COVID-19: Deepening Inequalities for the Marginalized Children

Global pandemic of CORONAVIRUS, threatened children’s rights across the world, though unevenly but exposes them to potential disruption to their education, healthcare, protection, and overall well-being. Marginalised children and their families are at the intersection of many axes of disadvantage. The impact of school closures extends beyond disruption to education – they also carry other risks to marginalised children and children from low-income households, because many may rely on school meals to support their daily nutrition in country like India.

Hundreds of millions of children have long been excluded from reliable access to quality public education, sanitation or public healthcare, or any kind of social protection measures or safety net. Since COVID-19, those numbers have skyrocketed. Lockdowns proved that children who are victims of domestic abuse and violence are being left without respite from their abuser(s).

During this time, it is imperative that we take cognizance of the adverse impact of CORONAVIRUS can potentially have on the most vulnerable and marginalized girls and boys globally. This includes children without family care, specifically children in street situations, children on the move, homeless children, migrant and internally displaced children, refugee children, child labourers, children in child care institutions, children with disabilities, children living with underprivileged single parents (especially with mothers). This session, therefore, welcomes papers that address the theoretical, methodological, empirical and pedagogic (particularly the teaching and learning curriculum contexts in childhood studies) challenges and opportunities that children faced and are still facing worldwide.