Book launch and keynote by Marit Skivenes: The global typology of child protection systems

As signatories to the UNCRC, countries are obliged to protect children’s right to protection from abuse, neglect and maltreatment when parents or family are not able to care for their children or they are a direct or indirect threat to their children’s well-being. Every child, all around the globe, is entitled to this protection and countries are obligated to have child protection systems, but both academic and policy discussions center around high-income countries. Clearly, children everywhere may experience life threatening violence, abuse and deprivation and there is considerable variation among countries in the magnitude of problems and the number of children affected by them. This variation reflects, in part, differences in the living standards and the social, cultural, and religious contexts of family life, but also a variation in the status of children in various societies. Based on case studies from 50 countries we have made a classification of countries into a global typology of child protection systems that is presented in this session. The typology consists of five ideal types that have as their emphasis protection against an array of risks to childhood and that represent the focal point for government intervention in the lives of families; these systems are listed according to the scale of risks covered from a narrow focus limited to child exploitation to the inclusive focus on children’s rights. Presented by Marit Skivenes (Professor of Political Science, UiB).