Campaigning for Children

Advocates within the growing field of children's rights have designed dynamic campaigns to protect and promote children's rights. This expanding body of international law and jurisprudence, however, lacks a core text that provides an up-to-date look at current children's rights issues, the evolution of children's rights law, and the efficacy of efforts to protect children.

Campaigning for Children focuses on contemporary children's rights, identifying the range of abuses that affect children today, including early marriage, female genital mutilation, child labor, child sex tourism, corporal punishment, the impact of armed conflict, and access to education. Jo Becker traces the last 25 years of the children's rights movement, including the evolution of international laws and standards to protect children from abuse and exploitation. From a practitioner's perspective, Becker provides readers with careful case studies of the organizations and campaigns that are making a difference in the lives of children, and the relevant strategies that have been successful—or not. By presenting a variety of approaches to deal with each issue, this book carefully teases out broader lessons for effective social change in the field of children's rights.

"This compelling introduction to children's rights draws on the experience of activists addressing critical problems such as child marriage, child labor, child sex tourism, child soldiers, and access to education. Becker shows the interconnections between these issues both in causation and approaches to remediation. Clear and interesting, Campaigning for Children provides a key guide for moving forward and hope for the future of children across the globe."—Cynthia Grant Bowman, Cornell Law School

"For decades I have been familiar with Jo Becker's passion, thorough knowledge, and consistent drive for the children whose rights are systematically denied. This book examines initiatives and strategies to show that change for children is possible, and that remarkable transformation is achievable. Campaigning for Children, with its most compelling evidence, will go a long way in ensuring that human rights of children are protected worldwide."—Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Children's Rights Activist