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WASHINGTON, CMC – The Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Friday that governments, civil society, youth representatives, and international partners from across Latin America and the Caribbean have renewed their commitment to end violence against children and adolescents.

PAHO said the commitment was made during a high-level regional consultation that it co-hosted with the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF).

PAHO said the region continues to have the highest rates of violence against children and adolescents worldwide.

It said nearly two out of three children aged 1 to 14 experience violent discipline at home, and one in five girls experience sexual violence before reaching 18.

PAHO said interpersonal violence remains a leading cause of death for young people. “Despite progress and political commitments, efforts to protect children from violence remain insufficient,” PAHO said.

Over two days of dialogue, held virtually on October 23 and 24, PAHO said more than 300 participants – including ministers and senior officials from the health, education, justice, and child protection sectors, as well as representatives of civil society, youth leaders, and international partners – came together to discuss concrete actions to build safer environments for children and adolescents.

“Every child has the right to grow up free from violence, safe in their homes, schools, and communities, and to enjoy a childhood full of opportunities,” said PAHO Director Dr. Jarbas Barbosa. “The change we want to see in the health system is apparent: health services must be in daily contact with communities.

“When health workers identify individuals who are at-risk early and provide them with quality support, it makes a real difference to survivors of violence, their families, and communities,” he added. “It is a unique opportunity to improve public trust in the response system and decisively demonstrate that violence is never justified.”

Anne-Claire Dufay, UNICEF Deputy Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, said: “For millions of children in Latin America and the Caribbean, violence remains in their homes, schools, communities, or online, undermining their mental health, fueling cycles of poverty, and even perpetuating violence into the next generations.

“The good news is we know what works to end violence,” she added. “We need bold investments to ensure every child is protected—investments in prevention, in early detection, in quality services, and in justice systems that respond with dignity and care.

“When we protect children from violence, we are not only saving lives—we are shaping the future of the region,” Dufay continued.

PAHO said the consultation advanced an “evidence-to-action agenda” structured around four key areas for preventing and responding to violence: Legal and policy frameworks to prevent and respond to violence; parenting programs to break cycles of violence against children and adolescents; safe and enabling learning environments; and comprehensive health and protection services to respond to survivors.

PAHO said each session featured examples of good practices from countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, showcasing concrete solutions that have delivered results.

Participants underscored that effective prevention requires whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches, with particular attention to early childhood, mental health, digital safety, and social-protection systems, PAHO said.

It said contributions from survivors, youth representatives, artists, and international experts underscored the importance of working together to drive real change.

PAHO said it reaffirmed its determination to consolidate multisectoral partnerships and strengthen collaboration among the health, education, social protection, and justice sectors, together with civil society, survivor, and youth networks, to accelerate progress toward ending violence.

Countries also made commitments to strengthen coordinated, data-driven, and responsive national health and protection systems that meet the needs of every child and adolescent, PAHO said.

It said it and UNICEF convened the Regional Ministerial Consultation on Ending Violence against Children and Adolescents in Latin America and the Caribbean “to exchange experiences, identify effective strategies, and strengthen regional cooperation toward achieving the commitments made at the Global Ministerial Conference to End Violence Against Children (Bogotá, 2024) and the Sustainable Development Goals 16— which calls on all countries to promote peaceful and inclusive societies, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions, including the specific target (16.2) to end abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence against and torture of children.”