Applying Safe Behaviours Scoping Report - Preventing and Responding to Peer and Gender-Based Violence among Vulnerable Children and Young People

Gender-based violence (GBV) remains a widespread and deeply rooted human rights violation across the EU and beyond, affecting individuals of all ages and backgrounds. It stems from entrenched gender norms, discriminatory stereotypes, and unequal power relations that shape behaviours and institutional practices. GBV manifests in diverse settings—within families, communities, workplaces, and digital spaces—and disproportionately affects women and girls, although boys and individuals with diverse gender identities also experience harm. Research indicates that girls are more frequently subjected to sexual and psychological violence, while boys are often exposed to physical forms of abuse (UN Women, 2021; EIGE, 2022).

According to multiple international agencies, including UNESCO, UN Women, the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), and the World Health Organization (WHO), GBV is multifaceted and includes physical, sexual, psychological, and economic violence. It can involve harassment, coercion, intimate partner violence, online abuse, and other forms of control and harm. These patterns are reinforced by persistent structural inequalities and cultural norms that sustain power imbalances (UN Women, 2021; WHO, 2021; EIGE, 2022). Experts in the field (UNICEF, Plan International, UNFPA) emphasize that education, community engagement, and policy reform are critical to addressing the root causes of GBV. This includes challenging gender stereotypes and societal expectations related to masculinity, femininity, and gender expression that contribute to violence and discrimination (UNICEF, 2016; Plan International, 2020; UNFPA, 2019).

This Scoping Report has been developed as part of the EU co-funded project “Applying Safe Behaviours: Preventing and Responding to Peer Violence and Gender-Based Violence Amongst Vulnerable Children and Young People,” (2025-2027) which is implemented by SOS Children’s Villages and Terre des hommes in Bulgaria, Italy, Kosovo, Romania and Sweden. Through the scoping activities, we sought to understand gender-based risks for children and young people in each of the project countries, and how their experience of peer violence can differ depending on their age and gender.

The project is conceptualized through a socio-ecological model8 to GBV and peer on peer violence prevention and response, recognizing that violence is influenced by and impacts multiple levels of an individual’s environment—ranging from personal and interpersonal relationships to community and societal structures. Interventions are designed to activate protective factors across these levels, including capacity-building and awareness-raising for children, young people and the adults and professionals who care for and work with them, collaboration with community stakeholders, and advocacy for systemic policy change. By centring the needs and rights of affected individuals, especially children and youth, the project aims to contribute to a more integrated and sustainable response to gender-based peer on peer violence.