For nearly five decades, Carol Bower has been fighting for women and children’s rights in South Africa. Today, Bower is the Head of Linali Consulting in South Africa, an organisation that works to protect children’s rights, especially in the home, through law, policy, training, and research. In a country where one in every three girls experiences violence, this work has never been more essential. 

In this episode, Bower explains how South Africa’s unique history has played a role in upholding children’s rights, despite the country’s decades of violence. Bower focuses on corporal punishment and her battle to end the practice, along with the ways politics, passion, and purpose can come together to do so.

In the Philippines, 80% of children have experienced violence – whether that be at home, in school, online, or in their communities. Despite the high incidence of violence, seven in ten Filipino children are not aware of the services in place to protect them.  

Bernadette Madrid has spent her life trying to reduce the gap between children and the country’s child protection system. First as a doctor and then as an activist, Madrid has partnered with individuals across the country to develop strong, comprehensive child protection systems – work that eventually earned her the title of 2019’s most influential Filipino woman.  

Today, Madrid is the Executive Director of the Child Protection Network, an Associate Professor of Paediatrics at University of Philippines Medical School, and the Head of the Child Protection Unit at the Philippines General Hospital. In this podcast, Madrid shares her experiences in these roles and her lifelong journey to protect children – shedding light on the importance of a cohesive child protection system.

In Nigeria, one in four girls experience sexual violence before they turn 18 – and one in two are forced into their first sexual encounter. At a young age, Rahinatu Hussaini noticed how violence, inequality and social norms affected girls in her community, and committed to changing this situation in whatever way she could. Today, Hussaini is doing so as the Gender Equality Advisor at Save the Children Nigeria.

In this podcast, End Violence spoke to Hussaini about her journey in the sector, the programmes she’s seen work best, and the need to engage both men and women to change norms for the better. We also dive into the alarming statistics revealed in Nigeria’s 2015 Violence Against Children Survey, and what those results mean for the country’s future.

In Honduras, two children are murdered every single day. The country’s rates of violence are illustrative of trends across the region: though Latin America is home to just 8 per cent of the world's population, one-third of all global homicides are reported there.

In this podcast, End Violence speaks with Mark Connolly, the UNICEF Representative of Honduras, about the complex reality of violence in the Central American country – and the reasons behind homicide, gang and community violence in Latin American countries. After decades of working not just in Honduras, but also in Panama and Jamaica, Connolly’s insight is critical in exploring what works to prevent violence in the most challenging of circumstances.

If we really want to end all forms of violence against children, evidence, research and data are critical. The field of violence prevention is growing in unprecedented ways and it's important to use data-driven strategies, identify needs and gaps and apply the most effective evidence-based practices to achieve successful outcomes for children. In this episode, End Violence spoke with Dr Lucie Cluver, Professor of Child and Family Social Work at the University of Oxford and University of Capetown, about evidence-based social interventions and how data can improve the lives of children and adolescents around the world. Lucie also talks about parenting as a key element for nurturing care and connection in children's lives, especially during COVID-19, and shares useful parenting tips. To learn more about parenting tips, visit the End Violence Partnership website.

Schools should be a place where children are safe to learn, grow and thrive to their full potentials. For far too many, however, schools are anything but that. Over half of the world’s children live in countries where violence in schools is not fully prohibited – and two in three young people worry about violence in and around the classroom. 

In this episode, End Violence spoke with Dipak Naker, the co-founder of Raising Voices, about what it takes to stop this trend of school-based abuse. Through the organisation’s Good Schools Toolkit, Raising Voices has found a way to decrease violence in schools by over 40 per cent – and in doing so, unlock wins that last generations. To learn more about keeping kids Safe to Learn, visit the End Violence Partnership website.