Exposure to and experience of SRGBV has far-reaching impacts on children and young people, in terms of mental and physical well-being, education and health status, including HIV status and early pregnancy. There is also compelling evidence that witnessing or experiencing violence as a child is linked to future use or acceptance of violence (Heise, 2011). This means that SRGBV can have long-term and far-reaching consequences for the future, with young people growing up to repeat the behaviour that they have ‘learned’ and to regard it as acceptable. The diagram below details the many possible impacts of SRGBV on an individual child.
SRGBV consequences
Source: Adapted from Pinheiro (2006) and UNICEF (2014b)