The pathways between natural disasters and violence against children: a systematic review
Abstract Background Natural disasters are increasingly affecting a larger segment of the world’s population. These highly disruptive events have the potential to produce negative changes in social dynamics and the environment which increase violence against children. We do not currently have a compr...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2021-07-01
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| Series: | BMC Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11252-3 |
| _version_ | 1818576492366397440 |
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| author | Ilan Cerna-Turoff Hanna-Tina Fischer Hani Mansourian Susannah Mayhew |
| author_facet | Ilan Cerna-Turoff Hanna-Tina Fischer Hani Mansourian Susannah Mayhew |
| author_sort | Ilan Cerna-Turoff |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Natural disasters are increasingly affecting a larger segment of the world’s population. These highly disruptive events have the potential to produce negative changes in social dynamics and the environment which increase violence against children. We do not currently have a comprehensive understanding of how natural disasters lead to violence against children despite the growing threat to human populations and the importance of violence as a public health issue. The mapping of pathways to violence is critical in designing targeted and evidence-based prevention services for children. We systematically reviewed peer-reviewed articles and grey literature to document the pathways between natural disasters and violence against children and to suggest how this information could be used in the design of future programming. Methods We searched 15 bibliographic databases and six grey literature repositories from the earliest date of publication to May 16, 2018. In addition, we solicited grey literature from humanitarian agencies globally that implement child-focused programming after natural disasters. Peer-reviewed articles and grey literature that presented original quantitative or qualitative evidence on how natural disasters led to violence against children were included. The authors synthesized the evidence narratively and used thematic analysis with a constant comparative method to articulate pathways to violence. Results We identified 6276 unduplicated publications. Nine peer-reviewed articles and 17 grey literature publications met the inclusion criteria. The literature outlined five pathways between natural disasters and violence, including: (i) environmentally induced changes in supervision, accompaniment, and child separation; (ii) transgression of social norms in post-disaster behavior; (iii) economic stress; (iv) negative coping with stress; and (v) insecure shelter and living conditions. Conclusions Service providers would benefit from systematic documentation to a high-quality standard of all possible pathways to violence in tailoring programming after natural disasters. The identified pathways in this review provide a foundation for designing targeted prevention services. In addition, the positive coping strategies within certain affected families and communities can be leveraged in implementing strength-based approaches to violence prevention. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T06:14:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8e063d96ec41456a9f14eef15b33f170 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T06:14:53Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-8e063d96ec41456a9f14eef15b33f1702022-12-21T22:41:18ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582021-07-0121111710.1186/s12889-021-11252-3The pathways between natural disasters and violence against children: a systematic reviewIlan Cerna-Turoff0Hanna-Tina Fischer1Hani Mansourian2Susannah Mayhew3Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene and Tropical MedicineMailman School of Public Health, Columbia UniversityMailman School of Public Health, Columbia UniversityGlobal Health and Development, London School of Hygiene and Tropical MedicineAbstract Background Natural disasters are increasingly affecting a larger segment of the world’s population. These highly disruptive events have the potential to produce negative changes in social dynamics and the environment which increase violence against children. We do not currently have a comprehensive understanding of how natural disasters lead to violence against children despite the growing threat to human populations and the importance of violence as a public health issue. The mapping of pathways to violence is critical in designing targeted and evidence-based prevention services for children. We systematically reviewed peer-reviewed articles and grey literature to document the pathways between natural disasters and violence against children and to suggest how this information could be used in the design of future programming. Methods We searched 15 bibliographic databases and six grey literature repositories from the earliest date of publication to May 16, 2018. In addition, we solicited grey literature from humanitarian agencies globally that implement child-focused programming after natural disasters. Peer-reviewed articles and grey literature that presented original quantitative or qualitative evidence on how natural disasters led to violence against children were included. The authors synthesized the evidence narratively and used thematic analysis with a constant comparative method to articulate pathways to violence. Results We identified 6276 unduplicated publications. Nine peer-reviewed articles and 17 grey literature publications met the inclusion criteria. The literature outlined five pathways between natural disasters and violence, including: (i) environmentally induced changes in supervision, accompaniment, and child separation; (ii) transgression of social norms in post-disaster behavior; (iii) economic stress; (iv) negative coping with stress; and (v) insecure shelter and living conditions. Conclusions Service providers would benefit from systematic documentation to a high-quality standard of all possible pathways to violence in tailoring programming after natural disasters. The identified pathways in this review provide a foundation for designing targeted prevention services. In addition, the positive coping strategies within certain affected families and communities can be leveraged in implementing strength-based approaches to violence prevention.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11252-3ChildrenViolenceChild protectionNatural disasterHumanitarian crisisEmergency |
| spellingShingle | Ilan Cerna-Turoff Hanna-Tina Fischer Hani Mansourian Susannah Mayhew The pathways between natural disasters and violence against children: a systematic review BMC Public Health Children Violence Child protection Natural disaster Humanitarian crisis Emergency |
| title | The pathways between natural disasters and violence against children: a systematic review |
| title_full | The pathways between natural disasters and violence against children: a systematic review |
| title_fullStr | The pathways between natural disasters and violence against children: a systematic review |
| title_full_unstemmed | The pathways between natural disasters and violence against children: a systematic review |
| title_short | The pathways between natural disasters and violence against children: a systematic review |
| title_sort | pathways between natural disasters and violence against children a systematic review |
| topic | Children Violence Child protection Natural disaster Humanitarian crisis Emergency |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11252-3 |
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