UNICEF - Global Annual Results Report 2025 Goal Area 3

Global Annual Results Report 2025 Every child is protected from violence, exploitation, abuse, neglect and harmful practices GOAL AREA 3Cover image: ©UNICEF/UNI684272/Haro Crossing Borders at Age Four A Venezuelan Girl and Her Father’s Journey Through One of the World’s Most Dangerous Migration Routes. Anissa Isabella, a four-year-old Venezuelan girl, survived the treacherous journey through the Darien Gap. As the number of migrants surges across Latin America and the Caribbean, children now make up one in every four of those who traverse the dangerous jungle passage between Colombia and Panama. Anissa’s story is a glimpse into the growing crisis and the incredible resilience of children on the move fleeing for a better future.

Expression of thanks: © UNICEF/UNI921826/Mawa Children proudly display their artwork during a creative learning session at the Surabari Government Primary School Daycare Centre

in Gazipur City Corporation. Supported through UNICEF’s Early Childhood Development (ECD) initiative, the centre encourages children to express their imagination and emotions through art and play. The Gina Tricot delegation visit on 5 November 2025 highlighted how joyful, play-based learning activities nurture confidence, communication, and creativity among young learners. Working together with governments, United Nations partners, the private sector and civil society, and with the meaningful participation of children, UNICEF remains steadfast in its commitment to realize the rights of all children, everywhere, and to achieve the vision of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: a world in which no child is left behind. The following report summarizes how UNICEF and its partners contributed to Goal Area 3: ‘Every child is protected from violence, exploitation, abuse, neglect and harmful practices’ in 2025. It reviews the impact of these accomplishments on children and the communities where they live. This is one of seven reports on the results of efforts during the past year, encompassing gender equality and humanitarian action, as well as each of the five Strategic Plan Goal Areas. It supplements the 2025 Executive Director Annual Report,

of these accomplishments on children and the communities where they live. This is one of seven reports on the results of efforts during the past year, encompassing gender equality and humanitarian action, as well as each of the five Strategic Plan Goal Areas. It supplements the 2025 Executive Director Annual Report, UNICEF’s official accountability document for the past year.Expression of thanks UNICEF’s mission for children is made possible entirely through individual generosity and the voluntary contributions of partners across government, civil society, and the private sector. These contributions are what enable UNICEF to fulfil its mandate; upholding children’s rights, addressing their fundamental needs, and expanding the opportunities available to them. UNICEF is grateful to all its partners for their enduring commitment and confidence in the organization. UNICEF wishes to express particular gratitude to the partners who provided Global Thematic Funding for child protection in 2025: Sweden, Germany, the Japan Committee for UNICEF, the Korean Committee for UNICEF, the United States Fund for UNICEF, and the Spanish Committee for UNICEF. Thematic funding plays an essential role in enabling greater flexibility, sustained planning, and innovative programming by equipping UNICEF to drive meaningful, long-term change for the world’s most vulnerable children. The results documented in this report reflect, in part, the impact of these contributions. As UNICEF continues to broaden and diversify its funding base, it encourages all partners to contribute as flexibly as possible.Contents Executive summary .................................... 2 Introduction .................................................5 Challenges faced by children .............................................6 Contextual shifts ...................................................................8 UNICEF’s strategic approach ..............................................9 Overview of Strategic Plan results and funding ...............................................13 Funding overview ...............................................................14 Overview of results ............................................................15 Results Area 1: Protection from violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect ................................................16 Legislation, policies and action plans ............................ 18 Prevention of violence against children and women .........................................................................20 Response and support services for child victims and survivors of violence ....................................22 Improving data on violence against children ..............23 Online protection ...............................................................25

