A/HRC/37/48 15. The urgent need to protect children from violence has not diminished. Every five minutes a child dies as a consequence of violence. Every year, at least one billion children – half of the world’s children – are affected by violence. They are intentionally targeted in politically driven processes, manipulated by organized crime, forced to flee violence in their communities, sold and exploited for economic gain, groomed online, disciplined by violent means, sexually assaulted in the privacy of their homes, neglected in institutions, abused in detention centres, bullied in schools, and stigmatized and tortured as a result of superstitious beliefs or harmful practices. 16. In some communities, children are abused as scapegoats for family or community misfortune and illness. They suffer stigma, violent punishment and ritual killings, if accused or perceived as witches, or in certain cases when their parents have been accused of witchcraft. Being branded a witch is a form of psychological violence, and the associated stigmatization and exclusion may lead to killing, mutilation or other serious forms of violence that are tantamount to torture. 17. Violence associated with accusations of witchcraft is largely underreported and concealed because of fear or social pressure. The most vulnerable and socially excluded children, such as children with albinism, children with disabilities, orphans, prematurely born children, especially gifted children or those who are simply deemed to be “different”, are often most at risk. 18. To strengthen children’s protection from violence associated with witchcraft beliefs, the Special Representative co-organized an international workshop with the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism, in cooperation with the Witchcraft and Human Rights Information Network and Lancaster University, and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, and the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities. The workshop was held on 21 and 22 September 2017. 19. Government, United Nations, academic and civil society partners shared the latest research and experiences, highlighting good practices, identifying gaps in legislation and policies, and stressing the need for multi-stakeholder action to prevent and address witchcraft-related violence, to ensure the recovery and safe reintegration of victims, and to fight impunity. 20. The Special Representative will continue to collaborate with partners for the abandonment of these practices. II. Accelerating progress in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda towards the elimination of all forms of violence against children 21. Realizing every child’s right to freedom from violence is a fundamental dimension of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The United Nations study identified critical steps to make this right a reality for all children. The 2030 Agenda envisions a world where every child can grow up free from violence, abuse and exploitation. 22. The 2030 Agenda seeks to transform the world, leaving no one behind. The best way to avoid leaving children behind is to put them first in all policy decisions. A society that fails to do so risks arriving last in the quest for sustainable peace, justice and social progress. In 2016, the Office of the Special Representative, with many partners, launched the High Time to End Violence against Children initiative to help make the vision of the 2030 Agenda a reality for all children. The initiative promotes the active engagement of 5