Refugee Children - Measuring Impact through a Child Protection Index

While the need for strong child protection systems in refugee settings – to prevent and respond to child protection risks, and improve children’s well-being – is clear to many humanitarian actors and agencies, ways to... [ view full abstract ]

While the need for strong child protection systems in refugee settings – to prevent and respond to child protection risks, and improve children’s well-being – is clear to many humanitarian actors and agencies, ways to measure the strength of these systems, and the actual impact on outcomes for children, are very limited. In 2012, UNHCR started to roll out newly drafted strategies on child protection, sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) and education in a selected number of target countries. The study, “Measuring Impact through a Child Protection Index,” is a collaboration between the CPC Learning Network and UNHCR, and represents an innovative methodological approach for assessing the strength of UNHCR’s key child protection interventions and activities. This study seeks to build assessment methodologies that can generate evidence for more effective child protection programming in refugee settings.
The study uses a novel instrument, the Child Protection Index [CPI], to assess the strength of the child protection system. Rather than focusing on specific activities or interventions, the CPI seeks to capture the diverse components of the child protection system for refugee children, based on the specific benchmarks in UNHCR’s Framework for the Protection of Children. The study utilizes multiple and mixed methods – surveys with adolescents and caregivers, key informant interviews, and focus groups with adolescents – to assess strength of the child protection system, as well as child protection risks and well-being amongst refugee adolescents in the study sites.
In this presentation, we provide findings from baseline studies, conducted in Kiziba refugee camp (Rwanda), Adjumani refugee settlement (Uganda) and Kiryandongo refugee settlement (Uganda). We present key components of study design, and aspects of the methodology that represent In addition, we present key methodological findings, and discuss potential for future utilization and adaptation in diverse refugee settings globally.