Peer-reviewed article
VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN AND INTEGRATED CHILD PROTECTION SYSTEMS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION
Ivana Rešetar Čulo ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This paper examines how the European Union and its member states work to protect children from violence through integrated child protection systems. It reviews EU legislation and policies that require comprehensive, multi-agency cooperation across social welfare, judicial, and investigative authorities. The paper addresses growing challenges from cross-border and transnational child protection situations arising from migration and mobility within the EU.
Key points
- EU member states have international and European legal obligations to protect children from all forms of violence
- An integrated child protection system is the primary obligation of each EU member state and essential for effective protection
- Integrated systems must include multi-disciplinary, cross-sectorial and inter-agency cooperation of all duty-bearers
- Cross-border and transnational child protection situations are increasing due to migration and mobility within the EU
- Effective protection requires cooperation between social welfare, judicial, investigative and other authorities across different member states
Limitations
The document provides an overview of legislation and policies rather than empirical evaluation of outcomes. It does not report on whether existing systems effectively reduce violence against children or present comparative effectiveness data.
Abstract
In line with international and European human rights instruments and standards, the EU Member States are under obligation to protect children from all forms of violence. The establishment of a holistic child protection system is the primary obligation of each EU Member State and a prerequisite for the effective protection of children. An integrated child protection system covers a wide range of comprehensive and integrated measures, and includes multi-disciplinary, crosssectorial and inter-agency cooperation of all duty-bearers. Due to migration to the EU and mobility within the EU, the number of cross-border and transnational child protection situations has been increasing. These situations require cooperation between social welfare, judicial, investigative and other authorities in different EU Member States. This paper gives an overview of the EU legislation and policies relevant to child protection, and examines the EU’s role in reinforcing the protection of children against violence.