LINEO MABEKEBEKE The ministry of social development held a meeting on the Lesotho Violence Against Children Survey (VACS) on Wednesday May 17, 2019. The meeting was meant to see how VACS can be effectively used to develop programmes and policies to respond to and prevent violence against children. Trade minister Habofanoe Lehana, on behalf of the government of Lesotho, said following the enactment of the Children’s Protection and Welfare Act 2011, the government of Lesotho is continuously increasing its efforts to ensure that the children’s legislation is enforced and implemented in a co-ordinated manner by all concerned line ministries and other non-governmental role players. He said part 1 of the Act defines violence against children in various sections; section 16 protects a child from abuse, torture and grading treatment; while 17 prevents harmful cultural practices being inflicted upon children and section 20 obliges parents to protect children from neglect, violence, abuse exploitation and moral hazards. Mr Lehana said it was against this background that the country undertook the VACS so as to come up with programmes addressing all sections and many others like the escalating issue of child marriage. From the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), chief of party Dr Andy Pelletier said the first step in preventing violence is improving the understanding of the magnitude, nature and consequences. Violence against children surveys measure physical, emotional and sexual violence against girls and boys, he said. He said the first VACS was in eSwatini in 2007 and Lesotho was one of the 22 countries around the world to conduct the surveys which help the countries guide programmes and policies to prevent violence before it starts. Dr Pelletier further stated that VACS are nationally representative household surveys of children and young adults ages 13 to 14, adding they are designed to measure the prevalence and circumstances surrounding emotional, physical, and sexual violence in childhood, adolescence and young adulthood. The survey, he said, identifies risks and protective factors as well as consequences of violence. He said: “Across the surveys, we have learned a number of key facts about violence against children and young people; girls and boys experience high rates of violence in childhood. About 1 in 4 children experience emotional violence and about 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 8 boys experience sexual violence.” According to United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) deputy country representative Mohammed Shafigul, it is VACS information that can be used to estimate the prevalence of emotional and physical violence against children and adults between the ages 13 and 24 in Lesotho. Additional information from VACS included estimation of HIV prevalence among children and adults, identifying risk and protective factors for violence, and examining health consequences of violence. The data from VACS are intended to inform a comprehensive, national multi-sector policy and programmatic response to the issue of violence against boys and girls. The ministry of social development has shown great leadership in conducting the survey in Lesotho and findings from VACS provide reliable evidence to enable leaders in Lesotho to make better decisions about violence prevention programmes and child protection