Back to Contents this, as well as poverty, reflecting child marriage as a long-term phenomenon in the Palestinian refugee community. Reports also continued of isolated instances of families pressuring children into worked for armed groups, which often pay in dollars, or criminal gangs.” (Source: UNRWA, “UNRWA Protection Monitoring Report – Quarter 1 (Q1) 2022”, 1 July 2022, p. 4) The UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs reported in April 2022 about child labour is in Palestinian households: “Child labour is also a phenomenon that is becoming more frequent as households struggle to cope with the worsening economic situation. One in four PRL [Palestinian refugees in Lebanon] households reported children to be working or supporting the household, contributing significantly to children dropping out of school and exposing them to grave physical harm as they risk their lives. In addition, the risk of child marriage is on the rise, namely for girls. According to the MSNA 2021 data, child marriage rates for PRL revolve around 0.72 per cent, and 1 per cent for girls; although these figures are likely underreported [UN Women, Gender and Social Inclusion Analysis based on MSNA, December 2021 data].” (Source: OCHA, “Increasing Humanitarian Needs in Lebanon, April 2022”, 14 April 2022, p. 28) The same source further reported that: “Finally, 32,000 Palestine children in Lebanon (48 per cent boys and 52 per cent girls) are estimated to be in need of specialized child protection services. Saida and Sour districts reported the highest number of PRL [Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon] children in need with 10,000 children and 6,000 children respectively. This is driven by the deteriorating socioeconomic situation, violence within the home and on the street, and harmful coping mechanisms such as child labour, child marriage or joining armed groups.” (Source: OCHA, “Increasing Humanitarian Needs in Lebanon, April 2022”, 14 April 2022, pp. 30-31) In its Protection Monitoring Report for the last quarter of the year 2021, UNRWA reported that: “More than in other areas, focal points in CLA and NLA felt that children did not report incidents that affected them. While children were said to be most likely to turn to family members, UNRWA staff and NGOs, low reporting was attributed to potential stigma, the lack of trust in the system and no clear directions on how to do so. (p. 8)” (Source: UNRWA, “UNRWA Protection Monitoring Report – Quarter Four 2021”, 6 April 2022) In its Protection brief of 2020, UNRWA also pointed out that: “Child labour and families resorting to negative coping mechanisms are increasing. Five per cent of PRL and four per cent of PRS children are reportedly involved in different forms of child labour, with a rise among Palestine refugee families’ common belief that labour provides more opportunities than education in a context of limited access to the job market. As a result, many children are spending a considerable amount of time on the streets, vulnerable to all kinds of exploitation, and missing out on their education in the process. In November 2018, an estimated 4,500 Palestine refugee children were engaged in different forms of child labour.” (Source: UNRWA: “Protection brief: Palestine refugees living in Lebanon”, September 2020, p. 3) A collective of NGOs working with Palestinians in Lebanon made a joint submission to the Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review in 2020 in which they stated among others that: “Violent practices and violations are prevalent on the social and household levels, impacting Palestinian women and children refugees in Lebanon and from Syria, particularly through increased child labor and child marriage used by parents as mechanisms to cope with the economic situation and increasing financial constraints. The application of a child protection system and its related mechanisms is still lacking on the national level generally and in Palestinian 7. Child protection 75