Child protection policy: Understanding drivers of violence affecting children in Côte d’Ivoire

Motivation: Since the campaign launched by UNICEF in 2013, the momentum for measuring violence has grown significantly. Such studies generally measure risk and protective factors at the individual and interpersonal levels, but often overlook the critical institutional and structural drivers of violence. 

Purpose: This article demonstrates how socioeconomic transformations, including “modern” forms of violence fuelled by social fragmentation, armed conflict and urbanization, are important conditions favouring violence against children.

Approach and methods: The article offers a systematic literature review following protocols in the original Multi-Country Study on the Drivers of Violence Affecting Children, an approach first proposed by the UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti. 

Findings: We underline two main changes among the drivers of violence in Côte d’Ivoire: economic crisis and urbanization, which combine to foster a climate of violence; and politico-military crisis, which also creates a fertile ground for violence and its acceptance. 

Policy implications: Child protection policy in Côte d’Ivoire is out of step with the evolution of the social context. It is mainly oriented towards “traditional” practices, which contrast with newer forms of violence developed over the past 30 years. The article shows that the country’s child protection policy does not take these changes sufficiently into account, and argues for policy change.