The Children's Convention is the first nearly universally ratified human rights treaty in history. Regional documents include the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, the American Convention on Human Rights, and the European Social Charter. All children have the right to freedom from maltreatment. Maltreatment is defined as any act or failure to act which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation, or an imminent risk of serious harm. Emotional abuse includes acts or the failures to act that have caused or could cause, serious behavioral, cognitive, emotional, or mental trauma.
Neglect can be physical, educational, or emotional.
Gay and lesbian youth and HIV-positive youth are particularly vulnerable to neglect. Whether the parent or caretaker intended to hurt the child is irrelevant. Sexual exploitation of children involves the misuse of adult power over children. Such crimes as rape, the sale or traffic in children, the conscription of children into sex tourism and pornography constitute sexual abuse. In the absence of adequate child protection laws and practices, some governments have created legal schemes that establish an age of consent for sexual activity.