Child Protection

Years of war has left children in Iraq extremely vulnerable. The poverty and hardship faced by many people has meant that the rights of children have been ignored and many children have been put at risk. Many don’t get to go to school or have proper healthcare and are becoming the victims of sexual, physical and emotional abuse.

We have listened to children, their families and their communities and identified the challenges facing them. In this way we have been able to learn about the kind of support they need and given them a say in their futures.

People in Iraq don’t always understand the rights of children and the law doesn’t always recognize that there is a need to protect children. Even when there are laws, there aren’t always the systems in place to make sure that the laws are followed.

We have put in place training and lobbying projects to tackle all this. We have built classrooms and toilets to allow children to attend school. We have also trained teachers, social workers and police in providing the protection children have a right to, and we have successfully lobbied for the endorsement of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in the new Iraqi constitution.