Child-centred Indicators for Violence Prevention: Summary Report on a Living Lab in the City of Valenzuela, Philippines

Abstract

In 2015, world leaders made a commitment to end all forms of violence against children by 2030, as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To achieve the aspirations of the SDG global targets, Governments set targets, taking into account national circumstances, to reduce children’s risk and be responsive to local contexts. Prevention and response efforts need to be grounded in the best available evidence to achieve measurable reductions in violence, and if the needs of children are to be foregrounded, strategies to end violence must respect not only children’s protection rights but also their participation rights. Moreover, it is critical that the processes for monitoring and measuring impacts centre children’s needs, aspirations and experiences. If children themselves report that violence is reducing in their personal lives, in their communities and in their countries, we will know that efforts to address violence, abuse and neglect are succeeding. This report describes a project undertaken in collaboration with End Violence, the City of Valenzuela, the Young and Resilient Research Centre and other partners to develop child-centred indicators for violence prevention in the City of Valenzuela in greater Manila, Philippines. Child and adult stakeholders worked together in a series of 14 participatory workshops to creatively explore children’s experiences and perceptions of violence, to map their aspirations for change, to ideate strategies for addressing violence in their communities, and to develop child-centred indicators against which violence reduction can be measured. This project found that children’s perspectives are a vital resource for efforts to localise INSPIRE strategies and that the deployment of child-centred indicators usefully augments and complements the INSPIRE measurement framework. Beyond the City of Valenzuela, there is opportunity to scale the use of these child-centred indicators to other parts of the Philippines and globally. The report also offers reflections on the key strengths and limitations of the Living Lab process for engaging a wide range of stakeholders, including children themselves, in the project of ending violence against children.