Peer-reviewed article
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic On Violence Against Children: A Narrative Review
Amera Mojahed, Judith T. Mack, Lina Specht, Vania Sandoz, Susan Garthus‐Niegel ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This narrative review examined how the COVID-19 pandemic affected violence against children by analyzing peer-reviewed research with operational and survey data. The review found that institutional responses to child violence decreased during the pandemic, while some forms of violence including intimate partner violence witnessed by children, suspected abusive head trauma, and sexual violence increased. The research also identified parental stress and mental health problems as key factors linking the pandemic to increased child violence and child marriage.
Key points
- Institutional responses, prevention activities, and case openings for child violence decreased during the pandemic
- Hospital admissions for suspected abusive head trauma and other pediatric injuries increased
- Cases of children witnessing intimate partner violence between parents increased
- Sexual violence against children increased during the pandemic
- Parental stress and mental health symptoms acted as mediating factors between the pandemic and increased violence against children
Limitations
This is a narrative review that synthesizes existing peer-reviewed research rather than conducting original data analysis, so it cannot establish causal relationships or provide quantitative effect sizes. The review does not specify the geographic scope of the included studies beyond the country hints provided, limiting clarity on which regions' evidence is represented.
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The goal of this paper was to explore the different ways the COVID-19 pandemic has affected violence against children (VAC). RECENT FINDINGS: Recent research of peer-reviewed articles using operational or survey data revealed the pandemic's impact in terms of institutional responses, risk and mediating factors, changes in VAC dynamics, and a likely increase in child marriage. Findings include a decrease in institutional responses, activities, and prevention case openings; an increased incidence of interparental intimate partner violence (IPV) witnessing cases, hospital admissions for suspected Abusive Head Trauma (AHT), other pediatric injuries, and sexual violence; a change in family conflict dynamics; and an estimated increase in child marriages. It also revealed mediating factors between the relationship of the pandemic and VAC (such as parental stress and mental health symptoms), as well as risk factors observed by service providers, which include the risk of mental health symptoms of both parents and children. Post-pandemic VAC research can be improved by utilizing operational or survey data in a meaningful way to be able to derive sound intervention approaches to diminish the pandemic's impact on VAC and child marriage. We also propose for researchers to integrate child marriage into the definition of VAC.