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United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Sustainable Development
Publications

Toward a world free from violence

Publication Year: 2013 Publisher: Violence against Children

Background

Global survey on violence against children

Violence against children takes place in every setting, including those where children should be safest – in schools, in care institu-tions and at home. Like a contagion, violence spreads through communities and is trans-mitted to future generations. Across regions and countries, it threatens children’s survival and development, erodes family structures, jeopardizes education, generates social insecurity and consumes precious national resources.

The Global Survey on Violence against Children, conducted under the auspices of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children, exam-ines the measures in place around the world to ensure follow-up to the recommendations set out in the 2006 UN Study on Violence against Children, especially those recom-mendations intended to prevent violence against children, protect child victims and hold perpetrators to account.

The Survey reveals that there has been some progress on these issues since the 2006 study, but this progress has been too slow, too uneven and too fragmented to bring violence to an end. Most girls and boys who are exposed to violence still live in isolation, loneliness, and fear. Many children simply do not know where to turn for help, especially when the perpetrator is a family member, caregiver, teacher or anyone else responsible for their protection and well-being.