The CPC Learning Network and UNHCR are collaborating to develop and test a Child Protection Index (CPI), a measure of strength of the child protection system in refugee settings, based on UNHCR’s Framework for the Protection of Children. This report details the results of the baseline study conducted from December 2014-February 2015 in Kiryandongo and Adjumani refugee settlements, Uganda.
While the need for strong child protection systems in refugee settings is clear, ways to measure the strength of these systems and the impact of interventions are very limited. The inability to measure system-wide functioning leaves child protection actors without robust evidence on the patterns and trends of violence, exploitation, and abuse against children or the impact of interventions.
The baseline study is part of a three-year collaboration between Columbia University’s CPC Learning Network and UNHCR aimed at developing innovative assessment tools and methodologies to strengthen the evidence surrounding impact of child protection interventions. The study uses a novel Child Protection Index (CPI) – an instrument of 48 items, developed for the purposes of this project – to assess the strength of the child protection system. Rather than focusing on specific activities or interventions, the CPI seeks to capture the diverse components of the child protection system for refugee children, based on the specific benchmarks in UNHCR’s Framework for the Protection of Children. The three main components of the CPI include policies and procedures, utilization, and services.
Using the CPI, the baseline study indicated that Kiryandongo’s child protection system is currently quite weak, while Adjumani has a moderately strong child protection system. The findings indicated high levels of exposure to verbal, physical and sexual abuse. Overall, 28.9% of adolescents reported experiencing at least one form of verbal abuse in any setting. Additionally, 37.0% of adolescents reported ever experiencing physical abuse in any setting. With respect to methodological findings, further refinement of the CPI has resulted in a concise and comprehensive measure of the key components of a child protection system in terms of services, utilization, and policies and procedures. Lastly, the different findings from Adjumani and Kiryandongo indicate the usefulness of the CPI as a comparative tool.