From the Evidence of Violence Against Children to a Prevention-Oriented Response in Malawi: Planning for Social Services with a Public Health Model for Social Work Engagement

Abstract

Globally, violence has long been considered a serious and persistent social problem that is often presented as a public health concern. In the past decade, violence has received greater attention in terms of social interventions, especially using a public health model of social programming. A recent survey on violence against children is presented, using Malawi as a case example. This evidence is applied to a primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention framework for programming, with an orientation to social worker as leader in social policy, social intervention planning, and service delivery. Four opportunities for engagement are presented: (1) community building, (2) early identification of violence, (3) social casework with a strong aftercare approach, and (4) program development. Training of the social service workforce is finally considered, with recommendations for core professional skill areas for learning and capacity building.