Protection of Childhood: Security Dimensions for Children and Adolescents

10.09.2024

About the research

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The research aims to determine the level of key threats to the well-being of children worldwide. Parents and children from 15 countries took part in it. The research was conducted by the international research consultancy firm Catalyse Research together with BRAND UKRAINE with the support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on behalf of the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen Global Platform.

The research results were presented at the fourth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, which was dedicated to childhood protection.

  • 5

    dimensions of child safety — during war, in the family, at school, on the Internet, and in environment

  • 15

    countries – Brazil, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iraq, Japan, Kenya, Lithuania, Qatar, Serbia, Türkiye, Ukraine, the UK, and the USA

  • 9 000

    interviews were conducted – joined by 300 parents and 300 children aged 13-17 in each country

  • 75%

    of parents believe their children face more threats than these parents did in their childhood

The biggest challenges for parents

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What do you think are the biggest problems facing people in your country in the next two years?

Sample base: 4 500 parents
Global
  • Rising prices
    8.02
  • Poverty
    7.06
  • Unemployment
    7.04
  • Climate change
    6.91
  • Poor mental health
    6.86
Answer on a scale of 1-10 where 10 is 'a really big problem'

Local

  • #1

    Extreme temperatures

    Relevant for:

    • Serbia
    • Brazil
    • Türkiye
    • Japan
    • Iraq
    • Qatar
  • #2

    Air pollution

    Relevant for:

    • Serbia
    • Denmark
    • Iraq
    • Qatar
  • #3

    Poor physical health

    Relevant for:

    • Lithuania
    • Estonia
  • #4

    Loneliness

    Relevant for:

    • Denmark
    • Finland
  • #5

    Floods

    Relevant for:

    • Japan
    • France
  • #6

    Natural disasters

    Relevant for:

    • Türkiye
    • Japan
  • #7

    Food shortages

    Relevant for:

    • Kenya
  • #8

    The rise of extremism

    Relevant for:

    • United Kingdom
  • #9

    War, landmines

    Relevant for:

    • Ukraine

The biggest challenges for children

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What do you think are the biggest problems facing children and young people in your country in the next two years?

Sample base: 4 500 children
Global
  • Rising prices
    7.59
  • Climate change
    6.73
  • Poor mental health
    6.59
  • Poverty
    6.52
  • Extreme temperatures (heatwaves, much colder winters)
    6.38
Answer on a scale of 1-10 where 10 is 'a really big problem'

Local

  • #1

    Sea/river pollution

    Relevant for:

    • Serbia
    • France
  • #2

    Al/Technology replacing jobs

    Relevant for:

    • Denmark
    • Estonia
  • #3

    The rise of extremism

    Relevant for:

    • United Kingdom
    • Türkiye
    • France
  • #4

    Threat of nuclear war

    Relevant for:

    • Ukraine
  • #5

    Animal/plant extinction

    Relevant for:

    • Denmark
  • #6

    Disease

    Relevant for:

    • Kenya
    • Brazil
  • #7

    War

    Relevant for:

    • Ukraine
  • #8

    Poor air quality

    Relevant for:

    • Serbia
  • #9

    Natural disasters

    Relevant for:

    • Türkiye
    • Japan
  • #10

    Loneliness

    Relevant for:

    • Lithuania
    • Finland
  • #11

    Food shortages

    Relevant for:

    • Kenya
  • #12

    Landmines

    Relevant for:

    • Ukraine

More info about each country

Key insights

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  • Rising prices
    Rising prices is the number one issue for the majority of children and parents in the surveyed countries.
  • Environmental issues
    Children are also concerned about environmental issues and consider mental health to be important.
  • War
    1 in 4 children (23%) suffers directly from war, while 67% are indirectly affected by it.
  • Bullying at school
    8 out of 10 children have encountered situations at school that negatively impact their safety. The most common issues include disruptive behaviour from other students, physical bullying, and witnessing violence towards friends or teachers.
  • Harmful content on the Internet
    8 out of 10 children know at least one person who has encountered harmful content online. The most common forms of such influence include misinformation or 'fake news', violent content, and hate speech.
  • Safety at home
    1 in 6 children worries about their safety at home. Gender differences are notable, with girls more likely than boys to report feeling unsafe at home.

The research was conducted by the international research consultancy firm Catalyse Research together with BRAND UKRAINE with the support of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on behalf of the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen Global Platform.