countries that collected data on VAC through MICS, DHS, GSBS or HBSC.

Coverage by countryIndustrialized countries 2 Middle East and North Africa 3Germany 1 Jordan 1UK 1 Lebanon 1

Morocco 1 Eastern Europe 4 West and Central Africa 5Armenia 1 Gambia 1Georgia 2 Ghana 2Moldova 1 Guinea 1 Mali 1

Eastern and Southern Africa 10Asia and Pacific 12 Ethiopia 2China 1 Kenya 1Fiji 1 Malawi 2India 1 Swaziland 1Kiribati 1 Tanzania 1Malaysia 1 Uganda 3Maldives 1 Philippines 2 Latin America and Caribbean 4Solomon Islands 1 Dominican Republic 1Timor-Leste 1 Eastern Caribbean Multi Country Study 1Vanuatu 1 Chile 1Viet Nam 1 Mexico 1

Note: This table does not included countries that collected data on VAC through MICS, DHS, GSBS or HBSC.

Number of national studies by country and region

Commissioning and implementation

• Of the 40 national studies identified, most were commissioned by government agencies (19), followed by NGOs (10), international organizations (11) and academic institutions

• Most of the studies conducted before 2006 were undertaken by research institutions or NGOs. During and after 2006, 31 studies were conducted with governments’ participations

• Little information on the identity of the organization or individuals implementing the survey. When information is available, most studies conducted by a (team of) consultants

• Few studies used the same teams of consultants

Some information on the study design

• Most studies were household surveys, few school based

• Full questionnaire available for only 15 of the studies

• In 16 studies self-administered questionnaire, 11 interviews, rest unknown

• Respondents: children from age 5 (mostly adolescents) and adults (as victims and as perpetrators)

Definitions and indicators

• Vast majority of the surveys identified in this review used their own definitions (15)

• In a few cases, definition used reflected national legal framework (3)

• Frequent references to the CRC (24)

• Some references to the WHO definitions of violence and abuse (5)

• Rationale for selection the target population or definitions not given in most cases (17)

Questionnaire design

• Majority of surveys developed/used own tools

• 12 studies relied on modified versions of the CTS or ICAST

• Limited information on how the tools were developed and selected

– Cognitive testing= no information/not done – Field testing of the questionnaire prior to survey

implementation = no information/not done – Pilot testing in 27 cases

Physica

l violence

Sexu

al violence

Emotional v

iolence

Corporal p

unishment

Neglect

Bullying

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

34

2825

22

11

7

Types of violence covered

Types of violence covered

Physical abuse Corporal punishment Sexual abuse Emotional abuse Neglect Bullying No. of StudiesX 4X X X 1

X 1X X X 1X X X 2

X 4X X 2X X 2X X X 2X X X 4X X X X 2X X 3X X X 2X X X X 1X X X 2X X X X 2X X X X X 1X X X X X X 4

Questionnaire content

• Content: experience of violence (35), attitudes (4), perpetuation (3)

• Most surveys collected information of lifetime experience of violence, 12 surveys collected information on recent experience of violence (12 months, 6 months or last month)

• Risk/protective factors: data collected in 3 cases only

Sample design

Sample type No. of studies

Purposive sample 2

Convenience sample 7

No information 5

Cluster sample 3

Other random sample 22

Client sample 1

A ‘client sample’ was used in the study Child Sexual Abuse in Lebanon: the sample consisted of a random selection of children who visited a certain community centre or summer camp.

Implementation

• Length of training for the field teams unknown: 23 studies two weeks: 4 studies3 to 7 days: 81 or 3 days: 5

• Content of the training largely unknown

• Interviewers’ profiles: unknown for 35 studies, general interviewers for most countries, social workers in 1 countries

• Teams composition and size: largely unknown (information available for 8 studies only)

Quality control measures and data quality tables

Callback procedures

Interviewer’s checks

Supervisor’s checks

Data entry software

Double blind data entry

Information available for only three studies

No detailed data quality tables in the available reports

Ethical protocols: consent forms Universe of the study

Child consent sought? Adult consent sought? Survey name

All children going to school in Georgia Yes Yes (directors of schools and parent) National Study on School Violence in Georgia

All children aged 11-17 Yes No National Study on Violence against Children in Georgia (sub-study: Children aged 11-17)

All children aged 12-19 Yes Yes, caregiver Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health in Ghana

All children aged 5-18 years Yes Yes (directors of schools, parent) Study on Child Abuse in India

All children aged 12-19 Yes Yes, caregiver Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health in Malawi- Results from the 2004 National Survey of Adolescents

All school children aged 10-18 years Yes Yes, teachers SUFFERING AT SCHOOL: Results of the Malawi Gender-Based Violence in Schools Survey

Children aged 16-17 in the selected locations Yes Yes, caregiver Protect me with love and care: Fiji, Kiribati, Solomon Islands,

Vanuatu

All students in grade 1 and upwards visiting public schools Yes No A Baseline Study on Violence Against Children in Public

Schools in the Philippines

Males and females aged 13-24 years YesYes, caregiver/household head

Violence Against Children in Swaziland; Tanzania

All children aged 12-19 Yes Yes, caregiver Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health in Uganda: Results from the 2004 National Survey of Adolescents

Secondary school children aged 13-15 No Yes, head teacher Uganda Global School Based Student Health Survey

All children aged 11-17 Yes Yes, caregiver Child abuse and neglect in the UK today (sub-study: children aged 11-17)

All children in grade 8 or higher Yes Yes, school authorities and caregivers Violence in the Maldives (sub-study: School Survey)

Inventory and assessment of quantitative studies on VAC : main findings and conclusions

Inventory and assessment on VAC surveys: main findings

• Highly fragmented research sector

• Overall, the quality of the studies to vary to a very high degree

• Key terms defined on an ad-hoc basis that was unique to each specific study

• Absence of a clear (theoretical) research framework

• Most studies conducted only once

Inventory and assessment on VAC surveys: main findings (cont)

• Research designs and ethical protocols developed from scratch

• No validation nor proper field testing of instruments/methods

• Choice for or against specific approaches not discussed or were justified ex post

• Limited information on ethics and overall limited supporting documentation

Thank you

ccappa@unicef.org