Images of children and young people can play an important role in raising awareness of children’s rights and needs. They can empower children and give them a voice. Images can also be powerful tools to communicate violations of children’s rights. They can change how we think about conflicts, disasters, famine, violence against children, homelessness etc. and encourage public support for a call to act. More positively, they can also communicate hope, progress and successful interventions to protect children and help raise much needed funds to advance children’s rights.
However, the use of images of children and young people is increasingly becoming an issue of particular concern in light of the advancement of internet technology, the rapid spread of information online and the increasing use of social media to share information, images and news.