Every day, millions of children face violence, exploitation, and neglect, often in countries that have already pledged to protect them. Three decades after the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the world still has not adequately funded or prioritised the protection of its youngest citizens.

The CRC is the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history, yet its implementation remains constrained by resource limitations and inconsistent political prioritisation. States have formally committed to protecting children from all forms of violence, and the Sustainable Development Goals reinforce that obligation. But in practice, child protection continues to receive some of the lowest levels of investment within national and international human rights systems.

When global leaders gathered in Bogotá in November 2024 for the first-ever Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, many hoped it would mark a turning point. Representatives from 119 countries, including 63 ministers, pledged to strengthen laws, expand prevention systems, and invest in safer childhoods. A year later, however, the gap between speeches and resourcing remains unchanged.

Despite near-universal recognition of children’s rights, public debate and donor priorities still centre predominantly on adult-focused agendas — political freedoms, governance crises, and economic stabilisation are all important in their own right, yet too often prioritised ahead of child protection. Meanwhile, one billion children, including adolescent girls, experience some form of violence, abuse, or exploitation each year, yet less than one per cent of official development assistance is allocated to addressing it. According to UNICEF estimates from Hidden in Plain Sight: A Statistical Analysis of Violence Against Children (2020), an estimated 90 million children alive today have experienced sexual violence globally, a........

© The Friday Times