Born to High Risk: Violence Against Girls in Africa

Summary: A report prepared for the Second International Policy Conference on the African Child: Violence Against Girls in Africa.

Each year as many as 40 million children under 15 years old experience some
form of violence. Many of them are girls and many live in Africa. For example, a
study by The African Child Policy Forum in Ethiopia found that every girl interview
had experienced some form of violence at one time or another and that more than
90 per cent of girls questioned in Uganda had experienced some form of sexual
abuse. Girls throughout Africa experience physical, psychological and sexual
violence in many forms and in various settings: in conflict and crisis situations;
where they work or are trafficked to work; and even in the very places they should feel safest - at school, and in their homes and communities.

Although the international community now acknowledges the severity of the problem of violence against children and, to some extent the urgency with which it must be addressed, the particular vulnerability of girls to violence, and the social context that places African girls at risk, remains largely ignored.

The African Child Policy Forum believes that the issue can no longer remain
hidden; that action should - and indeed must - be taken to address the abuses
African girls face. This report, along with the Second International Policy
Conference on the African Child on May 11 and 12, 2006, aims to enrich work on
violence against children in Africa and to provide a framework for action.

Born to High Risk: Violence Against Girls in Africa synthesises information from three sources:

• Existing literature on gender-based violence and violence against children.
• Five thematic studies on violence against girls in specific settings that the African Child Policy Forum carried out in collaboration with the
  Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children; the International Committee of the Red Cross; the International Labour Organization; the Uganda Child Rights NGO Network; and UNAIDS.
• Retrospective surveys of the of girls' experiences of violence in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. 

It provides strong foundations for future action by exploring the concept of violence and identifying what makes African girls especially vulnerable to various forms of violence.

More information

Violence against Children in Ethiopia: In Their Words, African Child Policy Forum (2006)

Sticks and Stones and Brutal Words: Violence Againts Children in Ethiopia, African Child Policy Forum (2006)