Children's Rights and Business in North America
Generally speaking, children’s rights in North America are adequately protected, but considerable problems still exist regarding health care, poverty, child abuse and child labor. For example, the poverty rate among children under the age of 18 has risen although this number varies based on ethnic and social background.
Also on the rise in this region is cybercrime with the organization “Love Our Children USA” reporting that one in four children has been harassed online. And then there is the paradox of malnutrition in the US. Reports show that millions of American families struggle to afford enough food. Malnourished children are statistically less likely to perform well in school. At the same time, many young Americans suffer from obesity. Paradoxically, about 45 % of obese children come from difficult social circumstances. Overconsumption of sugary beverages and a lack of activity are the main causes for children becoming overweight.
Business can ensure that these barriers to child well-being are addressed so that all children have an opportunity to thrive.
To evaluate country-level data based on children’s rights indicators, visit the Children’s Rights and Business Atlas.
Bayer: Mitigating root causes of child labour
Learn about Bayer’s advancements in the area of child labour mitigation, through the implementation of its Child Care Programme (CCP).
Vodafone: Demonstrating an end-to-end commitment to children’s rights
Vodafone is working actively to strengthen children’s rights across its business - find out how in our case study!
Samsung: Supporting working parents and caregivers through strong family-friendly policies
Samsung has implemented a range of family-friendly policies promoting employee wellbeing and work-life balance, to support children’s rights.
Global Benchmark Report - The State of Children's Rights and Business 2021
Are companies prioritizing children’s rights among all the other issues on the sustainability agenda? Learn more from our Global Benchmark - The State of Children's Rights and Business 2021
Surveillance and digital privacy during Covid-19
In the final days before lockdown was introduced in the United Kingdom, CRIN hosted a panel discussion on surveillance and facial recognition at the Tate Modern where we addressed some of the risks they pose for children’s rights. Since then, the Covid-19 pandemic has forced many people to move their lives almost exclusively online, as adults began working from home and schools resorted to online learning. Such big changes, however, raise basic questions.
How coronavirus makes us rethink youth protests
As social distancing, quarantines and lockdowns have spread across the globe to slow the spread of coronavirus, they have imposed some of the greatest worldwide restrictions on public gatherings in living memory.
Listening and learning: Top 10 children’s rights issues for business to consider
To mark Global Child Forum’s ten-year anniversary, Désirée Abrahams asked both adults and children, what they considered the top 10 most important child right’s issues for business to consider in the next decade. In this blog post, she shares her reflections on the process and the survey’s findings
Learn more
A score is only a snapshot in time. Knowledge, however, is dynamic. Explore and assess the resources below to help your company activate your commitment to children’s rights.
Standard Chartered: Empowering girls to be agents of change
Standard Chartered banking group implemented its Goal programme to support girls in taking on leadership roles in their communities.
Business investments in children’s education - A mapping study
A study analysing business investments in children’s education, with examples showcasing how companies can create positive outcomes both for their operations and the wider community.
ISS: Managing risk as a business model
Our case study on ISS and managing risk explores the policies the corporate group has put in place to safeguard children’s rights.
SCA: Recognising Children as Stakeholders
This case study details how SCA is recognising children as stakeholders and ensuring their rights are integrated into daily operations.
Global Child Forum is an independent, global multi-stakeholder platform for informed dialogue and thought leadership on how to advance children’s rights in support of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This report is part of Global Child Forum’s objective to initiate and share research, raise crucial global awareness, new thinking and cross-sector dialogue regarding children’s rights. 195 investors in Europe and USA were invited to participate in the survey; only 22 responded. Some of the main findings included: Investors typically focus primarily on child labour and less on other children’s rights issues. 32 of the 195 investors have a publicly available responsible investor policy that includes a reference to children’s rights Of the 22 investors who responded, 21 replied that children’s rights have a potentially material impact to their investments.
The views from children in this booklet developed by Save the Children Sweden, are taken from several consultations with children about corporate social responsibility, the Children’s Rights and Business Principles and from child rights reporting, especially regarding the impact of the business sector. Children know a lot. Let's listen to them and take their views into account!
A guide developed by Save the Children containing information and ideas for consulting with children and young people and collecting their views on the Draft Children’s Rights and Business Principles. It takes the reader through a series of simple steps and activities needed to get started and gives tips to ensure young people's recommendations are accuratley documented. The guidelines can be adapted to suit the particular needs and preferences of the participants with respect to children's rights in the context of business activities. Within this Guide you will find information about how to prepare for the consultation; important details/suggestions for ensuring young people's recommendations are accurately documented; various group activities to support discussion, learning and team building; and finally, some ideas relating to next steps and follow up. This Guide also contains a list of required and recommended resources about children and young people’s participation.
This paper has been prepared to support you, children and adolescents, to better understand how business affects your lives, families, communities and also your rights. Within these pages you will also learn about the ‘Children’s Rights and Business Principles Initiative’ (CRBI), the first comprehensive set of global standards for child-friendly business practices, developed by Save the Children Sweden together with the UN Global Compact and Unicef. Here you will find out more about what children's rights are, what is meant by the term 'children's participation', and the impact of business on the rights of children. You will also find answers to simple and basic questions about the Principles and at the end there is a list of key words to help you understand the terms used throughout this resource.