and neglect ................................................16 Legislation, policies and action plans ............................ 18 Prevention of violence against children and women .........................................................................20 Response and support services for child victims and survivors of violence ....................................22 Improving data on violence against children ..............23 Online protection ...............................................................25 Child labour .........................................................................26 Children and armed conflict ............................................27 Prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse ..............34 Results Area 2: Promotion of care, mental health and psychosocial well-being and justice for children ......... 36 Child protection systems-strengthening ...................... 38 Social service workforce for child protection ...............39 Children’s care reform ...................................................... 40 Justice for children .............................................................42 Birth registration, legal identity and statelessness....................................................................... 45 Unaccompanied and separated children .....................47 Mental health and psychosocial support ..................... 49 Results Area 3: Prevention of harmful practices ......................................52 Female genital mutilation ................................................53 Child marriage ....................................................................54 Cross-cutting ............................................. 58 Children on the move .......................................................59 Disability inclusion .............................................................61 Spotlight on child protection thematic funding ...................................... 63 Financial results ..................................................................64 Looking forward ........................................66 Endnotes ....................................................70 Financial annex ......................................... 751 Global Annual Results Report 2025 | UNICEF Abbreviations and acronyms AI Artificial intelligence ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations CAAC Children And Armed Conflict CDC Centres for Disease Control and Prevention CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women CPIMS+ Child Protection Information Management System module of Primero CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child CRPD Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities CRVS Civil Registration and Vital Statistics DHS Demographic and Health Survey DRC Democratic Republic of the Congo EAPR East Asia and Pacific Region ECAR Europe and Central Asia Region EORE Explosive ordnance risk education ESAR East and Southern Africa Region EWIPA Explosive weapons in populated areas FAO Food and Agricultural Organization FCDO Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office

DRC Democratic Republic of the Congo EAPR East Asia and Pacific Region ECAR Europe and Central Asia Region EORE Explosive ordnance risk education ESAR East and Southern Africa Region EWIPA Explosive weapons in populated areas FAO Food and Agricultural Organization FCDO Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office FGM Female genital mutilation GBV Gender-based violence GPF Global Programme Framework on Migration and Displacement IDP Internally displaced person ILO International Labour Organization IOM International Organization for Migration LACR Latin America and the Caribbean Region MDH Migration and Displacement Hub MICS Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey MENAR Middle East and North Africa Region MHPSS Mental health and psychosocial support MRMIMS+ Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism Information Management System (Primero) NGO Non-governmental organization OHCHR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights OR Other resources ORE Funding allocated to emergency response ORR Financial contributions to development programming PSEA Prevention of sexual abuse and exploitation SAR South Asia Region SBC Social and Behavioural Change SDG Sustainable Development Goal SIDA Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency UASC Unaccompanied and separated children UK United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland UNFPA United Nations Population Fund UNESCAP United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UN Women United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women WCAR West and Central Africa Region WHO World Health Organization2 GOAL AREA 3 | Every child is protected from violence, exploitation, abuse, neglect and harmful practices Executive summary 17-year-old Shymuli attends a UNICEF supported programme in Bangladesh which provides children in marginalized communities a safe space to grow, learn, and challenge harmful gender norms. Community mobilisers, employed by the Government and funded by UNICEF, go door-to-door, encouraging parents and local leaders to send their daughters to the training sessions. Shymuli loves

safe space to grow, learn, and challenge harmful gender norms. Community mobilisers, employed by the Government and funded by UNICEF, go door-to-door, encouraging parents and local leaders to send their daughters to the training sessions. Shymuli loves playing football, and her favourite player is Lionel Messi. © UNICEF/UNI838842/Rasnat3 Global Annual Results Report 2025 | UNICEF Global child protection results – 2025 The protection of the world’s children from violence, exploitation, abuse and harmful practices is fundamental to human progress and a core obligation under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Sustainable Development Goals and UNICEF’s mandate. Child protection encompasses prevention and response across development and humanitarian contexts, ensuring that every child grows up in a safe and protective environment. Strategic context The year 2025 marked a pivotal transition for UNICEF, concluding the Strategic Plan 2022–2025, advancing implementation of the Child Protection Strategy 2021–2023, and finalizing the new Strategic Plan 2026–

2029. This period provided an opportunity to assess achievements, challenges and lessons learned. The Child Protection Strategy proved resilient and relevant, providing a coherent framework anchored in three

strategic Results Areas:

1. Universal prevention to ensure protective environments for all children

2. Targeted support for children in situations of heightened risk

3. Quality, sustainable and child centred response services for victims and survivors of violence, exploitation and family separation.

