Enhancing child protection in a changing climate: research-informed policy and practice
UCL Institute of Education research sheds light on the intersection between climate change, environmental degradation and violence against children, contributing to shifts in policy and practice.
Grand Challenges: Justice and Equality and Climate Crisis
As climate change intensifies, its impact on vulnerable communities becomes more evident. The UCL Institute of Education Violence Against Children and Climate Change (VACC) research project explores how environmental stressors amplify vulnerabilities to violence against children. It brings together interdisciplinary research into violence, public health, social policy, human and social ecology, environmentalism, and education.
Led by Dr Simone Datzberger (Centre for Education and International Development, Department of Education, Practice and Society, UCL Institute of Education) the project combines collaborations across disciplines with sustained engagement with humanitarian organisations, policymakers and educators. It sheds light on the intersection between climate change, environmental degradation and violence against children, contributing to shifts in policy and practice. By addressing how global disparities in climate vulnerability increase risks to children’s safety and wellbeing, the research directly supports UCL’s Grand Challenges of Justice and Equality and the Climate Crisis.
Breaking new ground
Recent research and policy have only begun to reveal how climate change amplifies children’s exposure to violence, exploitation and abuse, while the role of environmental degradation remains largely unexplored. This project broke new ground by mapping the magnitude, direction and pathways linking climate change, environmental degradation and violence against children. It has provided an evidence base on how climate-related displacement, food insecurity and economic pressures exacerbate risks such as child labour, forced migration and gender-based violence.
Using a multidimensional framework, the team analysed both direct violence (physical, sexual and emotional) and structural drivers rooted in inequitable systems and colonial legacies. Through case studies, they highlighted the complexity of these interactions and the urgent need for context-specific approaches.
Shaping policy, humanitarian practice, and education
The findings of this research have been published in the academic journal Child Abuse & Neglect, and shaped discussions on policy, humanitarian practice, and education. War Child UK invited Dr Datzberger to present findings in October 2023, and the organisation has since reported the research has influenced their approach to programme development and advocacy. Its Director of Programme Implementation and Institutional Funding at War Child, noted:
The presentation and research have reshaped our understanding of how we approach our work to support children in conflict-affected contexts, particularly those also impacted by climate change and environmental degradation.
As a result, War Child aims to integrate these insights into funding proposals and strategic planning.
The research has also been shared with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), contributing to discussions on education provision in polycrisis settings and climate resilience. The findings now inform a new multi-country study, led by Dr Datzberger, on education disaster risk preparedness, funded by the FCDO as part of the Education Research in Conflict and Protracted Crisis (ERICC) programme. It includes in-depth case studies in Syria and South Sudan, as well as survey data from Myanmar, Jordan, Bangladesh and South Sudan.
In addition to influencing policy and practice, this work continues to shape sector-wide discussions. An article in The Conversation UK has helped bring these insights to a wider audience, ensuring the research raises public awareness and understanding about the often-overlooked connections between environmental crises and violence against children.
A cross-disciplinary contribution to UCL Grand Challenges
Through rigorous research, meaningful engagement and real-world application, the VACCC project is driving change. This research exemplifies IOE’s and wider UCL’s commitment to cross-disciplinarity, bringing together expertise in education, public health, disaster risk reduction and international development to address the challenges faced by vulnerable children, fostering a more informed and proactive response.
Related links
- Grand Challenge: Inequalities (previously Justice and Equality)
- Grand Challenge: Climate Crisis
- Violence Against Children and Climate Change (VACC) research project
- Simone Datzberger
- Centre for Education and International Development
- Department of Education, Practice and Society
- How do extreme weather events contribute to violence against children? Child Abuse & Neglect
- Climate change contributes to violence against children – here’s how, The Conversation UK