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Disrupting Harm country reports
Disrupting Harm country reports
Disrupting Harm national reports present evidence on sexual exploitation and abuse that is committed against children, with the use of digital technologies. This research takes a multi-disciplinary approach to understand and present the nuances of these forms of abuse. This involves collecting both qualitative and quantitative data in each country, speaking to multiple duty bearers and rights holders, and analyzing both primary and secondary data. Based on the evidence, the reports offer recommendations for policy makers, law enforcement, civil society organizations, and parents on how to address this issue.This first round of Disrupting Harm research was conducted in 13 countries across Southeast Asia and Eastern and Southern Africa from 2019 - 2022. Data were synthesised from nine different research activities to inform the findings of each national report. View Disrupting Harm country advocacy briefs here.
Tackling Gender Inequality from the Early Years
Tackling Gender Inequality from the Early Years
Access to early childhood education has increased over the last two decades, with global enrolment rates showing gender parity in access among boys and girls. Despite this gender parity in access, the pre-primary education system does not always deliver on its potential to tackle gender inequities and address harmful gender stereotypes while they are being absorbed by the youngest learners. As such, this research explores the ways in which pre-primary education can become more gender-transformative at a system level and presents 11 key strategies to support this goal. The strategies are organized around five interconnected action areas: planning and budgeting; curriculum; workforce development; family and community engagement; and quality assurance. These strategies can help governments and policymakers to proactively incorporate gender-responsiveness into the design and implementation of their pre-primary education policy and programming, following a system-wide perspective.
Estimates of internet access for children
Estimates of internet access for children
The COVID-19 pandemic transformed internet connectivity from an important asset to an essential piece of infrastructure. Yet two thirds of the world’s school-aged children still have no fixed internet connection at home. This lack of connectivity limits their ability to go online; prevents them from participating and competing in the modern economy; and risks isolating them from the world. This research brief presents new data on children’s internet access in five countries in Eastern and Southern Africa. It provides estimates of the frequency with which children use the internet and assesses the most common barriers they face. Finally, it explores the potential consequences of leaving these bottlenecks unaddressed.
Eliminating Child Labour: Essential for human development and ensuring child well-being
Eliminating Child Labour: Essential for human development and ensuring child well-being
The brief highlights the interlinkages between child labour and human development and describes how ending economic deprivations, universalizing school education, expanding the coverage and improve the adequacy of social protection systems, and ensuring private sector engagement in protecting child rights can effectively eliminate child labour and promote inclusive growth and development. Evidence-informed, multi-sectoral, scalable solutions are presented that can ensure children are protected from economic exploitation and end the perpetuation of long-term cumulative deprivation. The brief presents actionable policy recommendations for the G20, drawing from the most recent global research and evidence on ending child labour. Key takeways from the report include: The G20 can commit and lead the way in supporting: Expansion of child-sensitive social protection Increased investments in strenghtening the availability and quality of education from foundational through elementary and secondary education Strategies to end discriminatory social and gender norms Equitable conditions and standards in the labour market, through collaboration between government regulators and private companies Strengthened child protection laws and systems ensuring identification, support, and school re-integration of children in child labour Investment in research to further improve our understanding of the most promising, effective, and scalable strategies to accelerate results
Inclusion Matters: Inclusive interventions for children with disabilities
Inclusion Matters: Inclusive interventions for children with disabilities
In this publication we report our Evidence and Gap Mapping (EGM) of “Inclusive Interventions for Children with Disabilities in LMICs”. It shows that research is lacking in many critical areas: awareness and non-discrimination, protection, adequate standard of living, family and community life, and empowerment – that represent critical areas of policy and programming in need of robust evidence to improve inclusion and participation.Specific areas overlooked include tackling harmful stereotypes, tackling abuse and violence and ways to reduce stigma; on improving accessibility to water, sanitation, hygiene, housing and food; and interventions that aim for children with disabilities to enjoy their right to be heard, to play and to have their views considered in all matters affecting them.Health research covers 3 in 4 of all studies in our EGM, but there is little evidence on improving access to general health services and accessibility for children with disabilities in healthcare settings. Inclusive education was moderately represented, but lacked the detail to understand how it was implemented or if inclusive education was effective in improving (or harming) academic outcomes, school readiness, graduation rates or the quality of educational services.To understand which research areas can have the greatest impact for children with disabilities, please also review our Global Research Agenda for Children with Disabilities.
