Today, October 10, is World Mental Health Day. This year’s theme, chosen by the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH), is “Lived Experiences Heard: Real Voices, Real Change.”
One of the problems with serious consequences for mental health is child sexual abuse (CSA). Its consequences are not limited to childhood but persist into adulthood for those who experience it and extend beyond those directly affected. We also know that child sexual abuse is not limited to disadvantaged contexts, but is present across all kinds of social and economic environments.
The WHO Regional Office for Europe has just published the report Adverse childhood experiences in the European Union, Iceland and Norway: characteristics, consequences and costs. This is the first harmonized survey on adverse childhood experiences conducted across the 27 European Union countries, Iceland and Norway, involving 26,741 young people aged 18 to 30. Failing to intervene to prevent these experiences has enormous costs, both for health and for the economy. The report provides data showing that some prevention programmes generate savings of around four times their cost.
Co-creation with those directly affected and with citizens, based on scientific evidence demonstrating improvements in people’s lives, is a requirement of the international scientific community across all fields. The need to involve the whole community is also gaining increasing attention in debates on how to prevent mental health problems and improve wellbeing. As highlighted during the presentation of the report, mental health is not built only in doctors’ offices and hospitals, but at home, in communities, in education and through public policies. The WHO and existing scientific evidence underline the importance of social support and strong communities. Scientific evidence has demonstrated the role of peer support in preventing violence. For victims, having support is essential to becoming survivors. However, few people provide support in cases of violence, because those who support victims often face retaliation, a phenomenon known as isolating violence.
There is evidence of Successful Educational Actions that are already helping to overcome this violence and enabling witnesses to move from being bystanders to standing alongside the victim as upstanders. One example is the Dialogic Model of Prevention and Resolution of Conflicts, which has been shown to prevent violence, including from childhood, and whose effects on health have been scientifically analysed.
In addition, Dialogic Gatherings, co-created with citizens, including people who have been affected, are being implemented and achieving improvements in mental health. Dialogic Literary Gatherings have shown improvements in mental health in different contexts, including schools, neighbourhoods and healthcare centres. Dialogic Scientific Gatherings are also being held to discuss scientific evidence that contributes to preventing and eradicating child sexual abuse.
These are concrete actions that are already achieving such improvements by involving the whole community, co-creating with those who have experienced violence, and building on scientific evidence demonstrating the improvements in health to which they are entitled.
References
Aubert, A., & Flecha, R. (2021). Health and Well-Being Consequences for Gender Violence Survivors from Isolating Gender Violence. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(16), 8626. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168626
Campdepadrós, R., Pistón-Pozo, A., Jaussi, M. L., & Munté, A. (2026). From recognition to action: How preschool children confront violence through the dialogic model of prevention and resolution of conflicts. Frontiers in Education, 11, 1911684. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2026.1911684
Galar, A., Cañaveras, P., Pulido, C., López de Aguileta, A., López de Aguileta, G., & Flecha, R. (2025). The healthy effects of MeToo schools: A qualitative analysis of six schools implementing the Zero Violence Brave Club. Healthcare, 13(7), 739. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13070739
Soler-Gallart, M., Crespo-López, A., López de Aguileta, G., Ramis-Salas, M., & Oliver, E. (2025). The Historical Development of the Successful Dialogues in Mental Health Model. Healthcare, 13(14), 1696. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13141696
World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe. (2026). Adverse childhood experiences in the European Union, Iceland and Norway: Characteristics, consequences and costs. World Health Organization.
Predoctoral researcher at the University of Barcelona