Protecting children
from violence, exploitation and abuse
What does protecting children involve?
Child protection involves preventing and responding to exploitation, abuse, neglect, harmful practices, and violence against children.
Every year, over 1 billion children experience violence. Violence against children harms their health and wellbeing, with serious effects that can last a lifetime and even impact future generations.
Children in emergencies are at risk of injury and death. During armed conflict and natural disasters, children may be forced to flee their homes, some separated from their families and exposed to exploitation along the way. For girls and women, the risks of gender-based violence also increase.
Every child has the right to be protected from violence. As a child protection charity, we work in more than 150 countries to protect children’s rights and their futures.
Protecting children means protecting their physical and psychosocial needs. We work with our partners and local communities to help children experience a safe and healthy childhood.
What are we doing to help protect children?
Children pay the highest price in a crisis. Conflict, natural disasters and other emergencies put millions of girls and boys at risk of unthinkable forms of violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect.
We work with communities and governments to help protect children by:
- Influencing laws and policies
- Working to stop gender-based violence and harmful practices
- Reunifying separated children with their families.
- Working to release children from armed groups and providing reintegration support.
- Improving birth registration systems.
- Delivering programming to prevent violence against children.
- Expanding initiatives to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse.
Here in the UK, we protect children’s rights in schools. Through our Rights Respecting Schools Award, we work with schools to create safe places, where children learn about their rights. In February 2024, we partnered with the Mayor of London who allocated £1.4 million from the Violence Reduction Unit to fund the Rights Respecting Schools Award for state-funded schools in London. This funding creates opportunities for lasting impact for children in London.
How your donation helps protect children
Your donation can help our work to protect a child from the dangers of violence, exploitation and abuse, so they can grow up safe and healthy. We’ve also done more to influence laws and policies to help protect children than anyone else.
We work to deliver long-term support that creates lasting change for children as well as addressing their immediate needs.
Children deserve to grow up in a world that gives them the chance not just to survive, but to thrive. A monthly donation will support our work with our partners and local communities to help protect more children.
Donate now and be part of our long-term work to help protect children across the world.
