A/HRC/37/48 65. Significant steps were also taken by El Salvador, Honduras, and Trinidad and Tobago to raise the minimum age for marriage to 18 years. In 2017, important progress was made in legislation aimed at ending impunity for sexual offences against children, including the repeal by Jordan, Lebanon and Tunisia of legal provisions allowing rapists to avoid criminal prosecution by marrying their victims. 66. The 2030 Agenda attaches significant importance to the availability of quality, accessible, timely and reliable disaggregated data to inform decision-making and to assess progress. Important data developments on violence against children include an agreed global indicator framework and data collection initiatives promoted by United Nations agencies. 67. National household surveys in Asia and Africa, including in Cambodia, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Philippines and Zimbabwe have helped to fill data gaps. In Latin America, many States are undertaking surveys to document the magnitude, nature and impact of violence in childhood. In Honduras, the survey features an innovative module on migration and violence. 68. The above-mentioned surveys have cast light on the hidden reality of violence in children’s lives and helped to shape evidence-based national plans of action to address priority concerns. This has been critical to promote better cross-sectoral coordination at distinct levels of administration, and to involve a wide range of stakeholders, including academia, civil society, religious leaders and the private sector, and children themselves. 69. Surveys have also given greater visibility to pressing areas of concern. In the Philippines, the national survey disaggregated data by gender to assess the different risks of sexual abuse faced by boys and girls, to help to inform gender-sensitive advocacy, prevention and responses strategies, and to provide appropriate services to victims. 70. The survey also revealed the serious risk of children’s exposure to online abuse; a follow-up study confirmed its high incidence. Online abuse is facilitated by increased Internet connectivity, the availability of cheap devices to access cyberspace, the widespread knowledge of English, which allows communication by perpetrators abroad, convenient payment mechanisms through the network of remittance services, and a culture of silence and of deference to elders who may be colluding in abuse. 71. The value of research was also highlighted in Ecuador, where a study was conducted on children’s exposure to bullying, building upon the Special Representative’s advocacy on this topic. Follow-up to the study has led to important initiatives, including the establishment of nationwide students’ counselling units; capacity-building programmes for teachers, parents and school personnel; and the development of protocols to report incidents of violence in schools. A national plan of action on bullying is now under preparation. IV. Reinforcing regional processes in support of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda 72. Cooperation with regional organizations and institutions is a key element of the Special Representative’s strategy to accelerate progress in children’s protection from violence. Regional organizations and institutions are strategic allies, and their cooperation with the Special Representative has helped to place violence against children at the centre of the regional policy agenda, while enhancing the accountability of States and supporting national implementation efforts. 73. The Special Representative has hosted high-level consultations in the South and Central American, Caribbean, South Asian, Pacific, European and Arab regions with 12