Paper details

Paper authors	Kirstin Kreyscher
In panel on	Hierarchies and Exclusion in Humanitarianism
Paper presenter(s) will be presenting	In-Person / Online

Abstract

Authors: Kirstin Kreyscher and Sofie Lilli Stoffel

Abstract: Half of the world’s population in need of humanitarian assistance this year – 118 of 235 million – are children. Child protection efforts gradually shift to embrace the central roles children play in disaster planning and crisis response. Yet, much of the emphasis on child participation still draws on an adult-centred approach that harnesses agendas in which children are passive victims rather than actors in their own right. Children are the experts for their needs and concerns – disregarding their rights and agency means losing the key stakeholder’s knowledge. In fact, practical evidence suggests that child-led programming can increase children’s resilience against some of the adverse impacts of and inherent risks in humanitarian crises. To unpack children’s potential to shape their environment and ability to make decisions in the wake of a humanitarian crisis and ultimately challenge the paternalistic actions on child protection, we re-evaluate conventional approaches to humanitarian settings and the policy and practice provisions that come with this. By drawing on best-practice examples from agency-focussed and community-driven interventions, this working paper sheds critical light on child protection and their rightful representation with regard to their power, voice and participation in humanitarian action and policy.

Keywords: Children, child protection, disaster, humanitarian action, agency, child-led programming

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