At the core of social protection is a concern for addressing vulnerability and risk. It is increasingly understood that social protection policy frameworks and programmes must be informed by a recognition of the diversity of vulnerability and risks, and the way they evolve across the life cycle (Holzman et al, 2003)

In this report, the fifth in a series of regional thematic reports produced for a study on social protection and children in West and Central Africa, we focus on children’s vulnerabilities and risks related to an absence of protection from violence, abuse and neglect, and the ways in which measures to address such vulnerabilities and risks can be more effectively integrated into social protection policy frameworks. Many of the vulnerabilities ˆidentified stem from social factors such as family violence, break-up or illness, and death (e.g. owning to HIV and AIDS); extra-family violence and conflict; social exclusion and discrimination; and harmful traditional practices.

Children most affected include: children deprived of parental care, children affected by HIV/AIDS; children living in institutions and in conflict with the law; children associated with armed forces and armed groups (CAAFAG); survivors of school violence, sexual and physical abuse; and children affected by female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/FGC) and early marriage. However, other child protection concerns are closely intertwined with economic vulnerabilities, manifest in forms such as child labour, commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking. Still others are related to broader issues of social equity and exclusion to be addressed through what Devereux and Sabates Wheeler (2004) term transformative social protection. These include the absence of protective legislation and policies such as birth registration systems, or child-friendly legal systems and their effective implementation.