The strategy promotes integrated, transformative approaches that link humanitarian and development action, address structural drivers of violence –including discrimination, harmful social norms, poverty and weak justice and care systems– and invest in social work and the social service workforce. Global situation of children in 2025 Children worldwide continued to face pervasive and overlapping protection risks. New global estimates published in 2025 increased visibility of some of the most underreported forms of violence, revealing that child discipline often turns violent with 1 in 8 children regularly

social service workforce. Global situation of children in 2025 Children worldwide continued to face pervasive and overlapping protection risks. New global estimates published in 2025 increased visibility of some of the most underreported forms of violence, revealing that child discipline often turns violent with 1 in 8 children regularly experiencing severe physical punishment at home, and that around 90 million children alive today have experienced sexual violence. Humanitarian pressures remained acute. More than one in five children lived in conflict affected areas, over 46 million were displaced, and grave violations against children increased. Progress in eliminating harmful practices lagged behind demographic and socioeconomic trends: there were 30 million more survivors of female genital mutilation in 2025 than eight years earlier. Approximately 2 in 10 children globally still lacked birth registration, undermining access to essential services and legal protection. Additional challenges included the continued institutionalisation and detention of children, exclusion of children with disabilities, and growing adolescent mental health concerns. These risks were compounded by underfunded systems, political and financial instability, climate-related shocks, large scale displacement, digital threats and increasing pushback against children’s rights – creating many barriers for child protection actors to sustain progress in 2025 despite the momentum generated by the first Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence against Children, which took place in Bogotá in November 2024. UNICEF results and reach Despite a constrained and volatile operating environment, UNICEF continued to deliver for children at scale across 156 countries in 2025, combining policy advocacy, systems strengthening, delivery of quality services, innovation, digital transformation, evidence generation and data improvement through partnerships with governments, civil society, academia and humanitarian actors. UNICEF-supported programmes in 2025: • Enabled nearly 61 million children to be birth registered in 78 countries • Reached over 18 million parents and caregivers through parenting programmes in 100+ countries • Improved access to social welfare, justice and/

governments, civil society, academia and humanitarian actors. UNICEF-supported programmes in 2025: • Enabled nearly 61 million children to be birth registered in 78 countries • Reached over 18 million parents and caregivers through parenting programmes in 100+ countries • Improved access to social welfare, justice and/ or health services for 4.5 million child victims and survivors of violence across 112 countries • Provided case management services to almost 700,000 children in 71 countries • Reached over 8 million children on the move across 67 countries with integrated protection and basic services, including 100,000+ unaccompanied and separated children4 GOAL AREA 3 | Every child is protected from violence, exploitation, abuse, neglect and harmful practices • Delivered gender-based violence prevention, risk mitigation and response interventions to over 10 million women and children • Provided 74 million people access to safe, community based sexual exploitation and abuse reporting channels • Reached almost 5 million children across 20 countries with life-saving explosive ordnance risk education • Engaged over 10 million girls in efforts to eliminate harmful practices across 50 countries • Delivered mental health and psychosocial support services to nearly 47 million people. UNICEF investments also continued to strengthen integrated child protection systems, with progress in public financing, workforce development, care reform and system integration. In 2025, UNICEF: • Strengthened interoperability between civil registration and health systems in 63 countries • Maintained and expanded the digital inter-agency Primero/CPIMS+ case management platform in 42 humanitarian and development contexts • Supported 56 countries in tracking mental health and psychosocial support services and referrals • Monitored and reported grave violations against children in 23 conflict situations • Advanced legislative reform on corporal punishment, alternative care and child friendly justice • Supported disability inclusion in child protection in 79 countries • Ensured 85 per cent of country offices had comprehensive prevention systems for sexual exploitation and abuse in place.

children in 23 conflict situations • Advanced legislative reform on corporal punishment, alternative care and child friendly justice • Supported disability inclusion in child protection in 79 countries • Ensured 85 per cent of country offices had comprehensive prevention systems for sexual exploitation and abuse in place. Using the 2021 Global Child Protection Systems Benchmarking Framework, UNICEF monitored progress in 158 countries.1 By 2025, seven countries had reached full system maturity – representing a sevenfold increase since 2021 and reflecting sustained, long-term investments. Through strategic partnerships and global platforms, UNICEF helped align national, regional and global child protection efforts. Following the First Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children (2024), UNICEF sustained momentum through regional mechanisms, such as the European Regional Ministerial Conference in Romania (October 2025), and support to convening Pathfinding Countries following the launch of the Global Pathfinding Alliance 2.0. UNICEF also led on and contributed to key global guidance and evidence products in 2025, including publications on strengthening the social service workforce for disaster risk reduction and climate resilience and on disability-inclusive child protection systems strengthening.

