220101104
DR. RAM MANOHAR LOHIYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY
LUCKNOW
(SESSION 2022-23)
PROJECT - SOCIOLOGY
TITLE: IMPACT OF COVID CRISIS ON CHILDREN
SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:
DR.SANJAY SINGH MONARCH TRIVEDI
PROFESSOR ENROLLMENT NO.
SOCIOLOGY 220101104
DR. RAM MANOHAR LOHIYA B.A. LL.B.(Hons.) LAW
NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY SEM 1 SECTION B
Page 1
220101104
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................. 3
DECLARATION .................................................................................................. 4
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 5
THE CHANNELS THROUGH WHICH COVID AFFECTS CHILDREN ........ 6
THE IMPACTS OF COVID 19: DIMENSIONS AND SCALE……………….8
THE UNEVEN IMPACT OF COVID 19…………………………………..…10
STEPS TO MINISMISE RISKS AND IMPACTS……………………………12
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................... 14
Page 2
220101104
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude towards Prof.(Dr.)
Sanjay Singh for helping me and being my guiding light for this project. He
provided me with valuable insights which aided me in understanding all the
basics of this project, and also helped me with the doubts I had regarding the
project.
I would also like to thank the library department and academic support of
Dr.Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow for providing me
with different research sources and materials to help me in making my project
with the best of originality.
I would also like to thank the university for providing me with this project so
that I could understand the basic information regarding the assignments easily
and satisfactorily and with full detail.
Page 3
220101104
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the project “IMPACT OF COVID CRISIS ON
CHILDREN” submitted by me to Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law
University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh in partial fulfilment requirement for the
award of the degree of B.A. L.L.B(Hons.) is a record of bonafide project work
carried out by me under the guidance of Prof.(Dr.) Sanjay Singh. I further
declare that the word reported in this project has not been and will not be
submitted either in part or full, for the awardition of any other degree or
diploma in this or any other university.
Monarch Trivedi
Enrollment Number- 220101104
First Semester, B.A.L.L.B(Hons.),
Dr.Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow.
Sociology, 2022
Page 4
220101104
INTRODUCTION
Children are not the face of this pandemic. But they risk being among its
biggest victims. While they have thankfully been largely spared from the direct
health effects of COVID-19 - at least to date – the crisis is having a profound
effect on their wellbeing. All children, of all ages, and in all countries, are being
affected, in particular by the socio-economic impacts and, in some cases, by
mitigation measures that may inadvertently do more harm than good. This is a
universal crisis and, for some children, the impact will be lifelong.
Moreover, the harmful effects of this pandemic will not be distributed equally.
They are expected to be most damaging for children in the poorest countries,
and in the poorest neighbourhoods, and for those in already disadvantaged or
vulnerable situations. For many children, the COVID-19 crisis will mean
limited or no education, or falling further behind their peers.
There are three main channels through which children are affected by this crisis:
infection with the virus itself; the immediate socioeconomic impacts of
measures to stop transmission of the virus and end the pandemic; and the
potential longer-term effects of delayed implementation of the Sustainable
Development Goals.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought a complex array of challenges which had
mental health repercussions for everyone, including children and adolescents.
Grief, fear, uncertainty, social isolation, increased screen time, and parental
fatigue have negatively affected the mental health of children. Friendships and
family support are strong stabilizing forces for children, but the COVID-19
pandemic has also disrupted them.
Now is the time to step up international solidarity for children and humanity—
and to lay the foundations for a deeper transformation of the way we nurture
and invest in our world’s youngest generation.
Page 5
220101104
THE CHANNELS THROUGH WHICH COVID AFFECTS CHILDREN
COVID-19 pandemic presents the greatest test the world has faced since the
Second World War. To understand impact on the world’s children, it is helpful
to distinguish between three channels through which their lives are being
affected.
First Channel: Infection Through Virus
Thankfully, children have been largely spared from the severe symptomatic
reactions more common among older people—at least to date. Numerous cases
of hospitalizations and deaths of children who have succumbed to the virus have
been recorded, but these are exceptions and are likely related to prior
conditions. Much more common has been for children to tragically lose a
parent, family member, or caregiver to COVID-19. The psychosocial impacts of
such loss on children should not be overlooked.
Second Channel: The Socioeconomic Effects Of The Virus
As health services become overwhelmed in caring for large numbers of infected
patients requiring treatment, children and pregnant women are less able to
access standard care. Children of frontline workers have also had to adapt to
alternative childcare arrangements. Physical distancing and lockdown measures,
restrictions of movement and border closures, and surveillance strategies are all
affecting children in myriad ways. The impact of the pandemic extends far
beyond the sphere of physical health. The pandemic is having profound effects
on children’s mental well-being, their social development, their safety, their
privacy, their economic security, and beyond. While children are not the face of
this pandemic, its broader impacts on children risk being catastrophic and
amongst the most lasting consequences for societies as a whole.
