Baseline Report: Gud Tumoro: Komiuniti Tugeta for Lukautim Pikinini (Solomon Islands, 2026)

Children in the Solomon Islands face persistently high levels of violence, driven by entrenched social norms, gender inequality, economic pressures, and weak child protection systems. This baseline study for the Gud Tumoro: Komiuniti Tugeta for Lukautim Pikinini project establishes evidence on children’s wellbeing, caregiving practices, and system functionality across Western and Choiseul Provinces to inform programme design and measure future impact.

The study finds that while many children report positive relationships with caregivers (74%) and moderate awareness of child rights (around 70%), these coexist with extremely high exposure to violent discipline (92%) and very low levels of meaningful participation in decisions affecting their lives (8%). Caregivers demonstrate awareness of positive parenting (80%) and often use non-violent methods, yet 85% still believe physical punishment is necessary, indicating a gap between knowledge and behaviour.

Child protection systems are formally established but operationally weak, with fragmented coordination and limited referral pathways between community and formal services. These findings highlight that improving child protection outcomes requires more than awareness-raising; it demands sustained behaviour change, strengthened child participation, and better-integrated systems. The baseline provides a critical benchmark for tracking progress and underscores the need for holistic, gender-equitable, and locally grounded interventions to reduce violence and improve child wellbeing.