There is growing recognition amongst policymakers that social protection policies and programmes are uniquely placed to reduce child labour2 because they directly address its root causes: tackling simultaneously the poverty, exclusion and vulnerability that compel families to depend on the meagre incomes they can earn by sending their children to work. Social protection can also address the underlying social and economic causes that prevent children from attending school. Nevertheless, particular social protection schemes vary significantly in their ability to tackle child labour – depending on their specific features and the characteristics of the children they target (ILO, 2012).