Lindsay Stark and Debbie Landis conducted a review of 22 prevalence studies of violence against children in humanitarian contexts to examine population-based approaches measuring violence against children. Ultimately, the body of evidence in this review reveals a lack of standard practice in measuring violence against children in emergencies; shows limited evidence of whether and under what conditions violence against children increases; and reveals that fundamental assumptions underpinning violence against children in emergencies are not data-driven. The development of standardized approaches to more rigorously measure violence against children is urgently needed in order to understand trends of violence against children in humanitarian contexts and to promote children’s healthy development and well-being.

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From May to September 2013, the Child Protection in Crisis (CPC) Network conducted a structured analysis of field learning regarding the Child Protection Rapid Assessment (CPRA) toolkit, in order to identify key findings, lessons learned, and recommendations for its future use and implementation. The review covered use of the CPRA toolkit in 15 countries: Burkina Faso, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Mali, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Somalia, Syria, Thailand, Tunisia, and Yemen. This study found that the CPRA toolkit was a valuable addition to the field and a means of increasing the methodological rigor with which child protection assessments are carried out. However, findings suggest the tool is often dependent on technical assistance, it is used outside of the recommended time frame, and that additional approaches were often used in conjunction with the tool.

The research brief and full report are below.

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Better understanding the social service workforce—from professional social workers to community-level frontline workers—as well as their skills, functions, and training needs is a key question facing the child protection and family welfare field. This research, conducted by the CPC Learning Network for UNICEF’s West and Central Africa regional office, sought to better understand how social workers and related professionals are trained and educated –in both formal and less formal ways– to engage in social work practice, especially in regards to child protection, in the region. Research first involved a desk review and phone interviews, then semi- structured interviews and group discussions with 253 individuals in five West African countries from November 2013 to February 2014. The findings suggest tremendous variability in the formal social work training available country and highlight challenges facing the social service workforce, including lack of clarity of job descriptions and legal mandates and inadequate adaptation of training curricula to cultural contexts.

This report is available in English and French below.

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From May-December 2013, the Child Protection in Crisis (CPC) Network and Save the Children UK conducted a scoping exercise in order to examine two child protection issues considered “hard to measure” in humanitarian settings: sexual violence against children and violence within the household. The goal of this exercise was to identify existing methodologies and tools to assess these issues, as well as to highlight gaps in current approaches and offer recommendations for further action.

The research brief and full report are below.

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From May-August 2012, the CPC Network Program Learning Group (PLG) in Liberia conducted an integrated review of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) programs in Liberia to examine the methods and outcomes of current SGBV prevention and response interventions, and to identify promising practices that can inform the development of future program and policy initiatives. 279 documents were collected, and interviews were conducted with 40 key informants and 10 young female SGBV survivors. Only 12 documents were evaluations; 5 demonstrated measurable change in terms of shifts of knowledge or awareness of SGBV and related issues, or an increase in respondents accessing services. The document set does not provide a strong basis upon which to evaluate the presence of promising practices.

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