Publications

In-depth research (and even official statistics) covering all forms of violence experienced by children is available for very few countries. Many forms of violence are suffered by children across Europe, but country specific data is critical to determine the extent to which states are meeting their human rights obligations to protect children effectively from all forms of violence, and for the proper development of child protection and preventive services and the targeting of resources to where they are most needed. This review is not exhaustive, but it nevertheless highlights a number of problematic features of the available research which impede the construction of any accurate national or regional assessment of violent victimisation of children.

This is a study of child poverty in a fast-changing region. Since 1998 almost all countries of the South-Eastern Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States region have shown signs of economic recovery. The numbers of people living in income poverty has fallen, living standards have generally improved and opportunities for many children in the region have expanded. This signals a turning point in the dramatic decline in social and economic conditions experienced by most children in the region in the early 1990s. Yet there is a serious risk that a part of the new generations of children born since the start of the transition is being left behind. The study shows that not all children are benefiting from the economic growth and that Governments in the region need to give higher policy priority to tackling disadvantage and deprivation endured by children. Pursuing a child rights perspective, the study set outs to measure and understand better the nature and scale of child poverty, as distinct from adult poverty; it highlights the large disparities in child well-being which have emerged in this period of economic expansion, between countries, between regions within countries, and between families; it points to ways in which governments in the region could more effectively address marginalisation and disparities among children. The Innocenti Social Monitor 2006 provides practical examples of ways in which children can be given distinct attention and visibility in the analysis of poverty and in policy priorities, while also stressing that data collection has to be improved and made more accessible in order to allow the impact of policies on children to be effectively assessed and addressed.

The study reviews the legislation concerning the rights of children adopted by 52 States Parties since the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. With the goal of providing an overview of the scope and content of new legislation adopted since 1989, the report covers 18 of the general principles and rights contained in the Convention. Three subjects that deserve further investigation are identified: the process of law reform, its place as part of a broad child rights strategy, and the actual impact of legislation of this kind on children.

يشكل ختان الإناث انتهاكاً لحقوق الإنسان الخاصة بالنساء والفتيات. وحتى إذا لم يكن العنف هو القصد منه فهو يشكل حتما ممارسة عنيفة، ناهيك عن كونه مظهراً من مظاهر التفاوت المتجذر في المساواة بين الجنسين وكونه تمييزياً بطبيعته. إن جذور هذه الممارسة ضاربة في الفهم الثقافي لنوع الجنس والحياة الجنسية والزواج والأسرة ويؤثر ذلك الفهم في كيفية النظر إلى الختان وتقبله في السياقات المختلفة. وعلى الرغم من التفاوت عبر البلدان الخمسة الخاضعة للتحليل وداخل حدود البلد الواحد، تؤكد التجارب أن ختان الإناث في المجتمعات التي تمارسه يعتبر خطوة ضرورية لتعزيز منزلة الفتاة وحمايتها، وفي أحيان كثيرة لجعلها أكثر أهلية للزواج. يؤدي ختان الإناث دور الميثاق الاجتماعي والقاعدة الاجتماعية وهو يرتكز على توقعات متبادلة داخل تلك المجتمعات.

This study sets out to better understand the extent to which commitments made by States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child have led to the adoption of concrete measures to improve the rights of children; the extent to which these measures have had a real impact on the lives of children; progress made so far; and the most important challenges faced and the priorities for the years ahead, based on a collective experience of 18 years of striving to implement the Convention and the social, economic, scientific and political changes that have occurred during this time.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the poorest region in the world, the number of cash transfer programmes has doubled in the last five years and reaches close to 50 million people. What is the impact of these programmes, and do they offer a sustained pathway out of ultra-poverty? In this paper we examine these questions using experimental data from two unconditional cash transfer programmes implemented by the Government of Zambia. We find far-reaching effects of these two programmes, not just on their primary objective, food security and consumption, but also on a range of productive and economic outcomes. After three years, we observe that household spending is 59 per cent larger than the value of the transfer received, implying a sizeable multiplier effect. These multipliers work through increased non-farm business activity and agricultural production.

Funded by the Global Partnership to End Violence against Children, through its Safe Online initiative, ECPAT, INTERPOL, and UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti worked in partnership to design and implement Disrupting Harm – a research project on online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA). This unique partnership brings a multidisciplinary approach to a complex issue in order to see all sides of the problem. OCSEA refers to situations that involve digital or communication technologies at some point during the continuum of abuse or exploitation; it can occur fully online or through a mix of online and in-person interactions between offenders and children. The Disrupting Harm research was conducted in six Southeast Asian countries, including Cambodia, and seven Eastern and Southern African countries. Data was synthesised from nine different research activities to generate each national report. These tell the story of the threat and present clear recommendations for action.