- published: 02 Jan 2014
- views: 5889
Child protection (sometimes child welfare) refers to the protection of children from violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect. Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the protection of children in and out of the home.
Child protection systems are a set of usually government-run services designed to protect children and young people who are underage and to encourage family stability. While there is no universally agreed upon definition, UNICEF defines a ‘child protection system’ as:
Due to economical reasons, especially in poor countries, children are forced to work in order to survive. Child labour often happens in difficult conditions, which are dangerous and impair the education of the future citizens and increase vulnerability to adults. It is hard to know exactly the age and number of children who work. At least 150 million children under 5 years of age worked in 2004, but the figure is underestimated because domestic labour is not counted.