A/HRC/28/34 regional and national levels. There was a better understanding of how and why children were exposed to violence, and programmes had been developed in many countries to ensure the protection of children. Despite these advances, however, progress had been slow. There had been insufficient investment, in particular in relation to prevention and family support, as well as in research and data collection. Many laws were not effectively enforced, and national strategies were often underresourced and lacked coordination. 6. Ms. Connors stressed that violence against children was a complex, multidimensional phenomenon, and combating it required the sustained cooperation of many different actors. Public health, criminal justice, social services, education, human rights organizations, media and businesses – all had to work together with decision-makers at every level of society. A multifaceted response also comprised the acknowledgement of the primary role of the family in the upbringing and development of the child, and the obligation of the State to support parents and caregivers in that role. States had to prioritize prevention, including by raising awareness of the need to change attitudes that condone or normalize violence against children. 7. Ms. Connors emphasized that action was also required at the international level to combat violence against children – a major threat to global development, and a substantive barrier to the realization of the Millennium Development Goals. While the primary victims of violence against children are the children themselves, it also had negative consequences for the wider community and the national economy. It was an obstacle to the achievement of gender equality, and was closely interconnected with deprivation, poor health and poor school performance. III. Contributions of the panel 8. In her introductory remarks as panel moderator, the Associate Director of Child Protection, of the Programme Division of UNICEF, Susan Bissell, stated that violence against children was not only a matter of global importance but also an issue relevant to each and every State. She shared statistics released in the 2014 UNICEF report “Hidden in Plain Sight”: in 2012 alone, 95,000 children and adolescents under the age of 20 were killed – almost one in five of all homicide victims that year; almost one quarter of girls aged 15 to 19 worldwide (almost 70 million) had reported being victims of some form of physical violence since age 15; and around 120 million girls under the age of 20 (about one in 10) had been subjected to forced sexual intercourse or other forced sexual acts at some point in their lives. 9. Ms. Bissell stated that, although the figures might seem discouraging, violence against children was not inevitable and it was possible to end it. Political commitment to address violence against children had never been greater, including as the international community embarked on discussions on the post-2015 development agenda. Research had also brought a better understanding of effective strategies to prevent and respond to the different forms of violence that children faced. 10. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, Marta Santos Pais, stated that, while the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child was being commemorated and its achievements duly celebrated, work still needed to be done. Violence against children was a challenge that continued to compromise the rights of children around the world, and had to be addressed urgently. She also stressed, however, that there was currently a crucial opportunity to make a change for the better, in particular in the post-2015 development agenda. 11. The Special Representative’s global survey on violence against children, entitled Toward a World Free from Violence, had been informed by reports from more than 100 4