Every day, many millions of children around the world experience violence in their homes and communities, schools, and conflict-affected areas. This reality is unacceptable. Every child has the right to live in a world where they are respected, protected and safe, and it is our responsibility to make this a reality.
As co-hosts of the first-ever Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, we’re urging leaders to envision and act with the confidence that this achieving this Sustainable Development Goal is not just aspirational but attainable.
Through Agenda 2030, leaders committed to creating a world in which every child grows up free from violence. In line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, governments set the first global targets for ending all forms of violence against children. However, unless we accelerate our efforts, we risk failing to meet these targets and, more importantly, failing the world’s children.
Each year, more than half the world’s children are victims of violence—over a billion boys and girls—a statistic that signifies our collective failure to protect our most vulnerable citizens. This violence manifests itself in many forms: a hard slap in the face at home or school, lethal threats on the streets, abuse from trusted relatives, the horrors of war, sexual assault from a coach, a cycle of neglect, and an onslaught of online abuse. These children live in constant fear and hope for a better tomorrow.
The consequences of this violence are profound and lasting, with a strong correlation between childhood violence and increased risks of mental illness, diseases, and social problems. Children who experience violence at home are particularly vulnerable to various forms of exploitation, including online abuse.
It is crucial to recognise that the violence affecting a billion children today will undermine the health, prosperity and stability of our societies tomorrow. This violence incurs catastrophic social and economic costs, eroding every investment made in children’s education, mental health and physical well-being.
There is no path to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals without significantly reducing the violence experienced by more than one in two children each year.
The good news is that we know what works. We are the first generation to understand the solutions for preventing violence against children, and we have a responsibility to act. Effective strategies exist for promoting positive parenting and breaking the cycle of family violence, ensuring safe learning environments in schools, and equipping frontline workers to protect children in high-risk situations. In our increasingly online world, protection can be integrated from the outset, with cost-effective solutions tailored to each government’s context.
