Health and communities approve a protocol for dealing with violence against children and adolescents in the health sector

The Commission on Violence against Children and Adolescents of the Inter-territorial Council for the National Health System (CoViNNA) has drawn up the Common Protocol for Health Action against Violence towards Children and Adolescents.

The aim of this protocol is to standardise the response of the health sector at a national level and to systematise the promotion of good treatment, prevention, detection and a comprehensive approach to all cases and types of violence against children and adolescents from a perspective of equity, accessibility, non-discrimination and life course.

It is therefore aimed at health professionals, both those who deliver health care and those who do not, and including those responsible for the management and planning of health policies and resources.

This document is based on the regional protocols already in place in the autonomous communities and a review of the most recent literature.

In Spain, official figures come from the Unified Register of Child Abuse, which in 2021 had 21,521 notifications of suspected cases of violence against children and adolescents. However, as is the case internationally, several prevalence studies show that this type of violence is underreported.

Combating violence against children and adolescents is a human rights imperative and a public health issue.

Violence affects health and well-being throughout life, but can be prevented or attenuated through systematic, evidence-based measures, including ensuring a comprehensive, multidisciplinary and quality response from child and adolescent care services, including health services.

The Law for the Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents from Violence (LOPIVI) was passed in 2021. It seeks to establish a new paradigm for the prevention and protection of violence through a comprehensive approach from the perspective of the rights of children and adolescents, taking into account the multidimensional nature of their risk factors and the social determinants of health.

In relation to the health sector, this law promotes the creation of the Commission on Violence against Children and Adolescents of the Inter-territorial Council for the National Health System (CoViNNA), in which the autonomous communities and cities and other ministries (Justice, Youth and Childhood and Equality) also take part.

The protocol was drawn up under the coordination of the Ministry of Health's General Directorate of Public Health and Equity in Health, in collaboration with the autonomous communities and cities and other public administrations, institutions and professionals from the different sectors involved in the prevention, early detection, protection and reparation of violence against children and adolescents. It has also been reviewed by various institutions and civil society organisations.

Non official translation