Ministers use COVID-19 to destroy children’s safeguards
"A statutory instrument published this afternoon makes unprecedented changes to regulations (secondary legislation) relating to the care and protection of vulnerable children and young people," says this news item from Article 39, an organization that fights for the rights of children living in state and privately-run institutions (children’s homes, boarding and residential schools, mental health inpatient units, prisons and immigration detention) in England.
As COVID-19 pandemic continues, forcibly displaced children need more support than ever
In this joint statement, Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director, and Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, share UNICEF and UNHCR's commitment "to do more — and better — in this crisis and beyond for refugee children, their families and communities, and those who host them."
For children in foster care, the coronavirus pandemic could be extremely destabilising
"As Australians grapple with the sudden and challenging changes that COVID-19 has brought to their daily lives, the impact of the virus is being felt in extreme ways by vulnerable children and families," says Melissa Kaltner in this piece for the Conversation.
Greece relocates unaccompanied migrant children to Luxembourg
"Greece plans to relocate about 1,600 vulnerable children to other European countries that volunteer to host them, amid the coronavirus outbreak," says this article from BBC News.
27 migrant children in US government custody test positive for coronavirus
"Twenty-seven migrant children in government custody had tested positive for coronavirus as of Monday, according to the latest update from the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the federal agency charged with their care," says this article from CNN.
Pandemic Shutdown Separates Parents From Their Children in the Foster System
In this article for Truthout, Michelle Chan describes her own experience of having her son removed from her care and placed in foster care and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on families like hers.
Coronavirus: The children struggling to survive India's lockdown
"The sudden imposition of a 21-day lockdown in India to stop the spread of the coronavirus has thrown the lives of millions of children into chaos," says this article from BBC News.
Orphanages stock up on rice and pulses, prevent entry of outsiders
"Many orphanages across the district have completely cordoned off their premises, disallowing outsiders from stepping in so as to prevent any potential spreading of COVID-19," says this article from the Hindu, reporting from Madurai, India.
COVID-19 confinement and the protection of children against sexual exploitation and abuse
"For far too many children both in the Republic of Moldova and in other Member States, strict confinement in times of the COVID-19 risks increasing their vulnerability to violence, including sexual abuse and exploitation," says this news piece from the Council of Europe.
Violence Against Children Rises In States Like UP, MP, Haryana As Country Remains In Lockdown
Child abuse hotlines have seen an increase in calls asking for protection from abuse and violence in light of the lockdown put in place to limit the spread of the coronavirus, according to this article from India Times.