It is estimated that between 500 million and 1.5 billion children are victims of violence, exploitation and abuse annually. Tragically, these experiences have a lasting effect on children’s physical and mental health - damaging their ability to learn and socialize, and negatively affecting their transition to adulthood.
UNICEF believes that all children, regardless of gender, culture, religion and socio-economic background, have the right to grow up in safety. Our programs address every aspect of child protection worldwide – from armed violence reduction, to child trafficking, to female genital mutilation, to psychosocial support for children in conflict zones.
As a leader in the field, UNICEF gets results – in 2010 our initiatives helped strengthen child protection systems in 131 countries, and reached millions of people.
UNICEF and our partners use an understanding of local community values and customs to introduce new initiatives, strengthen existing child protection programs and advocate for changes in legislation which promote positive norms.
At UNICEF we know that by working together to safeguard vulnerable kids we are not just protecting them from harm – we are giving them back their right to a childhood
