Peer-reviewed article
Media reporting of violence against children in the Eastern Mediterranean Region during the early days of COVID-19 pandemic
Majid A. Al‐Eissa, Hala Sakr, Rania Abdelhamid, Hassan Salheen, Ahmed Hafez et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This peer-reviewed study analysed media reports of violence against children in the Eastern Mediterranean Region during the first half of 2019 and 2020. The analysis covered 823 articles in Arabic and English covering incidents, initiatives and opinions on all types of violence against children. Reports of violence against children increased significantly from 1129 in the first half of 2019 to 1880 in the same period of 2020, with physical violence reports rising from 34% to 40% and sexual violence reports declining from 45% to 37%. Media coverage showed very low alignment with international INSPIRE violence prevention strategies.
Key points
- Violence against children reports more than doubled comparing first halves of 2019 and 2020, increasing from 1129 to 1880 reports
- Physical violence reports increased from 34% to 40% of all violence reports between 2019 and 2020
- Sexual violence reports decreased from 45% to 37% during the same period
- Media opinion and view reports showed only 0.4-1.1% alignment with the 7 INSPIRE violence prevention strategies
- Most media reports (40.3%) focused on incidents, followed by opinions (31.5%) and initiatives (28.2%)
Limitations
This is a media analysis study, so it reflects what was reported rather than actual incidence of violence against children. The study does not establish causation for why reports changed, only documents the changes in media coverage during the COVID-19 period.
Abstract
Background: Violence against children constitutes a significant public health problem globally. Aim: To document and compare media reports of violence against children before and during COVID-19, and measures taken by countries to address such violence. Methods: This comparative review covered news reports of violence against children from 1 January to 30 June of 2019 and 2020 in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region countries. A total of 823 articles published in Arabic and English, covering incidents, initiatives, opinions and views on all types of violence among children under 18 years of age were sourced using search engines and platforms and reviewed. News on incidents was analysed quantitatively while news on initiatives and opinions was analysed qualitatively. Results: Some 40.3% of the news reports was on incidents, followed by interviews or opinions (31.5%) and initiatives (28.2%). There were 1129 reports of violence against children from 1 January to 30 June of 2019 and 1880 for the same period in 2020. Reports of physical violence increased from 34% in 2019 to 40% in 2020, while reports of sexual violence decreased from 45% in 2019 to 37% in 2020. Views and opinion reports showed 0.4-1.1% alignment with the 7 INSPIRE strategies. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic affected the incidence and reporting of violence against children across the region. It is essential to provide accurate and sensitive media coverage for incidences of violence against children so that survivors and at-risk children can receive adequate support and ensure that communities can tackle it appropriately.