Association of Child Maltreatment with South African Adults' Wages: Evidence from the Cape Area Panel Study.

Child maltreatment is a prevalent public health problem in both developed and developing countries. While many studies have investigated the relationship between violence against children and health of the victims, little is known about the long term economic consequences of child maltreatment, especially in developing countries. Using data from the Cape Area Panel Study, this paper applies Heckman selection models to investigate the relationship between childhood maltreatment and young adults' wages in South Africa. The results show that, on average, any experience of physical or emotional abuse during childhood is associated with a later 12% loss of young adults' wages. In addition, the correlation between physical abuse and economic consequence (14%) is more significant than the relationship between emotional abuse and wages (8%) of young adults; and the higher the frequency of maltreatment, the greater the associations with wages. With respect to gender differences, wage loss due to the experience of childhood maltreatment is larger for females than males. Specifically, males' wages are more sensitive to childhood emotional abuse, while females' wages are more likely to be affected by childhood physical abuse. These results emphasize the importance of prioritizing investments in prevention and intervention programs to reduce the prevalence of child maltreatment and to help victims better overcome the long-term negative effect.

Violence against children in South Africa: the cost of inaction to society and the economy.

Despite the extent and magnitude of violence against children in South Africa, political and financial investments to prevent violence against children remain low. A recent costing study investigating the social burden and economic impact of violence against children in South Africa found notable reductions to mental and physical health outcomes in the population if children were prevented from experiencing violence, neglect and witnessing family violence. The results showed, among others, that drug abuse in the entire population could be reduced by up to 14% if sexual violence against children could be prevented, self-harm could be reduced by 23% in the population if children did not experience physical violence, anxiety could be reduced by 10% if children were not emotionally abused, alcohol abuse could be reduced by 14% in women if they did not experience neglect as children, and lastly, interpersonal violence in the population could be reduced by 16% if children did not witness family violence. The study further estimated that the cost of inaction in 2015 amounted to nearly 5% of the country's gross domestic product. These findings show that preventing children from experiencing and witnessing violence can help to strengthen the health of a nation by ensuring children reach their full potential and drive the country's economy and growth. The paper further discusses ways in which preventing and ending violence against children may be prioritised in South Africa through, for instance, intersectoral collaboration and improving routine monitoring data, such as through the sustainable development goals.

The relationships between violence in childhood and educational outcomes: A global systematic review and meta-analysis.

This is the first study to estimate the association globally between violence in childhood on educational outcomes, addressing a significant gap in the current evidence base. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses were conducted to identify 67 and 43 studies respectively from 21 countries to estimate the relationship between different types of violence in childhood on educational outcomes including school dropout/graduation, school absence, academic achievement and other educational outcomes such as grade retention, learning outcomes and remedial classes. Findings show that all forms of violence in childhood have a significant impact on educational outcomes. Children who have experienced any form of violence in childhood have a 13% predicted probability that they will not graduate from school. Males who are bullied are nearly three times more likely to be absent from school and girls who have experienced sexual violence have a three-fold increased risk of being absent, AOR 2.912, 95% CI (0.904-4.92) and AOR 3.147, 95% CI (0.033-4.57) respectively. Violence in childhood also has a significant impact on children's academic achievement on standardized tests. This study shows how different forms of violence in childhood contribute to inequalities in education-for both boys and girls and that an increased investment in prevention is needed in order to meet the global Sustainable Development Goals of ending violence, raising learning outcomes and creating safe, non-violent and inclusive learning environments. More work is also needed to further define, monitor and measure the link between violence in childhood and educational outcomes in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Economic Burden of Violence against Children in South Africa.

The purpose of this study was to estimate the economic burden of violence against children in South Africa. We assembled summative estimates of lifetime prevalence, calculated the magnitude of associations with negative outcomes, and thereby estimated the economic burden of violence against children. According to our calculations, 2.3 million and 84,287 disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) lost in South Africa in 2015 were attributable to nonfatal and fatal violence against children, respectively. The estimated economic value of DALYs lost to violence against children (including both fatal and nonfatal) in South Africa in 2015 totalled ZAR173 billion (US $13.5 billion)-or 4.3% of South Africa's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2015. In addition, the reduced earnings attributable to childhood physical violence and emotional violence in South Africa in 2015 were ZAR25.2 billion (US $2.0 billion) and ZAR9.6 billion (US $750 million), respectively. In addition, South Africa spent ZAR1.6 billion (US $124 million) on child care and protection in fiscal year 2015/2016, many of which costs are directly related to violence against children. This study confirms the importance of prioritising violence against children as a key social and economic concern for South Africa's future.

Prevalence of violence in childhood and adolescence and the impact on educational outcomes: evidence from the 2013 Peruvian national survey on social relations.

BACKGROUND: This study provides, for the first time, national population-based estimates describing violence during childhood and adolescence in Peru and the impact on educational outcomes. METHODS: A population-based school survey was conducted among children aged 9-11 (n=1587) and adolescents aged 12-17 (n=1489). The relationship between violence and educational outcomes were analysed using bivariate logistic regressions, controlling for potential confounding factors. RESULTS: The results show that psychological (78.1%) and physical violence (72.5%) at home were the most prevalent forms of violence experienced by adolescent girls. Adolescent boys reported experiencing similar levels of psychological violence from their peers (69.4%) and at home (68.1%). For the younger cohort, peer-to-peer psychological violence was reported more frequently among girls (70.6%) and boys (74.0%) than other forms of violence. Equal percentages of adolescent girls and boys reported experiencing sexual violence in their lifetime (44.3%). The relationship between violence experiences and educational outcomes varied by gender with strong associations between violence at home and failing a course or repeating a grade for girls and being expelled for boys. Sexual violence experienced by boys was associated with all negative educational outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between violence in childhood and poorer educational outcomes is multi-faceted, potentially bi-directional, and manifests differently between genders. This research highlights the need for targeted research, policy and programming responses for prevention of violence.