Child Protection & Participation

The rise in major conflicts, increase in climate disasters and ongoing economic crisis continued to create conditions that threaten the survival and well-being of children in 2024. The global food and nutrition crisis, alongside localized conflicts and climatic shocks, is intensifying severe child food poverty (meaning a lack of access to, and consumption of, a nutritious, diverse diet), especially in fragile countries. It is estimated that hunger claims the lives of 10,000 children every day. The soaring costs of food, fuel and fertilizer only exacerbate the problems families face.

Marginalized families and communities are forced to make difficult and dangerous choices that have farreaching consequences for child well-being, now and in the future. These include child labour, begging, dropping out of school, sexual exploitation and child marriage as coping mechanisms for avoiding hunger. In the least developed countries, slightly more than one in five children (aged 5 to 17) are engaged in labour that is considered detrimental to their health and development. Fewer than 35 per cent of children are reported to have access to social protection systems. Because of this, families fall victim to these negative coping mechanisms in order to survive severe material deprivation.

While some progress has been made to prevent specific forms of violence against children, such as
corporal punishment and trafficking, overall progress has stalled. Certain forms of violence against
children—including domestic violence, child marriage, female genital mutilation and child labour—are likely to rise post-pandemic. In the face of the hunger crisis, four million girls were forced into early marriage to help their families in 2022—already an increase of almost 50 per cent in less than a year.

In Haiti, the UN has estimated that 30 per cent to 50 per cent of armed group members are children. They are subject to coercion, abuse and exploitation stemming from persistent social, economic and political fragility caused by ongoing violence in parts of the country.

Despite more countries prohibiting physical punishment against children in the home, nearly 400 million children under five—or six in 10 children within that age group globally—regularly endure psychological aggression or physical punishment at home.

Despite children’s desires to be active participants in their own lives and social spheres, they are often
deprived of agency and influence over decisions that affect them. This is especially the case for girls.
Across the board, girls are excluded from decision-making around food and nutrition, access to resources, and issues relating to their health, including sexual health. Enhancing women and girls’ participation and empowerment increases their protection, as they gain access to critical information about their risks, rights and needs. This allows them to support themselves and their communities in tackling harmful social norms that perpetuate gender-based violence.

In the communities where we work, children with disabilities are the most vulnerable. Yet they are the
most hidden for reasons largely tied to socio-cultural norms and beliefs about persons with disabilities.
UNICEF estimates that nearly 240 million children in the world today, or one in 10, have some form of
disability. This potentially limits their participation and can leave them more vulnerable to abuse.

Children want their voices to be heard and can play a significant role as agents of transformation. Active engagement of children and young people in advocacy and campaigning is essential to promote policy reform, implementation and monitoring. Through decades of work, we know that youth participation ensures better results not only for children and young people, but also for the entire community