Protecting kids is everyone's responsibility.
Of all the things children need to grow up at their potential, one of the most urgent is safety from harm.
Yet millions of children the world over still experience abuse, neglect, exploitation and other forms of
violence that derail their development. Harm to children can be physical, mental, emotional or sexual. It
knows no ethnic, religious or cultural boundaries, and it can happen at the hands of anyone in a child’s
life: strangers or teachers, peers or parents.
Research shows that chronic exposure to adverse childhood experiences such as violence can cause the brain to
experience toxic stress, disrupting healthy development and causing
problems that often persist into adulthood. The good news is that violence against children is
completely preventable. At ChildFund, we’re committed to helping create a world where it no
longer exists.
How does ChildFund work to protect children?
We support families to promote their children’s well-being within safe environments. This
means educating caregivers about how to interact with their children in healthy ways, as well as helping
bolster families’ socioeconomic stability so they can consistently make choices in their children’s best
interests.
We educate communities about children’s need for protection, supporting them to create and
sustain child protection committees that know how to respond appropriately to abuse, neglect, exploitation
and other forms of violence.
We empower children to understand and embrace their own right to protection, helping them
find and raise their voices against violence. We advocate alongside them at the local, national and
international levels for policy changes that make protecting children a priority.
What do children need protection from?
Abuse
It may be harsh, humiliating corporal punishment, female genital mutilation, or online sexual abuse
and exploitation (OSEAC). Child, early or forced marriage, a type of gender-based violence, can set
the stage for a variety of abuses.
Exploitation
It includes child labor; child trafficking; sexual exploitation, including the production of child
sexual abuse materials, child prostitution, early marriage and sex tourism; and, in many countries,
recruitment into armed forces.
Neglect
Abandonment and other types of neglect leave children vulnerable to institutionalization,
exploitation and other hazards.
Violence
Violence can be physical, sexual, emotional or psychological and can take many forms: bullying,
forced displacement and separation, torture, mutilation, physical punishment, rape and other forms
of gender-based violence.
Spotlight on OSEAC
The online sexual abuse and exploitation of children is one of the fastest growing
crimes in the world – and every child is at risk. Watch this video from ChildFund Philippines to learn more
about how it happens and why children need our protection now more than ever.