Preventing violence against children in schools: Contributions from the Be Safe program in Sri Lanka

Violence against children is a global public health issue with serious social, economic, physical, and emotional impacts. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a school-based program aimed to prevent and respond to physical, sexual, and psychological violence against children in Sri Lanka from the perspective of parents. A cross-sectional retrospective study design was used. A total of 835 parents of children who participated in the program were surveyed across seven districts in Sri Lanka. Dose-response analyses were conducted to assess for correlations between program exposure and perceived prevention of violence against children. Low to moderate correlations were found between exposure to the program and perceived child safety in schools, school policies, and in the community. The findings provide preliminary evidence of program effectiveness; however, more efforts are needed to validate and sustain outcomes. Implications for future violence prevention programming, along with the use of dose-response evaluations, are discussed.