Downloadable Resources

Bullying is both behaviour and impact. It involves both the actions someone takes and the effects those actions have on you, affecting your sense of safety and self-control. Children and young people are often reluctant to tell adults that they’re being bullied. This might be because they are afraid of an over-reaction, they feel embarrassed, or they worry that telling someone might make the situation worse. However, there are several signs you can look out for if you’re concerned your child is being bullied.

1.The Convention on the Rights of the Child defines a child as every human being below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to the child majority is attained earlier, and emphasizes that States should respect and ensure the rights embodied in the Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind. While the Convention recognizes the rights of all persons under 18 years, the implementation of rights should take account of children’s development and their evolving capacities. Approaches adopted to ensure the realization of the rights of adolescents differ significantly from those adopted for younger children.
2.Adolescence is a life stage characterized by growing opportunities, capacities, aspirations, energy and creativity, but also significant vulnerability. Adolescents are agents of change and a key asset and resource with the potential to contribute positively to their families, communities and countries. Globally, adolescents engage positively in many spheres, including health and education campaigns, family support, peer education, community development initiatives, participatory budgeting and creative arts, and make contributions towards peace, human rights, environmental sustainability and climate justice. Many adolescents are at the cutting edge of the digital and social media environments, which form an increasingly central role in their education, culture and social networks, and hold potential in terms of political engagement and monitoring accountability.
3.The Committee observes that the potential of adolescents is widely compromised because States parties do not recognize or invest in the measures needed for them to enjoy their rights. Data disaggregated by age, sex and disability are not available in most countries to inform policy, identify gaps and support the allocation of appropriate resources for adolescents. Generic policies designed for children or young people often fail to address adolescents in all their diversity and are inadequate to guarantee the realization of their rights. The costs of inaction and failure are high: the foundations laid down during adolescence in terms of emotional security, health, sexuality, education, skills, resilience and understanding of rights will have profound implications, not only for their individual optimum development, but also for present and future social and economic development.
4.In the present general comment, the Committee provides guidance to States on the measures necessary to ensure the realization of the rights of children during adolescence, cognizant also of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It highlights the importance of a human rights-based approach that includes recognition and respect for the dignity and agency of adolescents; their empowerment, citizenship and active participation in their own lives; the promotion of optimum health, well-being and development; and a commitment to the promotion, protection and fulfilment of their human rights, without discrimination.
5.The Committee recognizes that adolescence is not easily defined, and that individual children reach maturity at different ages. Puberty occurs at different ages for boys and girls, and different brain functions mature at different times. The process of transitioning from childhood to adulthood is influenced by context and environment, as reflected in the wide variation in cultural expectations of adolescents in national legislations, which afford different thresholds for entry into adult activities, and across international bodies, which employ a variety of age ranges to define adolescence. The present general comment does not seek, therefore, to define adolescence, but instead focuses on the period of childhood from 10 years until the 18th birthday to facilitate consistency in data collection.
6.The Committee notes that several of its general comments have a particular resonance for adolescents, notably those relating to adolescent health and development, HIV/AIDS, eradicating practices that are harmful to women and children, unaccompanied and separated children and juvenile justice. The Committee emphasizes the particular significance for adolescents of the recommendations arising from the day of general discussion on digital media and children’s rights. The present general comment has been developed to provide an overview on how the Convention in its entirety needs to be understood and implemented in respect of all adolescents and should be read together with other general comments and with documents arising from the day of general discussion.

CPC Learning Network concluded a four-year collaboration with the World Bank to prevent and respond to child sexual exploitation and abuse in development projects. As part of this work, we developed the Six Actions to Keep Children Safe toolkit — a set of practical resources designed to help organizations strengthen child safeguarding in development projects. Development projects bring economic and social change to vulnerable communities, which can sometimes disrupt local protection systems and increase risks to children — but they can also offer an opportunity to promote safer, more protective environments. This toolkit provides concrete solutions to help keep children safe from sexual exploitation and abuse. It offers practical guidance on training personnel and partners, integrating child protection into project design, and establishing accessible, child-friendly grievance mechanisms. Each tool has been tested in World Bank-financed infrastructure projects and can be adapted to your specific context.

We completely understand how overwhelming it can be to protect your children online. With all the apps and platforms out there, it’s tough to know where to even start. But, just remember—you’re not alone in this, and there are ways to help safeguard them while still letting them enjoy the benefits of being online. Protecting children online really is a multifaceted task, but by being aware, staying involved, and putting a few key measures in place, you can make a big difference.

This research summary: 1. Defines various forms of sexual cyberbullying 2. Reports what we know about the prevalence of these online behaviors 3. Discusses the factors that increase the risk for or protect youth against sexual cyberbullying as well as the potential consequences of experiencing sexual cyberbullying 4. Reviews what is known about preventing sexual cyberbullying 5. Shares information about relevant laws and resources for youth-supporting professionals who want to help youth who may experience sexual cyberbullying

Types of Abuse against Children identified.

Childhood trauma is known to be associated with negative mental health outcomes • Research shows that medical students suffer from higher rates of negative mental health outcomes while in medical school • Research on how childhood trauma impacts medical students is limited

To understand the parents perspective of: –the capacity of the state funded school system, –the available services and supports, –the use of the available services.

AI for Safer Children is a joint initiative between UAE Ministry of Interior and UNICRI aiming to support global law enforcement in exploring the positive potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to tackle Child Sexual Exploitation and abuse online.