Child protection from violence, exploitation and abuse

Building a protective environment for children

When Boriana turned 14, her father decided that she should find a job in a neighbouring country to help support the family instead of attending secondary school. After contacting an employment agency in her hometown, Boriana was offered a job abroad as a waitress and promised a high salary. In actuality, she was forced to become a sex worker in a brothel. 

After being hospitalized for physical abuse in the neighbouring country, Boriana called an emergency hotline and revealed that her father was abusive and that she was afraid of returning home.

Boriana's story is composite of the 1.2 million children who suffer from sexual exploitation every year. Variations of this illustrative story occur every day around the world. 

Tens of millions of children across the globe are victims of exploitation, abuse and violence each year.  They are abducted from their homes and schools and recruited into armed conflicts.  Millions of others are trafficked and forced to work in abominable conditions.  

Children can only be freed from exploitation and abuse when they live in a “protective environment” that shields them against this exploitation.  A protective environment is a safety net which prevents abuses from happening.

The safety net all children need

A protective environment is about living in safety and dignity.  It helps to ensure that children are in school, laws are in place to punish those who exploit children, governments are truly committed to protection, communities are aware of the risks which children face, civil society addresses certain “taboo” issues and monitoring is in place to identify children who are at risk of exploitation.

Children will never be free from exploitation until all levels of society—from the family to the international community—work together. When any of the layers of the protective environment is stripped away, a child becomes more vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and violence.  

Boriana’s story might have been very different in a protective environment:

• If there had been laws in Boriana’s home country requiring compulsory education through secondary school, she would have been required to stay in school.
• If her teachers had been sensitized to the issue, they might have recognized that Boriana’s increasing absenteeism was the result of abuse at home.
• If the local media had publicized the issue of trafficking, Boriana herself might have been alerted to the deception and exploitation which awaited her.
• If a cross-border agreement had existed between her home country and its neighbour, Boriana would probably not have been allowed to enter the neighbouring country.
• If border police would have been trained to recognize signs of trafficking, they would have not allowed her to leave the country and would have alerted the correct people to help her. 

Key to understanting the protective environment approach is recognizing that child protection cuts across all of UNICEF’s priority areas. Even strong, physically healthy children can be victims of abuse. A well-nourished and immunized child who is beaten is not a healthy child. A young girl in school is not likely to learn if she is sexually abused at home. 

Creating a protective environment is the basis of UNICEF’s strategy for protecting children.