Violencia contra niños y adolescentes ejercida por cuidadores

Abstract

Violence has increasingly become recognized as a pressing public health problem requiring urgent attention. In 1993, World Health Day was devoted to violence and injuries and in May 1997, the 49th World Health Assembly considered how the World Health Organization (WHO) could best address the emerging epidemic of violence worldwide. In the United States and many other high-income countries (HICs), the public health significance and impact of violence, including that by or against children and adolescents, have received extensive media attention, public debate, and research activity. Although there is obvious response in many middle-income countries (MICs) and low-income countries (LICs), there has been a failure to develop a comprehensive, systematic approach to the problem. Given lack of research data, the impact of violence in most LICs can only be surmised via anecdotes and personal experiences. This article reviews information on selected aspects of violence against children and adolescents that occur in countries outside the United States, with a focus on MICs and LICs. This article focuses on the epidemiology and health consequences of this public health challenge, with special emphasis on conditions that are peculiar to children and adolescents in international settings, such as female genital mutilation and the effects of war and land mines. Recommendations are offered in the light of the vastly different contexts within which these events of violence take place, and the formulation of a response is required.