Young Lives is a longitudinal study of children growing up in poverty in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam. The research consists of repeated quantitative and qualitative data collection with two cohorts over a period of 15 years. This paper synthesizes findings from Young Lives qualitative research on violence.
The research method underscores the importance of understanding the contexts of children’s lives in relation to violence. The paper’s findings include the ways in which violence is often underpinned by poverty that places pressure on families and communities; the ways in which violence reflects and reinforces social norms; and how children’s experiences and their responses to violence are shaped by intersecting inequalities according to age, gender and the wider social and economic context.