We help protect children from violence, abuse, exploitation and other risks, so they can grow up safe and supported.
During conflict, the families, schools, communities and systems that protect children in everyday life can weaken or disappear altogether, increasing children’s risk of abuse and exploitation. Children are forced from their homes, separated from their families, and exposed to unfamiliar and unsafe environments.
Displacement can leave children more vulnerable to violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation, as protective systems break down. Many become separated from their families.
Supportive families, schools and communities help protect children from harm, support their recovery, and build healthy futures beyond conflict.
live in active conflict zones around the world. That's 520 million children living with the realities of war.
Being with family and friends makes me feel happy and safe.
Protecting children in conflict starts with the people around them. We work with families, schools and communities to prevent harm, identify risks early and ensure children are safe and supported. War Child’s child protection work is led by the communities themselves. We work with them to identify the risks children face, and develop and lead solutions that work best for them.
Community-led child protection
Child-centred stigma reduction
Nothing happens in isolation. All of our methodologies are designed to integrate with our mental health and psychosocial and education Care Systems. Each can be tailored to the specific context you are working in.
Violence against children (VAC) is a global problem, and the development of empirical methods to better understand its nature is a step towards tackling this challenge.
Globally, about one billion children experience violence, affecting individuals, families, communities, and society. In Colombia, ongoing conflict and drug-related armed violence drive high violence rates.
Uganda remains Africa’s largest refugee host country, sheltering over 2,000,000 refugees and asylum seekers as of September 2026. As these vulnerable communities continue to grow, the critical services needed to support them are experiencing severe funding shortages.
As the violence intensifies in Lebanon, our staff tell us about their daily lives, working with children, and coping with stress.
War Child is raising urgent concerns over the growing impact of war on children across the Middle East region, warning that the systems designed to protect them are being ignored.
“I dream of quiet nights without sirens,” says 12-year-old Elizaveta from Sumy. “I dream that my school will always be a place of learning, not a shelter. And I dream of a future in which children in Ukraine will live without fear and with faith in a happy tomorrow.”
