Violence against children: How can social norms and attitudes be changed?

Ladenburg Roundtable in 2024

Violence against children: How can social norms and attitudes be changed?

In the research alliance “Global Network for Violence Prevention”, scientists from Germany and countries of the Global South are together addressing the topic of violence against children. Experts from various disciplines met at an international conference on invitation of the Daimler and Benz Foundation to discuss the current state of research and to develop new ideas for joint research and scientific transfer projects.

Scientists from Germany, Ghana, Tanzania, Turkey, and Uganda engaged in intensive discussion about the role of social norms, personal attitudes and convictions, along with contextual and structural factors in relation to the acceptance, frequency, and consequences of violence against children. They identified social norms as well as personal attitudes and convictions as key starting points for the prevention of violence. The research network developed and has already successfully tested the preventive school-based intervention “Interaction Competencies with Children – for Teachers (ICC-T)” in a number of African countries where violence in children’s upbringing is widespread and socially accepted.

At the Ladenburg Roundtable, the researchers extended the intervention’s Theory of Change theoretical framework model to include the aspect of social norms and developed project ideas for empirically evaluating this extended model. They also discussed strategies for making research findings accessible to the community at large in the countries where the studies were conducted and for implementing evidence-based intervention on a large scale in cooperation with local partner organizations.

Scientific management

Prof. Dr. Tobias Hecker Bielefeld University, Institute for Interdisciplinary Conflict and Violence Research

Participating scientists

Margaret Ekatushabe, University of Bielefeld, Faculty of Psychology and Sports Science
Dorothea Ernest Malleyeck, University of Konstanz, Department of Economics
Dr. Manuela Fritz, TU Munich, School of Social Sciences and Technology
Dr. Katharina Gößmann, University of Bielefeld, Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence
Prof. Dr. Anke Hoeffler, University of Konstanz, Department of Politics and Public Administration – Development Policy
Eliud Kabelege, Dar es Salaam University College of Education (Tansania), Department of Educational Psychology
Amoah Kwaku Karikari, University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani (Ghana), Child Protection
Anette Kirika, University of Bielefeld, Department of Psychology
Dr. Rukiye Kiziltepe, Pamukkale University (Turkey), Psychology Department
Dr. Faustine Bwire Masath, Dar es Salaam University College of Education (Tanzania), Department of Educational Psychology
Dr. Katharina Mattonet, Ruhr University of Bochum, Department of Psychology
Getrude Mkinga, Mkwawa University College of Education, Iringa (Tanzania), Department of Educational Psychology
Dr. Charles Magoba Muwonge, Mbarara University of Science and Technology (Uganda), Department of Educational Foundations and Psychology
Dr. Mabula George Nkuba, Dar es Salaam University College of Education (Tanzania), Department of Educational Psychology
Emmanuel Nyarko-Tetteh, UNICEF Ghana, Child Protection
Dr. Peter Sanful, University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani (Ghana), Department of Fisheries and Water Resources
Dr. Florian Scharpf, University of Bielefeld, Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence
Prof. Dr. Joseph Ssenyonga, Kyambogo University, Kampala (Uganda)
Lucas Wißmann, University of Bielefeld, Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence