Lifting the financial burden of child abuse: A Vanuatu case study

UNICEF Pacific in conjunction with their counterparts in the Pacific agreed to undertake an economic analysis of child abuse in order to develop sound economic arguments based on the lost economic potential caused by child abuse on societies. This could then be used to advocate for a greater investment in child protection services and associated legislative reform in four Pacific countries – Fiji, Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu – with adaptations as necessary for the particular context in each of those countries. While the cost of child abuse is often measured in terms of the psychological costs to the individual, or the social costs to society, this case study shows that it is also possible to make a financial measure of the costs of child abuse. In Vanuatu, this has been estimated as an annual cost of up to US$4.25 million. This report contains the outcome of phase 1 of the project – the development of a model to utilise in the Pacific context and trialled in Vanuatu.