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CHILD PROTECTION

Every child deserves to feel safe.

Every child is a gift from God and deserves to be safe and protected.

Each year, half of the world’s children experience violence, with those in extreme poverty facing the greatest risk. With 75 years of experience, World Vision partners with communities, donors, and governments to help protect vulnerable children and create lasting change.
 
Through the Big Dream to End Child Marriage program, World Vision is working in Bangladesh and Kenya to equip girls with the education, skills, and support they need to break the cycle of child marriage and build brighter futures.

2030 GOAL

Help end child marriage everywhere we work in Kenya and parts of Bangladesh. Protect and empower children and youth in Honduras.

Give to the Child Protection Fund

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The need

Worldwide, one in two children experience some form of violence every year — threatening the dignity, rights, potential, and future of girls and boys created in God's image.

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  • Girls are hurt by harmful cultural norms and traditions, including child marriage and early pregnancy. Every year, 12 million girls are married before the age of 18. That's 22 girls every minute.

  • An estimated 230 million women and girls alive today have endured female genital mutilation (FGM). That's significantly more than the entire female population of the United States.

  • An estimated 1 billion children are affected by violence or neglect each year, with negative consequences that can last a lifetime.
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Our response

As a respected global leader in child protection, World Vision offers unparalleled reach, expertise, and influence to help communities become safer places for children. Our approach to ending violence against children protects them today and empowers them for tomorrow.
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We do this by:
  • Empowering children with the knowledge and practical skills to stay safe, support one another, and pursue an education that opens doors to opportunity and hope.

  • Providing access to clean water close to home, so that girls spend less time collecting water and more time in school, free to learn, grow, and build a brighter future.

  • Strengthening families with parenting skills and economic support so they can be the first line of protection for their children.

  • Mobilizing faith leaders in each community to leverage their influence in helping change behaviors and end harmful cultural norms and practices.

  • Influencing governments by working with local agencies to improve or implement child protection laws.

Our impact

Around the world, 8,000 World Vision–supported child protection committees are working to protect children from harm by identifying violence against them and ensuring they are connected to protective services within their community. 

One powerful expression of this work is the Big Dream to End Child Marriage program, which recently completed its first year. Together with tens of thousands of children, parents, and community leaders the program is challenging harmful traditions, strengthening local protections, and helping girls remain in school.

The following program milestones mark a growing movement: communities choosing education over early marriage and hope over harmful cultural norms and practices.

With your partnership, see the impact we’re making in Child Protection. Click here to view the Big Dream to End Child Marriage Impact Summary.
192K participants
Over 192,000 participants were reached across Kenya and Bangladesh including 106,450 women and girls.
94%
School retention rates rose to 94% for girls in Kenya, with thousands re-enrolled after dropping out due to extreme poverty or cultural pressures.
9K
More than 9,000 adolescent girls in Bangladesh completed life-skills training that equips them to make informed decisions and pursue opportunities. 

Read our most recent progress report.

Our Impact

Video gallery

See the people and places whose lives are being transformed in the name of Jesus Christ. Watch videos to learn more about our work.

Our partners

We are blessed to partner with hundreds of Christian philanthropists and couldn’t do this work without them. And we’re able to reach more people because of our highly collaborative local and global partnerships within private and public sectors.

Sandy Grubb

Sandy Grubb

donor partner, Oregon (with her husband, Jeff)

“Through World Vision, I've been so fortunate to witness incredible social progress in Bangladesh, thanks to a generation of advocates fighting for justice and opportunity for children.”

Carla Hillard

Carla Hillard

donor partner, South Dakota (with her husband, Dave)

“World Vision addresses the issues that put children in harms way — from child labor, exploitation, gang violence, child marriage, and other forms of violence that robs them of their childhood.”

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2025-financial

seventy five years

 
We are proud to be reviewed and held accountable by these independent third-party organizations:
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World Vision Inc. is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. All donations are tax deductible in full or in part.

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