Global Annual Results Report 2020: Goal Area 3
COVID-19 began as a global public health emergency but evolved rapidly into a child rights crisis that is unprecedented in both the universality of its scope and the inequality of its impacts. Children and women across countries and contexts faced increasing and intensifying threats to their safety and wellbeing – including abuse, violence,…, The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) threatens to reverse years of development gains and further inhibit progress towards protection-related SDGs by 2030. Though the full impact of the pandemic on children’s exposure to violence and exploitation is still emerging, at its peak, around 1.8 billion children lived in the 104 countries where violence…, Child protection links to the SDGs and Convention on the Rights of the Child, Goal Area 3 aims to ensure that every girl and boy is protected from all forms of violence, exploitation, abuse and harmful practices. This commitment is anchored in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and contributes to the achievement of protection-related Sustainable Development Goals., Strengthening child protection systems to reduce violence against children, Icon representing person getting hurt 4.2 million children who experienced violence reached with related services (126 countries) + 54% Icon representing affected population - 2 adults holding hands of a child 2.6 million parents and caregivers reached with UNICEF-supported parent education programmes (87 countries) + 14% Icon representing…, Accelerating national progress to reduce all forms of violence, Across 144 countries, UNICEF sought to maintain the continuity of its programmes and operations, while pivoting, adapting, and innovating approaches to reach an unprecedented number of children with prevention and responses services. This included leveraging digital technology to offer caregiving resources to parents, expand the reach of mental…, Strengthening the social service workforce, At the start of the pandemic, child protection services, and the implicit role social service workers play in delivering these services, were not considered essential by many governments and received limited earmarked funds, making it difficult to support their continuity. UNICEF swiftly advocated for the social service workforce to be supported…, Strengthening information management systems, UNICEF recognizes integrated Information Management Systems (IMS) as a critical component of strengthening child protection systems. In 2020, UNICEF supported 111 countries to strengthen IMS for child protection, including 24 countries reporting an interoperable IMS to support and track case management and incident and programme monitoring in…, Child protection in humanitarian action, Icon representing psycho-social support - a small and a big hand together 47.2 million children, adolescents, parents and caregivers accessed mental health and psychosocial support (117 countries) Icon representing 5 year old girl 17.8 million women, girls and boys provided with risk mitigation, prevention or response interventions to address…, Mental health and psychosocial support, COVID-19 has both exacerbated the mental health burden affecting the world’s children and brought much-needed attention to mental health as an essential component of children’s well-being and development. In 2020, UNICEF expanded its reach across humanitarian and development contexts, providing critical community-based mental health and…, Gender-based violence in emergencies, COVID-19 quarantine and confinement measures and the ripple effect of the socio-economic impact of the pandemic increased the risks of gender-based violence (GBV) and worsened its severity, particularly for women and girls already at heightened risk of living in emergency and prolonged crisis contexts. UNICEF galvanized the production of global…, Protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, UNICEF has accelerated the scale up of protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA), with 91 countries now having safe and accessible reporting channels for SEA, country action plans, PSEA training for partners and strengthened referral pathways for survivors. In 2020, 44.3 million children and adults could access safe and accessible…, Monitoring grave violations, UNICEF engages with the United Nations and partners to monitor and report grave violations of children’s rights in armed conflict including killing and maiming; recruitment and use; abduction; and sexual violence. The Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism documented over 26,000 grave violations across 21 countries in 2020. The number of children…, Children associated with armed forces and armed groups, Reintegration is a long-term process intended to enable children to transition from armed forces and groups to their families and communities. Despite access constraints caused by COVID-19, UNICEF documented around 12,790 children who exited armed forces or armed groups in 16 countries during 2020. Across 19 countries, UNICEF provided a range of…, Mine action and explosive weapons, In the context of COVID-19, it proved crucial to adapt and reimagine how mine action programming, in particular Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE), was delivered in situations where face to face direct contact shifted to remote reach. This included the use of mass messaging through traditional and social media, and other forms of digital…, Unaccompanied and separated children, The COVID-19 pandemic, and the measures and policies put in place to contain the virus, heightened the risks of separation of children across humanitarian situations and development contexts, triggering a significant scale-up in programming in 2020. UNICEF and partners supported UASC in 89 countries, across humanitarian situations and development…, Delivery of protection services to reduce harmful practices, A young girl writing and drawing Over 16.4 million people engaged through UNICEF-supported education, communication and social mobilization platforms to promote the elimination of FGM (20 countries) A girl wearing a jacket and colourful scarf Over 6 million adolescent girls were reached with UNICEF-supported child marriage prevention and care…, Child marriage, In 2020, UNICEF and partners supported 59 countries across all regions to implement rights-based interventions aimed at ending child marriage, adapting and innovating its approach in the context of COVID-19. Across 45 countries, around 5.3 million adolescent girls participated in life skills training or comprehensive sexuality education.…, Female Genital Mutilation, UNICEF contributed to important successes to eliminate FGM in 20 countries. To adjust programming due to COVID-19, focus was placed on scaling up proven interventions and adapting approaches to community-based interventions. UNICEF empowered around 2,156 communities in 14 countries to declare the abandonment of FGM and helped prevent around 120,…, Promoting access to justice for children, Icon representing justice - balance scales 412,900 children in 87 countries who were in contact with the law received services (277,700 in 65 countries in 2019) Icon representing registration - aperson beside a pencil 21.2 million births were registered (57 countries) and 15.1 million birth certificates were issued (51 countries) Icon representing…, Strengthening justice systems, UNICEF and partners supported 125 countries to ensure programme continuity and to mitigate the increased risks for children and adolescents in contact with the law. A major focus was on adapting advocacy and programming to address the immediate and wider impact of COVID-19 while balancing longer-term justice reforms. When the pandemic began,…, Improving birth registration, The impact of COVID-19 prevention and containment measures was immediate, severely disrupting the availability of civil registration services, including birth registration. At the height of the pandemic, over 40 countries noted drops of 10 per cent or more in related services. To minimize the impact of service disruption and maintain a…, Children without parental care, UNICEF supported efforts to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and pre-emptively scale up and strengthen the capacity of family-based care and social protection systems, which are critical to enhance family resilience and prevent the unnecessary separation of children from their families. A critical first step for UNICEF was to advocate for the…, Children on the move, Children on the move are especially vulnerable and face heightened protection risks, particularly in the context of COVID-19. They may be denied entry at borders, subjected to immigration detention, refused the right to seek asylum, excluded from access to essential services or returned without due process considerations. COVID-19 caused…, Advancing the Learning Agenda, A mother and her two children sitting in the shade of their house doing schoolwork A girl wearing a baseball hat and a UNICEF t-shirt looking at her mobile phone Children wearing masks, sitting outside at a table covered in Lego UNICEF continued to support efforts to improve the availability and quality of child protection data and evidence, with…, Looking forward, A group of young children lying on the grass together Two children walking into the distance with their arms around each other Two children in the air as they jump over a skipping rope Prior to the pandemic, UNICEF already had an ambitious agenda for organizational change in support of accelerated action for children – with a focus on prevention,…, With thanks, This report highlights the achievements made possible by the generous contributions of softly earmarked thematic funding received from various partners. UNICEF would like to express it's sincere appreciation for these contributions. June 2021, Global Annual Results Report 2020 GOAL AREA 3 Every child is protected from violence and exploitation Cover image: UNICEF/ UNI333569/Dejongh Children at the playground of their school in Toumodi-Sakassou, Cte dIvoire. UNICEF has been working with countries like Cte dIvoire to support childrens safe return to school, as well as supporting the…
