Background: The increase in reports of cases of violence, including sexual, physical, etc., against children in Sri Lanka is a growing concern, mainly due to the current economic and social hardships. It is essential to prioritize the protection of children through targeted programs and interventions grounded in scientific and technical approaches that incorporate up-to-date research, including statistical data, to demonstrate their effectiveness. Regular research and studies on current issues in the field are crucial to protecting children effectively. These insights and recommendations help plan and implement child protection programs more efficiently. Conducting new research and surveys can also identify new areas, trends, and dimensions that require intervention in child protection. This information can be used to design child protection programmes that effectively address new challenges and adapt to new strategies. The research symposium is a flagship event and the highlight of its professional events program. The symposium is a platform for converging child protection-related professional organisations and individuals across Sri Lanka. It is designed to facilitate the discussion of regional developments in child protection, including issues such as legal, medical and social dimensions of child protection. A research symposium on child protection is crucial for sharing valuable insights, data, and recommendations from studies in child protection with academics, stakeholders, and the public. UNICEF uses the term ‘child protection’ to prevent and respond to violence, exploitation and abuse against children, including commercial sexual exploitation, trafficking, child labour and harmful traditional practices, such as female genital mutilation/cutting and child marriage. The symposium aims to provide a space for multidisciplinary discussions and debates among childcare providers, policymakers, academics, and researchers on current strategies and issues related to evidence-based childcare and policy development. Furthermore, regularly having symposiums on child protection in the academic calendar will encourage researchers in the social science field to focus their work on children. The research symposium also serves as an essential forum for sharing ideas, building professional networks, reinforcing shared values, advocating for law reform and social norm change, and advancing the status of professionalism in child protection. Under the JURE project, UNICEF will support local universities and research institutions to commission research related to justice for children and the holding of an Annual Conference on Justice for Children Partners, including Government, Civil Society, Academic and Research institutions to share and publicly disseminate research and relevant data for decision-making related to Justice for Children. In this context, UNICEF Sri Lanka seeks a company/ academic institution/team to support the Research Symposium on “Broadening Perspectives on Protecting Children”, which covers child rights violation issues, social norm changes, and case studies of child protection programmes. The selected institution will work closely with NCPA and UNICEF to hold research, seminars, and meetings throughout the year to support professional development, networking, and the exchange of child protection knowledge and insight.
