Global

In 2022, UNICEF scaled up child protection prevention and response programming to address the most significant risk and protective factors across the humanitarian–development–peace nexus. This included strengthening family and parenting support to prevent violence in the home; expanding our work to address online child sexual exploitation and…

Maria, age 12, submitted a poem after leaving Odessa, Ukraine.   NEW YORK, 21 March 2023 – In commemoration of World Poetry Day, hundreds of children and young people around the world have published poems to highlight their experiences of conflict and war, and to call for peace, as part of UNICEF’s Poems for Peace initiative . Now in its fourth…

Ending violence against children is a legal and moral imperative. Ending violence against children also offers the potential to generate large social and economic dividends. Investment in proven, evidence-based violence prevention programmes can avert the economic costs of violence as well as remove a critical barrier to children achieving their…

Working in close collaboration with a coalition of governments, United Nations agencies, civil society organizations and other partners, UNICEF child protection (Goal Area 3) teams around the world were able to deliver a wide array of results across 153 countries, including to 124 new and ongoing humanitarian situations. Scaled-up interventions,…, 4.4 million children who experienced violence reached with related services (129 countries)  3 million parents and caregivers reached with UNICEF-supported parent education programmes (94 countries) Accelerating national progress to reduce all forms of violence  Across countries, the number of children experiencing violence who received health,…, child-soldier Child protection in humanitarian action, 12 million children, adolescents. parents and caregivers accessed mental health and psychosocial support  13.9 million women, girls and boys provided with risk mitigation, prevention or response interventions to address gender-based violence (89 countries) 61 million children and adults could access safe and accessible UNICEF-supported sexual…, portrait-girl Strengthening prevention and delivery of protection services to reduce harmful practices, Nearly 7.6 million adolescent girls were reached with UNICEF-supported child marriage prevention and care interventions (47 countries) Nearly 800k girls and women received UNICEF-supported prevention and protection services on FGM over the Strategic Plan 2018-2021 period Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF and partners have adapted to…, Mother-and-child Promoting access to justice, birth registration and alternative care, Over 45,000 children were released across at least 84 countries since the start of of the COVID-19 pandemic after an unprecedented global call for the immediate release of children from detention 13.9 million birth notifications were received (52 countries) 41 countries have comprehensive policies and programmes in line with the 2009 Guidelines…, portrait-girl Looking forward, UNICEF will continue to advocate for putting child rights at the heart of economic plans and priorities as countries continue to fight poverty within their borders and rebuild systems shattered by the pandemic.  UNICEF’s new Child Protection Strategy, 2021–2030 , launched in 2021, provides a pivotal opportunity to build on our experiences and…, 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., Read more and support our work, June 2022, Global Annual Results Report 2021 GOAL AREA 3 Every child is protected from violence and exploitation Cover image: UNICEF/UN0484305/UNICEF Afghanistan Children playing outside with hula-hoops at Child Friendly Space built by UNICEF in Balkh, a northern province of Afghanistan. Expression of thanks: UNICEF/UN0456813/Fuad Hands of a young girl (15)…

NEW YORK, 19 November 2021 – “Violence against women and girls is a silent pandemic. It is one we can treat only by working together. “That is why I so proud of the joint efforts of UNICEF, our sister agencies, and the European Union in The Spotlight Initiative. “The initiative is the world’s largest targeted effort to end all forms of violence…

Around the world, attacks on children continue unabated. The number of countries experiencing violent conflict is the highest it has been in the last 30 years. The result is that more than 30 million children have been displaced by conflict. Many of them are being enslaved, trafficked, abused and exploited. Many more are living in limbo, without…, Stop attacks on children, Ultimately children need peace to thrive. It is critical for children that efforts to end today’s seemingly endless armed conflicts are redoubled. But children cannot wait for protection – while wars continue, we must never accept attacks against children. More than 30 years since the adoption of the  Convention on the Rights of the Child , and…, What we can all do to make change happen, Citizens everywhere   can begin by not averting their gaze from children’s suffering, because it seems too distant or the politics of conflict too complex. We must insist to national and international leaders that protecting children during armed conflict is the cornerstone of our shared humanity. We must demand leadership which is prepared to act…, Recent news and features, Protecting children from explosive weapons in populated areas, Iraq. Two children walk to school past damaged buildings in the old city area of Mosul, Iraq. Two children walk to school in the old city area of Mosul, Iraq. In conflicts around the world, civilians continue to endure the devastating consequences of the use of  https://www.unicef.org/protection/protecting-children-from-explosive-weapons explosive…

When Deaconess Juliet Eneh spoke at the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities’ (JLI) recent series on child participation, her message was clear: when children have a voice, violence against children goes down.  It was this reasoning that led her to help establish Christ Care. This mentoring program educates Nigerian children…, Child participation is a principle embedded in many faith traditions, In our recent webinar exploring  multi-religious perspectives on child participation , faith leaders spoke of how they drew on their own faith traditions to promote child participation: A Rabbi from Panama outlined how the Jewish ritual of Passover acts as a platform for inter-generational dialogue, with children “adopting the role of questioner…

This review of programme interventions illustrates UNICEF actions to address violence against children in and around schools in 28 countries in seven geographical regions. This report aims to complement the Safe to Learn Global Programmatic Framework and Benchmarking Tool: from Call to Action to Programme Responses, providing concrete examples on…

The Technical Guidance document is aimed to help programme designers plan, monitor and evaluate social and behaviour change programmes to address VAC in and around schools. An extension of an earlier document – titled Technical Guidance for Communication for Development Programmes Addressing Violence Against Children – this guide has been updated…

This paper provides a synthesis of learning and corresponding case studies from Social and Behaviour Change to Address Violence Against Children. Technical Guidance: Schools Edition. This synthesis supports the third objective of Safe to Learn’s Call to Action – Shift social norms and behaviour change – which aims for parents, teachers, children,…

Protecting children in the digital world, while at the same time allowing them to unlock opportunities to learn and express themselves is a major challenge of our time. This brief outlines UNICEF identified priority actions that must be assumed by different actors to protect children from violence, abuse and exploitation in the digital world.

Protecting children in the digital world, while at the same time allowing them to unlock opportunities to learn and express themselves is a major challenge of our time. This brief outlines UNICEF identified priority actions that must be assumed by different actors to protect children from violence, abuse and exploitation in the digital world.