This report presents findings from the national Violence Against Children Survey (VACS), administered in Rwanda from 2015-2016, and lays out recommendations for addressing and preventing violence against children based on those findings. The survey was administered to households with children and young people ages 13 to 24 throughout Rwanda, including households where children had lost one or both parents, examining physical, emotional, and sexual violence. The findings focus on the following areas:
- Sexual, physical and emotional violence in childhood, including the prevalence and perpetrators of violence against children and youth, and help-seeking behaviour and knowledge of services (Sections 4 to 6)
- The overlapping occurrence of sexual, physical and emotional violence (Section 7)
- Health outcomes of experiencing sexual, physical and emotional violence (Section 8)
- Relationships among sexual risk-taking behaviours, HIV/AIDS-testing behaviours and childhood experiences of sexual violence (Sections 9 and 10)
- Beliefs towards spousal violence, and the role of gender in sexual practices and intimate partner violence (Section 11)
- Key results and recommendations to stakeholders on developing, improving and enhancing prevention and response strategies to address violence against children and youth (Sections 12 and 13).
Recommendations outlined in the report including strengthening the capacity of child protection services and providing parenting education programs.
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