Child Protection

Child protection encompasses the prevention of and response to all forms of violence, abuse, exploitation, and neglect affecting children. RMI provides research, evaluation, and advisory services in child protection for UNICEF, Save the Children, Plan International, World Vision, government ministries responsible for social welfare, and bilateral donors committed to children’s rights.

Children across Southern and East Africa face a range of protection risks: child labour, child marriage, sexual abuse and exploitation, physical violence, trafficking, orphanhood and family separation, and the particular vulnerabilities of children in humanitarian settings. Child protection systems — encompassing social welfare services, community-based structures, legal frameworks, and referral pathways — are often weak, underfunded, and unable to reach the most vulnerable children. Research and evidence play a critical role in documenting the scale and nature of risks, identifying gaps in system response, and demonstrating the impact of protection interventions.

RMI provides a comprehensive suite of consulting services to the full range of development actors operating in this sector:

• Violence Against Children (VAC) surveys following CDC methodology
• Child protection system assessments
• Case management quality reviews
• Child-friendly spaces assessments in humanitarian settings
• Child labour prevalence surveys
• Birth registration coverage assessments
• Alternative care programme evaluations
• Community-based child protection mechanism evaluations
• Child marriage prevention programme evaluations
• Child protection M&E system design and capacity building