Third Channel: Risk That The Virus Poses To The Efforts To Achieve SDGs
Before this crisis, we lived in a world that failed to care adequately for children;
where a child under age 15 dies every five seconds; where one in every five
children is malnourished (stunted); over half (53%) of 10-year old children in
low- and middle-income countries (as high as four in five children in poor
countries) can’t read and understand simple stories; and one child in four under
the age of 5 does not have their birth registered. The longer the current crisis,
the more dramatic the impacts on these children as economies struggle and
Page 6
220101104
government spending is restricted, and the more likely the increase in their
numbers. In active conflict situations, the pandemic or pandemic response may
increase the push and pull factors for child recruitment, as well as sexual
exploitation and abduction. What started as a public health emergency has
snowballed into a formidable test for global development and for the prospects
of today’s young generation.
Page 7
220101104
THE IMPACTS OF COVID 19: DIMENSIONS AND SCALE
Just as there are multiple channels through which the pandemic is affecting
children, so there are multiple dimensions to its impact on the young. The
effects could be grouped into four parts: 1) falling into poverty; 2) learning; 3)
survival and health; and 4) safety.
While it is too soon to quantify the ultimate size of these effects—and decisions
by policymakers will play a critical role in determining their scale—it is
possible to present some initial estimates and reference points.
1.Falling into poverty
The physical distancing and lockdown measures needed to save lives and
supress the transmission of the virus have resulted in a significant reduction of
economic activity across all major economies and the resultant global recession.
At a household level, the collapse in income threatens the livelihoods of
millions of households with children around the world. Income shocks at the
household level, even if only temporary, can have devastating effects on
children, particularly those living in poor households with limited assets. In
many countries, we have seen rapid expansions of social assistance programmes
to compensate households for lost income. However, the coverage of affected
families, and of forgone income, is far from complete. The duration of today’s
lockdowns remains unclear, as is the likelihood of lockdowns being
reintroduced in response to future outbreaks of COVID-19.
2. Learning
The worldwide closure of schools has no historical precedent. In contrast to
previous disease outbreaks, school closures have been imposed pre-emptively.
The potential losses that may accrue in learning for today’s young generation,
and for the development of their human capital, are hard to fathom. To
minimize these losses, many schools are offering distance learning to their
pupils. However, this option is only available to some. Girls have less access to
digital technology than boys, which may reduce their access to and participation
in on-line learning. Children living in informal settlements, camps with limited
infrastructure and no access to internet are particularly impacted. Children with
disabilities and special needs are especially hard to serve through distance
Page 8
220101104
programmes. The quality and accessibility of distance learning can be expected
to vary greatly both across and within countries.
3. Survival and Health
The direct impact of COVID-19 infection on children has, to date, been far
milder than for other age groups. In contrast to the direct impact of COVID-19,
the broader effects of the pandemic on child health are significant. Reduced
household income will force poor families to cut back on essential health and
food expenditures. Child nutrition is a vital concern. That challenge is made
greater by the economic shock facing households, which will negatively affect
the diets of children, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers. The effects
of physical distancing measures and movement restrictions on children’s mental
health represent another cause for concern. Children today face anxiety about
the negative impact of the pandemic on their lives and their communities, and
uncertainty regarding the future: how long today’s extraordinary circumstances
will endure and how the pandemic will ultimately be resolved. For children
facing extreme deprivations, acute stress can impair their cognitive development
and trigger longer-term mental health challenges.
4. Safety
For most children, home represents a source of security and safety. But for a
minority, the opposite is tragically the case. Violence by caregivers is the most
common form of violence experienced by children. Children are also often
witnesses to domestic violence against women, the rates of which are thought to
have increased in many countries. Such acts of violence are more likely to occur
while families are confined at home and experiencing intense stress and anxiety.
Children’s reliance on online platforms for distance learning has also increased
their risk of exposure to inappropriate content and online predators. Growing
digitalization magnifies children’s vulnerability to harm. Just as the combined
effect of school closures and economic distress is likely to force some children
to drop out of school, the same combination can be expected to compel children
into child labour, to become child soldiers, and into child marriage in high-risk
countries. Children without parental care are especially vulnerable to
exploitation and other negative coping measures. Enforced shutdowns, curfews
and movement restrictions have led to the sudden closure of refugee camps and
residential institutions, and the dispersion of slum-dwellers, including children.
Page 9
220101104
THE UNEVEN IMPACT OF COVID 19
The impact of COVID-19 on children’s poverty, survival and health, learning,
and safety are far-reaching. However, its effects will not be distributed equally.
Some children are destined to bear the greatest costs in the absence of
mitigating actions. Likewise the timing and duration of the pandemic’s effects
are a critical factor in assessing what influence they will ultimately have on the
trajectory of children’s lives.
