Data on violence for children and adolescents in homes will be supplies for public policy design
Based on the evidence and data of two surveys, the Ministry of Social Development elaborates territorial strategies aimed at strengthening safe and violence -free environments.
The Ministry of Social Development and UNICEF presented the results of the National Survey on Violence towards Children and Adolescents and the Nutrition, Child and Health Development Survey, carried out by the Uruguay program grows with you.
The National Director of Social Development, Nicolás Lasa, stressed that the design of public policies is based on evidence and data, and therefore, highlighted the importance of knowing this methodological work.
He added that the challenge is to define strategies, improve answers and mark the commitment that child and gender violence are enemies for social development.
“The commitment is to accompany, work and emphasize mental health. There are incipient projects that will be the way to continue working on the construction of communities,” determined.
The presentation of data, conducted in the Executive Tower, ended with a comment table in the director of the National Women’s Institute, Mónica Xavier; The president of the Institute of Children and Adolescent of Uruguay, Claudia Romero, and the manager of Uruguay grows with you, Virginia Cardozo.
METHODOLOGY
The UNICEF survey was conducted by consulting teams in localities of 2,000 inhabitants and more, among adults responsible for care for children of 18 years. The last public consultation was made in 2013.
The data indicates that 4 out of 10 children and adolescents from 2 to 14 years of age were subjected to some violent discipline method, equivalent to approximately 222,000 people. Of these, 23.2% received psychological aggressions, 6% physical punishments without reporting psychological aggressions and the remaining 10% suffered both psychological aggressions and physical punishments.
Between 2013 and 2025 there is a decrease of 15 percentage points, from 54.6% to 39.3%, in the proportion of children and adolescents between 2 and 14 years who underwent some violent method of discipline in the last month.
According to the data, 1 in 3 children and adolescents between 2 and 14 years are a victim of some kind of psychological aggression by adults from their home. In 2013, this form of home violence affected half of that population.
The results also show that 16.1 % of people between 2 and 14 years have been recent victims of some type of aggression or physical punishment by their father, mother or other adult household members. The last available data of this indicator, corresponding to 2013, estimated a prevalence of 25.8 %, indicating a decrease of almost 10 percentage points.
Likewise, the application of violent discipline methods crosses all sectors and transcends the socioeconomic characteristics of households.
Rural health
The act also presented the nutrition, child development and rural health survey of 2024, led by Uruguay grows with you. It is the first survey on the situation of children from 0 to 4 years old in locations with less than 5,000 inhabitants and dispersed rural areas of Uruguay. It was held between September 2023 and May 2024, with a representative sample of 855 children.
39% of children from 2 to 4 years in rural environments underwent some method of violent discipline in the month before the survey, including situations of psychological violence, and physical violence. Psychological violence was used in 33% of children from 2 to 4 years, meanwhile, physical aggression covered 19%. In turn, 12% of the children were subjected to both types of violence in the last month, showing how physical and psychological violence overlap.
