How Businesses Can Assess the Impacts of Their Charitable Activities on the Rights of Children and Youth

There has been increasing attention given to the relationship between children’s rights and business due to a greater understanding of the direct and indirect impacts that businesses have on children and youth. Concomitantly, many businesses are involved in charitable work. Do charitable activities performed by businesses provide an entry point for considering children’s rights? Further, do these charitable activities facilitate an opportunity for the amalgamation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and business and human rights? It is hypothesised that charitable contributions can facilitate a greater understanding of children’s rights and subsequently advance implementation. Accordingly, businesses can recognise their capacity to do more than mitigate their negative impacts, and positively influence the realisation of children’s rights. This can be facilitated through the improved assessment of charitable contributions using a child-rights-based approach. This research paper is informed by qualitative individual interviews with 15 stakeholders from pertinent professional sectors, five focus groups with 38 children and youth, and academic and grey literature reviews. It is concluded that attention to impact assessment offers a valuable avenue forward by which to knit the threads of activity regarding both human rights and corporate social responsibility through accountability. A proposed checklist may stimulate future actions and developments in children’s rights within and outside of businesses.