On Call: Using mobile technologies to measure learning in emergencies
On Call: Using mobile technologies to measure learning in emergencies
How can we harness the power of mobile technologies to track learning in emergencies? Identifying ways to improve assessments in emergencies is incredibly important as there remains large gaps in understanding how children are learning in crisis settings. This report aims to provide practitioners with practical guidance and resources on using mobile technology to conduct learning assessments in emergency settings. It is the second of a two-part series on uses of mobile phones for education in emergency programmes and draws from a review of the existing literature as well as feedback from education in emergencies practitioners.
On Call: Using mobile phones to provide learning in emergencies
On Call: Using mobile phones to provide learning in emergencies
In 2021, an estimated 37 million children were forcibly displaced across the globe. Ensuring these children continue their education in times of crisis is a significant challenge. One tool that can help children stay in education is basic mobile phones. Basic mobile phones can provide learning through multiple channels, such as text messages, voice calls, nudges and lessons through radio broadcasts. This report outlines, in detail, how mobile phones can be applied as a learning tool in emergency settings. It also provides practical case studies and references for how mobile phones have been used to teach students, support parents and train teachers. This report is also part of the On Call two-part series on the uses of mobile technologies for education in emergency settings, with the second report focusing on mobile technologies for learning assessments.
Towards a child-centred digital equality framework
Towards a child-centred digital equality framework
The digitization of society does not have a universal effect on all children. Even with the same internet access, digital literacy and content, children from different places and backgrounds can still have unequal experiences and outcomes. A child’s individual environment influences the extent to which they can seize digital opportunities and avoid digital risks. Unaddressed injustices and inequities based on sexism, racism, classism and other forms of discrimination, contribute to this, and technological advances reflect and amplify existing social, cultural and economic inequalities. In order to get the most out of digital technology, underlying inequalities in the lives of children need to be addressed. This report presents a future-ready, child-centred digital framework that incorporates all aspects of digital inclusion, addresses known gaps, explicitly aims to achieve digital equality, involves a broader range of stakeholders to do this, and responds to emerging technologies and trends. The framework can be used in several different ways: as a basis for designing and evaluating digital inclusion policies, whether they cover inclusion broadly or are policies more specific to, for example, improving access or digital learning, to help gauge how holistic a policy is and how it includes (or not) relevant stakeholders needed for achieving digital equality for children, and as a tool to assist drafting policies and interventions by government policymakers, international organizations and the private sector. As the digital landscape is dynamic, the framework is intended to be a living and adaptable document that can be updated according to shifting technologies and social and economic realities. Learn more: Read A Global Review of Selected Digital Inclusion Policies, which used this framework to review digital inclusion policies from around the world. The report highlights promising practices, identifies policy gaps that need to be addressed to achieve greater digital equality, and outlines key requirements for holistic policy approaches to digital inclusion.
Mind the Gap: Child and adolescent mental health and psychosocial support interventions
Mind the Gap: Child and adolescent mental health and psychosocial support interventions
Mental disorders affect about 1 in 7 children and adolescents worldwide, with 50% arising before the age of 14. Despite the high burden and early onset, most conditions remain unrecognized and untreated. We mapped evidence on the effectiveness of child and adolescent (ages 0-19) mental health and psychosocial support interventions in low- and middle-income countries within the last 12 years and identified 697 records from 78 countries. The field is reactive rather than proactive, with most interventions focusing on treatment rather than promotion or prevention. Most mental health research is conducted in educational settings and focuses on early and late adolescence. Research on early childhood interventions as well as evidence to address the mental health and psychosocial needs of children in humanitarian settings are scarce. Mental health intervention research lacks diversity: less than one third of studies and reviews focused on specific population groups. Despite the known potential for digital interventions to overcome a range of barriers, the field is understudied with very limited evidence across all outcomes. In 60 countries, no research was identified. There were also important geographical disparities and research gaps in West and Central Africa.
Child Marriage Evidence Profiles
Child Marriage Evidence Profiles
Through the Strategic Technical Assistance for Research (STAR) Initiative to end harmful practices, UNICEF Office of Research-Innocenti aims to strengthen research in countries supported by the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage and the Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation. The STAR Initiative focuses on evidence generation, synthesis and uptake.
Making It Count: Strengthening data and evidence to prevent and respond to violence against children in East Asia and the Pacific
Making It Count: Strengthening data and evidence to prevent and respond to violence against children in East Asia and the Pacific
This brief provides an overview of the data and evidence gaps on violence against children in East Asia and the Pacific. It calls for greater attention to generating, sharing and applying quality data and evidence to protect the safety and rights of children within the region.
SVRI Forum 2022: Select publications on Violence Against Girls, Boys and Women
SVRI Forum 2022: Select publications on Violence Against Girls, Boys and Women
This brochure spotlights a partial list of UNICEF publications of particular relevance for colleagues attending or following the SVRI Forum 2022. Select any publication title to be directed to it.
