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.

"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.", "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.", "Campaigning for Children carefully explores the concrete initiatives that have improved the lives of children, and highlights successful advocacy strategies. State authorities, academics, human rights institutions, civil society organizations, as well as the professionals who work with and for children will benefit from reading it. Becker's book is a vital resource in our collective effort to create a world fit for children."

Jo Becker is Advocacy Director for the Children's Rights Division at Human Rights Watch and Adjunct Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. Her first book, Campaigning for Justice (Stanford, 2012), won the APSA Human Rights Section Best Book Award in 2014.