Webinar: Using Violence Against Children and Youth Survey (VACS) Data and Processes to Accelerate National Action to Protect Children

This marks the first webinar in the Implementation Science Collaborative’s “Evidence to Policy Webinar Series: Protecting Children from Violence.”  This upcoming webinar will have a global focus while subsequent episodes will examine the contexts of East and Southern Africa and Central and Latin America regions. The series will be co-hosted by Together for Girls; East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community; Universidad de los Andes; and University Research Co. with support from USAID’s Health Evaluation and Applied Research Development (HEARD) Project. With leadership from Together for Girls, this first webinar will focus on the findings from the recently published landscape analysis on “Using Data to Inform National Efforts to End Violence Against Children: Country Experiences and Lessons following Violence against Children and Youth Surveys.” A panel, moderated by Daniela Ligiero, CEO and Executive Director of Together for Girls, will highlight key findings and recommendations, and include commentary from country and survivor representatives. 

Audience: Global and country level organizations (government; civil society, donor, academic, policy, survivors) 

Moderator
Daniela Ligiero, PhD, is a long-time advocate for social justice. For over 20 years, she has focused on sexual violence, violence against children, gender-based violence, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. She is currently the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Together for Girls, a global partnership dedicated to ending violence against children, especially sexual violence against girls. The partnership includes five UN agencies, the governments of the United States and Canada, several private sector organizations and more than 20 country governments in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, working together to generate comprehensive data and solutions to this public health and human rights epidemic. Dr. Ligiero also serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children.

Presenters

Kathleen Cravero, PhD, is co-director of the Center for Immigrant, Refugee and Global Health at the City University of New York (CUNY). Before joining CUNY, Dr. Cravero spent 25 years working for the United Nations. Her UN positions included: Assistant Secretary General for Conflict Prevention and Recovery, Deputy Executive Director for UNAIDS, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Burundi and UNICEF Representative in Uganda. After leaving the UN, Dr. Cravero served for 10 years as President of Oak Foundation, a private grant-making foundation based in Geneva. Promoting women’s rights and ending violence against women and children has been a priority in every assignment she has taken on. This theme continues in her present position on the leadership team of a USAID-funded project to improve the scope and impact of national Violence Against Children Surveys.

Greta Massetti, PhD, is the branch chief of the Field Epidemiology and Prevention Branch and a senior epidemiologist in the Division of Violence Prevention of CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. In this role, Dr. Massetti leads the division’s efforts to address the global burden of violence against children and youth. She serves as the lead for the global Violence Against Children and Youth Surveys (VACS) to determine the magnitude, epidemiology, and health impacts of violence against children in multiple countries. Dr. Massetti collaborates with CDC global partners, including WHO, UNICEF, the World Bank, USAID, PEPFAR, and Together for Girls, to increase the availability of scientific data on the topics of Adverse Childhood Experiences, violence against children, gender-based violence, and related health consequences.

Discussants

Arturo Harker Roa, PhD, is the director of IMAGINA, an applied research center at Universidad de los Andes that produces and disseminates evidence for the design and implementation of interventions, strategies and public policies to promote the well-being of children and youth. He is interested in understanding the impact of adverse childhood experiences, such as exposure to violence and forced displacement; collaborating in the design and evaluation of interventions that mitigate this impact, and identifying and promoting practices that improve health, education and protection systems. He is a faculty affiliate and advisory board member of the Child Protection and Care Learning Network, an Honorary Fellow at Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh UK, and a member of the INSPIRE Working Group on Violence Prevention.

Vivienne Mang’oli is Principal Children Officer-Directorate of Children Services with the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection in Kenya. With over 12 years of professional experience in child rights protection, programming and advocacy, Mang’oli has been intimately involved in the formulation and implementation of child policies and plans including the National Prevention and Response Plan (2019-2023) on ending violence against children. She is currently the lead technical officer on Ending Violence Against Children in Kenya. Mang’oli’s passion for child protection springs from the deep sense of purpose she has established in her vocation, primarily motivated by her belief in the inherent nobility and duty domiciled in children and childcare.

Samantha Ski, PhD, is a Senior Implementation Research Scientist with University Research Co., LLC (URC). Since 2016 she has been on the technical team for USAID’s HEARD Project, serving as technical focal point for HEARD’s portfolios focused on Protecting Children from Violence, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support, and Program Evaluation. Dr. Ski has managed HEARD’s efforts to support countries that have carried out a Violence Against Children and Youth Survey as well as implementing data-informed action plans and strategies to end violence against children.