Distributional effects
In an era characterized by extreme inequality, the COVID-19 pandemic is a
fundamentally disequalizing event. Its effects are expected to be most damaging
for children in the poorest countries, on the poorest households within countries,
and on girls within poorest households. This poses a monumental challenge to
the principle underpinning the Sustainable Development Goals to leave no-one
behind. The world’s poorest children already face a precarious existence and the
disproportionate effects of the pandemic on their lives pose a genuine threat to
their survival and development. It is therefore critically important that physical
distancing and lockdown strategies are adapted in low-income settings to avoid
depriving poor households from being able to sustain their livelihoods or to
compensate them for their losses, and to secure food markets on which these
households and their children depend.
Vulnerable children
In addition to poor children, there are other vulnerable child populations for
whom the effects of the pandemic risk being especially severe and whose
protection warrants special attention. A billion people worldwide live in slums,
informal settlements and inadequate housing. Standard physical distancing and
lockdown measures risk accelerating the spread of the pandemic among these
populations, who often lack piped water and hand-washing facilities at home,
and rely on communal sanitation facilities. Those same measures again risk
destroying the livelihoods of these people, with severe effects for their children.
The enforcement of movement restrictions and physical distancing measures
can serve as a cover for discrimination and violence against these and other
vulnerable children. Children with disabilities are among those most dependent
on face-to-face services—including health, education and protection—which
Page 10
220101104
have been suspended as part of social distancing and lockdown measures. They
are least likely to benefit from distance learning solutions.
Longer-term effects
The ultimate impact of the crisis on children hinges on how much time it will
take for the pandemic to end. A longer struggle to contain the virus not only
prolongs the pain caused by the pandemic, but raises the prospect that the
pandemic’s impact will have lingering or persistent effects on children. For
children caught at the apex of this crisis, there is a genuine prospect that its
effects will permanently alter their lives. Children facing acute deprivation in
nutrition, protection or stimulation, or periods of prolonged exposure to toxic
stress, during the critical window of early childhood development are likely to
develop lifelong challenges as their neurological development is impaired.
Children who drop out of school will face not only a higher risk of child
marriage, child labour, and teenage pregnancies, but will see their lifetime
earnings potential precipitously fall. Children who experience family
breakdowns during this period of heightened stress risk losing the sense of
support and security on which children’s wellbeing depends.
Page 11
220101104
STEPS TO MINISMISE RISKS AND IMPACTS
The COVID-19 pandemic is potentially catastrophic for many children around
the world. Its impact risks unravelling global progress across several of the
Sustainable Development Goals for children, putting already ambitious targets
out of sight. Put simply, we cannot afford to let this happen.
Avoiding this outcome will require progress on the following three fronts.
1.More information:
An optimal response to COVID-19, balancing multiple risks to save the most
lives, can only be made if our models are expanded to capture the different
dimensions of the pandemic, including those that affect children. We need a
rapid accumulation of data on the scale and nature of impacts among children—
including specifically girls, families and communities. We need to know more
about the unknowns.
2. More solidarity:
The COVID-19 pandemic is a test of our solidarity: within local communities,
the scientific research community, and the community of nations. Children offer
a common cause that can stoke a greater sense of unity among people.
Moreover, adolescents have a powerful role to play in engendering this spirit as
many are already demonstrating throughout the world—whether through
volunteering their help within communities, or combating stigma, xenophobia
and discrimination online. Solidarity is necessary, too, in active conflict
situations where responding to the Secretary-General’s global ceasefire call
would only allow the world to focus together on the true fight – against
COVID-19.
3. More action:
Governments around the world are taking wide-ranging actions to contain and
mitigate the pandemic. Building on best practices already adopted by several
governments, those actions need to be adapted to reflect the local context, and
accompanied by additional steps to counter unintended effects on children to
ensure children’s wellbeing both during the pandemic and after it ends.
Page 12
220101104
In this context, governments and partners should consider the following
measures to help minimize the negative effects of this crisis on children:
• The immediate rollout or expansion of social assistance to families,
preferably through the use of universal child grants which offer a simple
and proven tool for shielding children from extreme poverty.
• The urgent securing of food supply chains and local food markets, to
protect children from a food security crisis.
• Urgent adaptation of standard physical distancing and lockdown
strategies in low-income settings, especially in urban areas refugee
settlements and places affected by active conflicts, which will otherwise
exacerbate the negative impacts of the pandemic on children.
• Prioritizing the continuity of child-centred services, with a particular
focus on equity of access.
Page 13
220101104
BIBLIOGRAPHY
• https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/mca-documents/mca-
covid/policy-brief-on-covid-impact-on-children
• https://www.unicef.org/india/impact-covid-19-childrens-mental-
health
• https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/09/covid-19s-devastating-impact-
children
Page 14
