Child protection
Violence, abuse and exploitation still affect children in Sierra Leone, especially girls, and limits their ability to realize their full potential.
The challenges
For many children in Sierra Leone, violence, abuse, exploitation and harmful practices are part of daily life. Children may experience violence at home, in schools, and in their communities, while poverty, harmful social norms and limited access to services make it harder for families and systems to protect them.
For children without birth certificates, lack of legal identity can limit access to essential services and protection. For girls, harmful practices such as child marriage, teenage pregnancy and female genital mutilation can affect health, education and life opportunities.
These risks affect more than children’s safety; violence, abuse, exploitation and harmful practices can also undermine children’s health, learning and long-term development, limiting the impact of investments in other sectors.
Progress is constrained by chronic underfunding of child protection systems, which affects the availability and quality of prevention, response, justice and family-strengthening services.
• More than 9 in 10 children under 5 are registered, but only 3 in 10 have a birth certificate they can use as proof of identity.
• Nearly 9 in 10 children aged 1–14 have experienced violent discipline at home.
• Many girls face risks that can shape the rest of their lives: nearly 2 in 5 are married before age 18, female genital mutilation remains high at more than 80 per cent, and 2 in 10 girls aged 15–19 are pregnant with their first child or have had a live birth.
UNICEF contribution to the solution
UNICEF works with the Government, partners, children, families, and communities to strengthen child protection systems, prevent violence, and ensure that children at risk, including adolescents, receive timely, coordinated support. This includes strengthening laws and policies, improving case management and referral systems, expanding access to child justice and social welfare services, supporting family strengthening and safeguarding, and promoting positive parenting and protective social norms.
UNICEF supports national efforts to strengthen child protection social welfare capacity, birth registration services, alternative care and justice for children. UNICEF also supports survivor-centred services for children affected by violence, including psychosocial support, health services, legal assistance and safe referral pathways.
By linking prevention and response, UNICEF is helping Sierra Leone move from reactive intervention to stronger systems that protect children earlier, more consistently and at scale.