Child protection
Millions of children are exposed to abuse, violence, exploitation and neglect. That's appalling.
Some children have to work in appalling and dangerous conditions. Some are kept in institutions, separate from their families and communities. Some are forced to become child soldiers.
Child labour
In its worst forms, child labour involves children living in slavery-like conditions, separated from their families or exposed to serious danger and illness. An estimated 8.4 million children are trapped in the worst forms of child labour.
Save the Children is on the ground, liaising with employers to ensure that these children are protected as much as possible.
We support projects that tackle child labour and its root causes in 15 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe. We work at various levels, through education programmes and poverty reduction schemes and we've published guidance for the private sector.
Read the report The Small Hands of Slavery (PDF 193KB).
TV presenter Davina McCall and our Vice-President Gordon Campbell Gray saw the grim realities of child labour on a visit to Dhaka, Bangladesh. Watch a short clip of their visit.
Child soldiers
Around 300,000 children - some as young as seven - are fighting in wars around the world.
Government forces, as well as rebel armies, use child soliders. In some countries, girls are sexually abused and forced to 'marry' adult soldiers.
We work with children in conflict situations to prevent them from being recruited into armed forces and to help demobilise those involved in armed combat. Our report, Fighting Back (PDF 165KB), looks at children who successfully avoided recruitment into armed groups during the conflicts in Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia.
Read our feature article on child soliders Fighting someone else's war.
Separated children
Conflict and disaster can also result in children becoming separated from their families. In the 1980s and 90s we pioneered family tracing work, reuniting children separated from their families by conflict or other emergencies.
In the aftermath of the Asian tsunami in 2004, Save the Children helped to register more than 7,000 separated children. We reunited thousands of children with their parents and families, and trained community members and government agencies in child protection.
Crisis in care
There are an estimated 143 million orphaned children worldwide. Many millions more are abandoned or separated from their immediate and extended families, living on the street, in institutions, or supporting their siblings on their own. Children without adequate family care are highly vulnerable.
Families who are struggling to care for their children may be forced to place them into orphanages. We know that children are best protected and cared for within their homes and communities, and that with adequate support, millions of children can remain with their families.
What we're doing
Through our programmes, we protect vulnerable children and demonstrate the most effective ways of helping children at risk. We then use the evidence we collect in order to lobby governments and international organisations for more effective child protection solutions.
Read our child protection publications and policy documents.
