Partner Profile: The Lancet Commission on Gender-Based Violence and Maltreatment of Young People
An initiative from the University of Miami’s Institute for the Advanced Study of the Americas, the Lancet Commission on Gender-Based Violence and Maltreatment of Young People brings together an assortment of experts across many fields to undertake groundbreaking research on the global pandemic of violence against women and children. The Commission takes an intersectional, interdisciplinary approach toward identifying and implementing solutions to reduce the global impact of this critical under-researched topic. Recognizing the importance of the topic, the project, and the opportunity to publish with ‘The Lancet’, one of the world’s top medical journals, The Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation has been a proud sponsor of the Commission since 2021.
According to data from the World Health Organization, one in three women will experience sexual or intimate partner violence in their lifetime, and nearly a quarter of all adults worldwide report being physically abused as children. This pervasive, international culture of harm perpetuated against women and young people has wide-ranging effects on human, social and economic development and touches the lives of individuals across the globe.
Gender-based violence and the maltreatment of young people are both human rights travesties and economic sinkholes that put a heavy burden on healthcare systems and perpetuate poverty, gender inequality, and the cycle of trauma and abuse over generations.
Led by Dr. Felicia Marie Knaul, director of the Institute for the Advanced Study of the Americas and co-chaired by Dr. Flavia Bustreo, chair of the governance and nomination committee at The Partnership of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and vice chair at Foundation Botnar, The Lancet Commission on Gender-Based Violence and Maltreatment of Young People is dedicated to providing new research and data for the purpose of educating the international public on the scope of the issue, and pinpointing ways in which policymakers, activists and world leaders can act to alleviate the devastating effects of violence.
“Today violence against women and children is a pandemic exacerbated by a pandemic, but sadly it will outlive COVID-19” said Dr. Knaul. “Violence affects one in three women, and one in five children and this tragedy is behind many of the most severe social and economic problems plaguing our world, from the gender wage gap, to educational outcomes and mental health. Violence is a huge risk factor for so many things, and the Commission’s goal is to not only to shed a light on the massive scope of this issue, but also to identify solutions and pathways for their implementation.”
Containing a salient and novel mix of both disciplinary and methodological knowledge, the Commission brings together a diverse range of experts on topics such as public health systems, economics, law, AI, digital rights and child welfare.
Over a three-year period, the Commission will to generate new data to provide policy makers and advocates around the globe with the ability to identify, create and catalyze more effective policies, interventions and programs in health, income generation and gender equality to prevent or alleviate the wide-ranging effects of gender-based violence and the maltreatment of young people.
As a sponsor of this novel, critical Lancet Commission, the Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation is proud to support the research that will contribute to positive change, with the goal of creating a safer, more peaceful, equitable and prosperous world.
To learn more about the Lancet Commission on Gender-Based Violence and Maltreatment of Young people, visit: https://mia.as.miami.edu/initiatives/lancet-commission-gender-based-violence/index.html
