Valerie Chmara is a Psychosocial Support Specialist under the UNODC Global Programme to End Violence against Children. She has specialized professional experience as a clinical psychologist in health, justice and social sectors focusing on the psychosocial assessment, support and clinical treatment of children, adolescents, and adult victims of violence, including victims of sexual and gender-based crimes.
What is the impact of violence against children?
Violence against children can cause long-lasting physical and mental harm, which can be carried into adulthood. Some impacts of violence are more visible than others. For example, physical violence resulting in severe injuries can be recognized more quickly since the consequences are visible to the eye.
However, special attention also needs to be placed on observing and responding to non-visible violence, which can have long-lasting effects on children’s mental health and cognitive development. Addressing these mental health issues may prevent some children from using drugs and help them feel better in their minds and bodies.
Neuropsychological studies suggest a correlation between child abuse and deficits in IQ, memory, response inhibition, and emotion discrimination. Unfortunately, a deficit in memory or attention can cause academic deficiencies, which may lead to educational under-achievement. Since positive attachment to school and flourishing in school are important protective factors in preventing drug use in young people, we must endeavor to identify and address the consequences of non-visible violence against children.
What does actively listening to children mean?
It’s important that we differentiate ‘listening’ from ‘hearing’. Hearing is a physiological ability to perceive sounds. Listening, however, is a psychological skill that involves analysis and understanding of the sounds we hear. This distinction between ‘listening’ and ‘hearing’ is important because in the minds of some adults, due to existing prejudices or beliefs, the speech of a child has less value than that of an adult. Adults ‘hear’ children talking, screaming or crying, but do not actually ‘listen’ to them in such cases.
I believe ‘active listening’ is a skill that, with proper practice, can be learned and improved. The first step to take for an adult to properly listen to a child is to respect the child and accept their emotions. There are techniques that can be applied to enhance active listening, such as allowing children to talk without interruption, listening without judging, and accepting the feelings and perceptions of children, even if the adult does not agree with them. Active listening is an effective tool to improve communication and build positive relationships with children. It shows children that adults care and are interested in their views, feelings, and needs.
What are the benefits of training professionals in how to communicate/interact with children?
The UNODC Global Programme to End Violence against Children aims to strengthen the capacity and skills of professionals in child-sensitive communication for judges, police officers, social workers, psychologists, and other professionals who work with child victims, child-witnesses and children alleged, accused or recognized as having infringed the penal law. One of the first benefits of training these professionals is being able to build a relationship of trust and to maintain a positive interaction with children. In addition, striving to have child-specific communication will most likely lead to gaining basic knowledge about the child's development, which will help professionals understand, anticipate and manage their behavior in a child-sensitive manner.
Strengthening these skills benefits professionals in achieving positive results and contributes to creating a protective environment for children, which improves justice responses. Child victims, and children alleged, accused or recognized as having infringed the penal law, often do not have the opportunity to narrate their story or might not have had a supportive adult around them to interact with. So, it is also valuable to create a protective environment where children feel safe to express themselves and can feel that their voices are taken into account when professionals make decisions affecting them.
How can 'Listen First' support the prevention of violence against children?
‘Listen First’ allows children to be valued and also to value what they think and how they feel. Respecting and considering the feelings of children is an essential step in preventing violence against them. 'Listen First’ puts the child first, which is a clear message that all adults, whatever their position in society, have the responsibility to prioritize children’s well-being and to protect them against all forms of violence.
I would like to conclude by emphasizing that one of the skills that we must have to effectively listen to children is empathy. Empathy is an important protective factor to prevent violence against children. This ability enables us to recognize and understand another person’s thoughts and feelings, and it helps people connect and help others. Thanks to 'Listen First', which highlights the skill of listening, we can emphasize the importance of fostering empathy in people in order to prevent violence against children.
Made possible with the generous support of France.