Looking Ahead: Strategic

Plan 2026–2029 The UNICEF Strategic Plan 2026–2029 reinforces child protection as a core organizational priority. Under Impact Result 4, UNICEF aims that 350 million children will be better protected from violence, exploitation, abuse and harmful practices by 2029. The new strategy emphasizes measurable population level outcomes, sustained systems change and public finance solutions, supported by UNICEF’s Child Protection and Migration Centre of Excellence working alongside country offices and in close collaboration with other UNICEF offices.5 Global Annual Results Report 2025 | UNICEF Introduction In Dhaka, an estimated one million or more children live mostly on the streets. Many have experienced violence, abuse, or neglect

Excellence working alongside country offices and in close collaboration with other UNICEF offices.5 Global Annual Results Report 2025 | UNICEF Introduction In Dhaka, an estimated one million or more children live mostly on the streets. Many have experienced violence, abuse, or neglect in their social environment or family. They earn their living with occasional work on the streets. UNICEF set up Child Protection Hubs that include tents and temporary shelters where children can eat and drink, play and learn, and sometimes spend the night if they otherwise have no place to stay. © UNICEF/UN0824854/Farhana Satu6 GOAL AREA 3 | Every child is protected from violence, exploitation, abuse, neglect and harmful practices Challenges faced by children Every year more than half of all children worldwide are estimated to experience at least one form of violence. The consequences of child protection violations are wideranging, often severe and long-lasting, and in some cases fatal. Evidence indicates that such impacts frequently extend across generations. Notwithstanding the limited availability of disaggregated data on violence against children – a gap compounded by chronic underreporting and non-reporting of incidents, the data that do exist underscore the urgent need for accelerated, coordinated action at the global level.2 • Violence against children: Violence against children remains both pervasive and systemic in nature. Current global estimates indicate that approximately 650 million women and girls alive today – representing approximately one in five – were subjected to sexual violence during childhood. Among men and boys, estimates range from 410 to 530 million, corresponding to approximately one in seven, who experienced sexual violence prior to reaching adulthood.3 • Forced displacement: Conflict and forced displacement constitute significant and interconnected drivers of child protection risk. As of 2025, more than one in five children globally were residing in conflict-affected areas, underscoring the expanding scale and increasingly protracted nature of armed violence and its far-reaching consequences for children’s safety, access to essential services, and long-term development.4

age group.8 • Child marriage: Regional disparities in the prevalence of child marriage remain pronounced. The highest rates are recorded in West and Central Africa, where approximately one in three young women aged 20 to 24 years were married or in union before the age of 18. Notwithstanding this regional variation, the total number of girls married in childhood globally remains approximately 12 million per year. Child marriage is not exclusively a girls’ rights issue. An estimated 115 million boys and men alive today were married before the age of 18.9 • Female genital mutilation (FGM): Around the world, over 230 million girls and women have been cut. The largest share of the global burden is found in African countries, with over 144 million cases, followed by over 80 million in Asia and over 6 million in the Middle East. In total, 400 million people – two thirds of the population – in practising countries in Africa and the Middle East say they want the practice to end.10 • Children are a significant proportion of the world’s displaced people: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates 117.3 million displaced people, 40 per cent of whom are children, spread across 194 countries.11 This equates to 1 in every 67 people on Earth. • Children with disabilities: are more than twice as likely to experience violence than their peers without disabilities.127 Global Annual Results Report 2025 | UNICEF • Children in detention: In 2025, the global rate of children deprived of their liberty in the administration of justice stood at an estimated 27 per 100,000 children – with an estimated 259,000 children held in detention on any given day.13 These figures, however, represent only the visible dimension of a considerably larger problem. Comprehensive data on children in contact with justice systems remain unavailable across a significant number of countries, and the estimates do not capture the full range of contexts in which

