Participation and Violence: Executive summary and conclusions

This is a summarised version of the study “Promotion of Protagonist and Meaningful Participation of Children and Adolescents Exposed to Violence”, and it comprises only the executive summary and the conclusions, recommendations and strategies of the original study. The study itself intended to respond to two questions: (1) How can children and adolescents exert their right to participate in direct prevention strategies for all forms of violence? (2 ) How can the children and adolescents who have suffered some kind of violence be involved in the design of strategies and interventions, and at the same time, how can they be prevented from becoming exposed or revictimised and/or stigmatised? The subjects of the study were children and adolescents in general and their need to participate in the prevention of physical and humiliating punishment; children and adolescents victims of sexual exploitation and abuse; and children and adolescents involved in organised armed violence. The study also proposed (1). Preparing a conceptual framework to understand children’s participation in cases of children and adolescents at risk of violence, with emphasis on the cases of physical and humiliating punishment, sexual exploitation and abuse and organised armed violence. (2.) Gathering existing information at regional and global level in order to analyse the participation of children and adolescents exposed to violence, and identify the gaps and difficulties from a rights-based approach.