Child protection from violence, exploitation and abuse

The big picture

Violations of the child’s right to protection take place in every country and are massive, under-recognized and under-reported barriers to child survival and development, in addition to being human rights violations. Children subjected to violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect are at risk of death, poor physical and mental health, HIV/AIDS infection, educational problems, displacement, homelessness, vagrancy and poor parenting skills later in life.

UNICEF’s child protection programmes aim to prevent and respond to violence, exploitation and abuse against children. The programmes also target children who are uniquely vulnerable to these abuses, such as when living without parental care, in conflict with the law and in armed conflict. UNICEF's child protection programmes seek to address:

Birth Registration: Around 51 million births go unregistered every year in developing countries.

Child Labour: Approximately 218 million children aged 5-17 are engaged in child labour, excluding child domestic labour. Some 126 million of these children are believed to be engaged in hazardous work.

Child Marriage: In developing countries, more than 60 million women aged 20-24 were married/in union before the age of 18 of whom over 31 million live in South Asia.

Child Trafficking: An estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked every year.

Children in Conflicts and Emergencies: At any given time over 300,000 child soldiers, some as young as eight, are exploited in armed conflicts in over 30 countries around the world.  More than 2 million children are estimated to have died as a direct result of armed conflicts since 1990.

Children and Justice: More than 1 million children worldwide are detained by law enforcement officials.

Children without Parental Care: Approximately 143 million children are orphaned by one or both parents.

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: An estimated 70 million women and girls alive today have been subjected to some form of genital mutilation/cutting.

Sexual Exploitation of Children: 2 million children are believed to be exploited through prostitution and pornography.

Violence against Children: 40 million children below the age of 15 suffer from abuse and neglect and require health and social care.