Sustainable Development Goal 16.2: Ending all forms of violence against children. With half a decade left to deliver on the SDGs, half the world’s children still experience violence of some kind.

As an organisation dedicated to improving the lives of children, the context we’re working in is growing more challenging every day. Geopolitical instability, economies struggling to invest and increasing pressure of climate change – all these factors exacerbate the prevalence and severity of violence against children and restrict our ability to form a coherent global response. Violence against children is often forgotten when we examine the polycrisis of global issues – but it is  a cause and consequence of so many other challenges, from education to gender rights.

This November, the first ever Ending Violence Against Children Ministerial is being held in Bogota, Colombia, and it is a historic first step in protecting and empowering children at a scale never attempted before. It is a moment for governments to step up to the global responsibility outlined in the SDGs and change the lives and futures for children globally –only half a decade remains to deliver SDG 16.2 ending all forms of violence against children.

Together with ministers, technical experts, NGOs, multilateral institutions and donors, CIFF is proud to be supporting this crucial conference. Our CEO, Kate Hampton, along with colleagues from across CIFF offices are excited to travel to Bogota, to work proactively alongside partners to help accelerate progress in this important area. Building on decades of tireless work from organisations and advocacy to increase action on this issue, we hope this opportunity marks a meaningful step-change in countries resourcing and addressing violence against children. To show real progress, we hope the Ministerial is able to catalyse action from governments and deliver:

1. Ambitious country commitments on ending violence against children, which include new funding.
2. A sustained international process following on from this Ministerial to ensure continued ambition and action.
3. More philanthropic donors committing and scaling funding towards ending violence against children.
4. Meaningful engagement of survivors and young people, to ensure their voices are heard and their priorities are listened to.
5. Clear mechanisms established as accountability processes for the commitments made during the ministerial.

The SDGs are anchored in a vision for a world where children can thrive and we have the power to make this happen. Although there is moral consensus on protecting children against harms, this alone is not enough. The Ministerial is a first step to bring about momentum to propel us into the beginning of the end of violence against children.

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More on how CIFF’s work is helping end violence against children

CIFF’s programmatic support to child protection is increasingly embedded across our funding streams – because we know that violence against children does not occur in a silo. Historically, CIFF has invested $115 million to keep children safe from various forms of violence. Key elements of our strategy have been to:

• Ensure children stay and are protected in schools.
• Engaging with and empowering community-based mechanisms for protection of children
• Supporting alliances and partnerships such as the WeProtect Alliance (where Kate is on the Board)
• Ensuring voices of survivors and advocates are centered in the narrative

Over the course of the Ending Violence Against Children Ministerial, we’ll be sharing more on our commitment to ensure all children can live healthy, safe lives.