Children and the Geography of Violence

Sheridan Bartlett works primarily on issues of urban poverty as they affect children in low-income countries, bridging the gap between the work of child-focused agencies and the broader development agenda.

"Sheridan Bartlett offers a trenchant analysis of the complex network of physical and sociocultural features that constitute the ecology of childhood violence. Her book unpacks this complex network, with critical insights for policy and practice, organizing and extending what we know about how environments transact with people and institutions to endanger children." — Gary William Evans, College of Human Ecology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York"Mainstream development rarely considers violence against children and its catastrophic impacts. This book makes a compelling case for bringing children’s protection into development practice, and especially for supporting the organized communities that can best meet children’s needs, alongside their efforts for equity and better living conditions." — David Satterthwaite, International Institute for Environment and Development, London "Ranging expertly across child development, protection, poverty, urbanization and community development, Sheridan Bartlett makes a compelling case for considering the physical dimensions of violence. This book forever changes our understanding of violence by opening up its framing beyond the personal and by masterfully embedding it in a larger socio-spatial ecology." — Sudeshna Chatterjee, CEO, Action For Children’s Environments, New Delhi"This remarkable, authoritative volume makes a unique contribution to our understanding of the causes, consequences and most effective means of addressing the numerous forms of violence endured by children across the globe. Arguing that children’s surroundings can be a crucial determinant, Sheridan Bartlett makes a forceful case for expanding child protection beyond the immediate and personal to embrace the spatial and material conditions that structure children’s lives. Bartlett’s razor sharp observation is substantiated by compelling research evidence and concrete examples; I highly recommend this book, with its fresh perspective, to all who seek to get to grips with and bring an end to one of the world’s gravest social problems." — Jo Boyden, Professor of International Development, University of Oxford

• Chapter one: Charting the territoryChapter two: BackgroundThe prevalence of violence against childrenViolence and structural violenceThe role of stressThe impact of violence for childrenHow the physical environment contributes to risk and protectionChapter three: HomeThe experience of violence at homeThe physical ecology of abuse and neglectNeglect and material conditionsHousing quality and abuseSpatial organizationHousing securityThe contribution of neighbourhood conditionsResidential careChapter four: NeighbourhoodTensions over shared spaceService provision, amenities and disamenitiesHot spots, environmental design, and a note of cautionSpatial segregation and the "architecture of fear"Power, insecurity and fragile citiesThe impact of violent neighbourhoods for children’s opportunitiesThe attraction of violenceViolence at schoolViolence at workChapter five: Losing home and neighbourhoodMigration and traffickingChildren on the streetEvictionsRefugees and IDPsEveryday violence and distressChapter six: Expanding the child protection paradigmFormal child protection systems and their reachThe effectiveness of the formal systemsBottom up approaches to child protectionExpanding the focusChapter seven: Responses that start from the physical environmentHousing securityHousing that works for familiesNeighbourhood space and amenitiesResponding to violence in school and on the way to schoolCrime prevention through environmental design and supportive policingReintegrating and reclaiming urban spaceProtective environments in disaster and emergency Conclusion