2025, more than one in five children globally were residing in conflict-affected areas, underscoring the expanding scale and increasingly protracted nature of armed violence and its far-reaching consequences for children’s safety, access to essential services, and long-term development.4 • Children affected by conflict: The outlook for children affected by armed conflict remains deeply concerning. Complex and protracted armed conflicts continue to present severe risks to children, with the world experiencing the highest number of conflicts recorded since the Second World War. In 2025, headline conflicts in Sudan, Ukraine, Myanmar and the Middle East dominated the global humanitarian landscape, while a constellation of approximately 120 lesser-documented conflicts continued to affect communities across nearly every region of the world.5 • Birth registration: Birth registration constitutes an essential prerequisite for the establishment of legal identity and the fulfilment of children’s rights. The provision of a birth certificate at the time of registration serves as the foundational document for lifelong protection, minimizing children’s exposure to rights violations and enabling their access to essential services including health care, education and social protection. Notwithstanding progress made over recent decades, approximately 150 million children under 5 years of age – representing around 2 in 10 children globally – remain unregistered, leaving them invisible to government systems and without the legal recognition necessary to claim their rights.6 • Children in residential care facilities: There are an estimated 80 per 100,000 children in residential care worldwide.7 • Mental health and psychosocial support: Globally, one in seven adolescents aged 10 to 19 years experiences a mental disorder, accounting for 15 per cent of the global burden of disease in this age group.8 • Child marriage: Regional disparities in the prevalence of child marriage remain pronounced. The highest rates are recorded in West and Central Africa, where approximately one in three young women aged 20 to 24 years were married or in union before the age of 18. Notwithstanding this

children held in detention on any given day.13 These figures, however, represent only the visible dimension of a considerably larger problem. Comprehensive data on children in contact with justice systems remain unavailable across a significant number of countries, and the estimates do not capture the full range of contexts in which children may be deprived of their liberty, including detention related to migration status, alleged or actual association with armed groups, or national security grounds. Besides, the number of children diverted from judicial proceedings in UNICEF programme countries went down from 61 per cent in 2024 to 47 per cent. This is due to the lowering of the age of criminal responsibility in certain countries, and “iron hand policy” of some governments. In the fight against FGM and child marriage, UNICEF supports community awareness initiatives, complementing regular protection activities. © UNICEF/UNI842472/Dejongh8 GOAL AREA 3 | Every child is protected from violence, exploitation, abuse, neglect and harmful practices Contextual shifts The global child protection landscape in 2025 continued to be shaped by deepening fragility, widening inequalities, and increasing pressure on international norms and systems designed to protect children. Across multiple regions, the world is witnessing a sustained normative pushback against children’s rights, including in intergovernmental and national policy spaces. This is particularly evident in resistance to rights perceived as challenging due to entrenched gender norms, patriarchal structures, parental authority, and social hierarchies. Efforts to roll back commitments related to gender equality, adolescent rights, disability inclusion, sexual and reproductive health, and the rights of children on the move risk weakening the integrity of international child rights standards and undermining decades of progress in child protection. At the same time, humanitarian crises are growing in both scale and complexity. Armed conflict, political instability, forced displacement, climate-related disasters, public health emergencies and mixed migration flows continue to expose millions of children to severe protection risks. Grave violations

progress in child protection. At the same time, humanitarian crises are growing in both scale and complexity. Armed conflict, political instability, forced displacement, climate-related disasters, public health emergencies and mixed migration flows continue to expose millions of children to severe protection risks. Grave violations have become a daily reality for children – and continue to increase. Explosive weapons are the leading cause of child casualties in conflict – and the trend is worsening. Aerial operations are the dominant category of weapons causing child casualties. Children in contexts such as Sudan, the State of Palestine, Ukraine, Haiti, Myanmar and the Horn of Africa face heightened risks of violence, family separation, recruitment and use by armed forces and armed groups, grave mental health impacts, trafficking, gender-based violence (GBV), deprivation of liberty and loss of access to essential protection services. © UNICEF/UNI892668/Amamdjan Nine-year-old Sofia sits with her 17-year-old brother Maksym in the temporary apartment where the family now lives after their home was destroyed in a missile strike in Ukraine. UNICEF mobile teams, together with local partners, provided immediate psychological first aid, essential items like clothing and bedding, and ongoing emotional support to help restore a sense of safety and normalcy. UNICEF’s support continues to help families regain stability and hope for the future.9 Global Annual Results Report 2025 | UNICEF Climate change continues to act as a threat multiplier, intensifying displacement, economic stress and social instability. According to UNICEF’s Children’s Climate Risk Index, 1 billion children – nearly half of all children globally – remain at extremely high risk from the impacts of climate and environmental shocks.14 Migration and displacement remain central child protection concerns. The number of children on the move – whether displaced by conflict, climate shocks, economic hardship or persecution – continues to rise. Unaccompanied and separated children face acute risks of exploitation, trafficking, violence, detention and exclusion from national child protection systems. In both humanitarian and

The number of children on the move – whether displaced by conflict, climate sho