A major new study has, for the first time, identified a direct link between exposure to political violence and subsequent violence against children, adolescents and young adults perpetrated by those closest to them, including family members, acquaintances and peer groups.
The research, published in Nature Communications, was conducted by an international team from the Natural Resources Institute (NRI) at the University of Greenwich, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
Drawing on survey data from more than 35,000 young people aged 13–24 in Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the study provides new evidence that the effects of political violence extend far beyond the end of conflict.
Violence leaves a lasting imprint
The study found that political violence occurring 15 years before the surveys was strongly correlated with recent emotional violence from family members, physical violence from intimate partners, and sexual violence particularly affecting young people from poorer households. These patterns were observed even in countries where political violence is less prominent, including Namibia, Uganda and Côte d’Ivoire.
Lead author Dr Marcella Vigneri (LSHTM, Save the Children) said: ‘With this study, we are providing, for the first time, robust, quantitative evidence for a pathway that the independent children’s rights organisation, Save the Children, has long suspected but has not been able to demonstrate at scale: that political violence does not end when the guns fall silent but instead leaves a lasting imprint on how children are treated within their own families and communities.’
Understanding the hidden costs of conflict
The immediate impacts of armed conflict on children and young adults – such as death, displacement and disease – are well documented. However, far less is known about the role that political violence plays in different types of violence young people experience in their domestic and community environments. This study addresses that gap, showing how the legacy of conflict can influence behaviour and social norms long after violence subsides.
Co-author Dr Olusegun Fadare (NRI) said: ‘Our study shows that the impact of political violence is deeper than the headlines suggest, it reshapes attitudes and behaviours over long periods of time, long after the political violence has come to an end.’
Violence begets violence
The analysis was based on survey data on experiences of violence among young people aged 13 to 24 in Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, collected as part of the Violence Against Children Surveys (VACS). The surveys measured the experience of violence among young people in the 12 months preceding each survey. The researchers combined these survey results with detailed records of political violence in the respective countries to examine how past conflict environments shape present-day risks.
Co-author Professor Tilman Brück (HU and Visiting Professor at NRI) said: ‘This is the first time that this chain of violence has been empirically verified. And this is crucial for identifying future measures that effectively protect young people from violence. Violence against young people encompasses not only physical violence, but also sexual and emotional violence.’
Implications for policy and practice
The findings have important implications for governments, international organisations and donors working in conflict and post-conflict settings. They highlight the need for sustained investment in child protection systems and for interventions that address violence within families, schools and communities, not only during periods of conflict but long after they have ended.
This research was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), UK and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation).
Read the full paper here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-71075-x