Protecting Vulnerable Children

Protecting Vulnerable Children

One of the three main goals of the U.S. government’s new Strategy for Children to Thrive, along with building strong beginnings and helping families to thrive, is protecting children from violence and exploitation.

“All too many children, when they lack that nurturing wraparound care and those people to protect them, are extremely vulnerable to harm and to exploitation,” said USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator Dr. Bama Athreya.

To support countries to better protect their children, USAID is partnering with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and other organizations on a framework called INSPIRE: a technical package that provides strategies to help countries prevent and respond to violence against children.

“We need to understand the prevalence of violence against children and also to strengthen national systems, because we do need national systems in place to ensure that no child is in a situation where they are vulnerable to that type of harm or exploitation,” she said.

“We need systems that hold perpetrators accountable and that provide the services that traumatized children may need. We are working with global partners to create and strengthen those systems,” said Dr. Athreya. “An example of how system strengthening works can be found in Ghana, a country where USAID is focused on work to strengthen the social service workforce.”

“Our partners at State Department have what's called a child protection compact … run by the State Department's office to Prevent and Counter Trafficking in persons. The Child Protection Compact is working to hold perpetrators of child trafficking accountable and strengthen not only accountability systems, but response systems.”

“One of the great things about working with other organizations and other partners worldwide is that we can collectively also think together about the next steps,” said Dr. Athreya.

“Our partnerships have enabled the government of Colombia to really take a comprehensive look at the data on violence against children and develop a comprehensive package to strengthen its own social protection systems and judicial accountability systems to better protect children from harm.”

Indeed, in November, the Colombian government, with support from the Government of Sweden and the United Nations, will host the world's first ever ministerial conference on ending violence against children.

But in the end, the goal of the Strategy for Children to Thrive is about minimizing adverse events that affect children early in their lives, and amplifying opportunities and possibilities. “Everything starts in families,” said Deputy Assistant Administrator Dr. Athreya. “When parents are invested in as partners … households benefit, children benefit, communities benefit.”