Launching the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on INSPIRE: 7 Strategies for Ending Violence Against Children

INSPIRE, Columbia University

Learn about evidence-based strategies and approaches to preventing and responding to violence against children. Whether you are a practitioner, policymaker, funder or someone who cares deeply about this issue, this course will strengthen your knowledge about forms of violence against children, how societal, community, and family-level factors affect violence, and how the evidence-based INSPIRE framework and strategies can help to end violence against children.

About this course:

As the INSPIRE technical package highlights, an analysis of nationally representative survey data on the prevalence of violence against children in 96 countries estimates that 1 billion children globally – over half of all children aged 2–17 years – have experienced emotional, physical or sexual violence in the past year. Despite its high prevalence, violence against children is often hidden, unseen or under-reported. Its hidden nature is well documented – for example, a meta-analysis of global data finds self-reported child sexual abuse 30 times higher and physical abuse 75 times higher than official reports would suggest.

The immediate and long-term public health consequences and economic costs of violence against children undermine investments in education, health, and child well-being, and erode the productive capacity of future generations. Exposure to violence at an early age can impair brain development and damage other parts of the nervous system, as well as the endocrine, circulatory, musculoskeletal, reproductive, respiratory and immune systems, with lifelong consequences. Strong evidence shows that violence in childhood increases the risks of injury; HIV and other sexually transmitted infections; mental health problems; delayed cognitive development; poor school performance and dropout; early pregnancy; reproductive health problems; and communicable and noncommunicable disease.

INSPIRE is an evidence-based resource for everyone committed to preventing and responding to violence against children and adolescents – from government to grassroots, and from civil society to the private sector. This MOOC represents a select group of strategies based on the best available evidence to help countries and communities intensify their focus on the prevention programmes and services with the greatest potential to reduce violence against children.

The seven strategies are:

  • Implementation and enforcement of laws
  • Norms and values
  • Safe environments
  • Parent and caregiver support
  • Income and economic strengthening
  • Response and support services
  • Education and life skills

Each module will introduce one of the seven strategies, discuss current evidence from the field, and provide an overview of approaches to implementation. Child protection experts and practitioners from around the world will discuss their experiences with adapting the INSPIRE strategies and guide you through various case studies and best practices. 

Register today to learn more about the strategies! 

 

 

Additional contributions to the MOOC were provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) . 

Please direct any questions about this MOOC to Nicolas Makharashvili, Senior Program Officer, Care and Protection of Children (CPC) Learning Network, Columbia University at onm2003@cumc.columbia.edu

Additional INSPIRE Resources:

Click here to learn more about INSPIRE publications and relevant tools and resources.

The World Health Organization (WHO) initiated preparation of the INSPIRE package (written document), in collaboration with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), End Violence Against Children: The Global Partnership, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the President’s Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Together for Girls, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the World Bank (agencies with a long history of galvanizing a consistent, evidence-based approach to preventing violence against children).