A/HRC/40/50 17. Close to 100 countries have adopted a comprehensive national policy agenda on violence against children; many have enacted legislation to prohibit physical, psychological and sexual violence, and to protect child victims and fight impunity. National research and data systems on the scale and nature of violence in childhood, effective prevention strategies, and the monitoring of progress have also been consolidated. 18. