Latin America and the Caribbean renew commitment to end violence against children and adolescents at PAHO-UNICEF regional consultation – Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)

Report on the Regional Ministerial Consultation on Ending Violence Against Children and Adolescents

Introduction: A Renewed Commitment to Sustainable Development Goal 16

A high-level regional consultation was co-hosted by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and UNICEF on October 23-24, 2025. The virtual event brought together over 300 participants, including government ministers, civil society, youth leaders, and international partners from Latin America and the Caribbean. The primary objective was to renew and accelerate regional commitment to ending all forms of violence against children and adolescents, directly addressing the targets outlined in Sustainable Development Goal 16, particularly Target 16.2, which calls for an end to abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence against and torture of children.

The Regional Challenge: A Barrier to Sustainable Development

Latin America and the Caribbean continues to report the highest global rates of violence against children, a crisis that severely impedes progress across multiple Sustainable Development Goals. Current data indicates a significant challenge:

• Nearly two-thirds of children aged 1 to 14 experience violent discipline, undermining progress on SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 4 (Quality Education).
• One in five girls experiences sexual violence before the age of 18, a direct violation of SDG 5 (Gender Equality).
• Interpersonal violence remains a leading cause of death among youth, representing a critical failure in achieving SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).

As stated by Anne-Claire Dufay, UNICEF Deputy Regional Director, this violence undermines mental health and perpetuates intergenerational cycles of poverty and violence, hindering the region’s overall sustainable development. Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, Director of PAHO, emphasized that health systems have a unique opportunity to identify at-risk individuals and provide support, thereby building trust and reinforcing the principle that violence is never justified.

Strategic Pillars for Action Aligned with the SDGs

The consultation structured its evidence-to-action agenda around four key strategic pillars essential for achieving SDG 16.2 and its related goals. These pillars are designed to create a comprehensive, multi-sectoral response to violence against children.

1. Legal and Policy Frameworks: Strengthening legal and policy instruments to explicitly prohibit all forms of violence, ensuring that national institutions are aligned with SDG 16’s call for effective, accountable, and inclusive governance.
2. Parenting Programs: Implementing evidence-based parenting programs to break intergenerational cycles of violence, promoting positive discipline and contributing to SDG 3 targets for health and well-being within families.
3. Safe and Enabling Learning Environments: Ensuring schools are safe and inclusive spaces, free from violence, which is fundamental to achieving SDG 4’s mandate for quality education for all.
4. Comprehensive Health and Protection Services: Developing integrated health and protection services to respond effectively to the needs of survivors, a critical component for fulfilling the health and justice targets of SDG 3 and SDG 16.

Commitments to Accelerate Progress Towards 2030 Agenda

Participants reaffirmed their commitment to a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, recognizing that ending violence against children is a prerequisite for sustainable development. Key commitments were made to strengthen national systems and foster collaboration, reflecting the spirit of SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

• Consolidate multi-sectoral partnerships between the health, education, social protection, and justice sectors.
• Strengthen collaboration with civil society, survivor networks, and youth representatives to ensure inclusive and effective interventions.
• Enhance national health and protection systems to be coordinated, data-driven, and responsive to the specific needs of every child and adolescent.
• Increase focus on early childhood development, mental health support, and digital safety as integral components of child protection strategies.

The consultation concluded with a unified determination to translate these commitments into concrete actions, accelerating progress toward the goals established at the Global Ministerial Conference to End Violence Against Children (Bogotá, 2024) and the universal promise of the Sustainable Development Goals.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

• The article explicitly mentions SDG 16 and its goal to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies.” The entire focus of the consultation is on ending violence against children, which is a core component of creating peaceful societies and ensuring justice for all.

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

• The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) co-hosted the event, highlighting the health implications of violence. The article notes that violence undermines “mental health,” that “interpersonal violence remains a leading cause of death for young people,” and calls for “comprehensive health and protection services” and the involvement of health workers.

SDG 5: Gender Equality

• The article specifically points out a gendered dimension of violence by stating that “one in five girls experience sexual violence before reaching 18.” This directly addresses the SDG 5 goal of eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls.

SDG 4: Quality Education

• The need for “safe and enabling learning environments” is identified as a key area for action. The article also mentions the involvement of ministers from the “education” sector, connecting the issue of violence against children to their right to a safe and effective education.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

• The article is centered on a multi-stakeholder consultation involving “Governments, civil society, youth representatives, and international partners” like PAHO and UNICEF. It emphasizes the need for “multisectoral partnerships” and “collaboration between the health, education, social protection, and justice sectors,” which is the essence of SDG 17.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.

• This target is explicitly mentioned in the article as a key focus of the regional consultation. The entire article discusses efforts to address the high rates of violence against children and adolescents in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres.

• The article’s statistic that “one in five girls experience sexual violence before reaching 18” directly relates to this target, which aims to end violence against females.

Target 3.4: By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.

• The article connects violence to health outcomes by stating it “undermining their mental health” and that “interpersonal violence remains a leading cause of death for young people.” This aligns with the target’s focus on reducing premature mortality and promoting mental health.

Target 4.a: Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all.

• The consultation’s agenda included a focus on creating “Safe and enabling learning environments,” which directly corresponds to the goal of this target to ensure schools are safe and non-violent spaces for children.

Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships.

• The event itself, a “high-level regional consultation co-hosted by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and UNICEF” with “Governments, civil society, youth representatives, and international partners,” is a clear example of this target in action. The article further calls to “consolidate multisectoral partnerships.”

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

Proportion of children experiencing violent discipline

• The article states, “Nearly two out of three children aged 1 to 14 experience violent discipline at home.” This statistic serves as a direct indicator for measuring the prevalence of violence against children, relevant to Target 16.2.

Proportion of girls experiencing sexual violence

• The statistic that “one in five girls experience sexual violence before reaching 18” is a specific indicator used to measure progress on eliminating violence against girls, as outlined in Target 5.2.

Rate of death from interpersonal violence among youth

• The article mentions that “Interpersonal violence remains a leading cause of death for young people.” The mortality rate from this cause is a key indicator for measuring progress on health and safety targets, such as Target 3.4.

Existence of legal and policy frameworks

• The article identifies “Legal and policy frameworks to prevent and respond to violence” as a key area for action. The existence, adoption, and implementation of such laws are an implied indicator of a country’s commitment to protecting children.

4. SDGs, Targets and Indicators

Source: paho.org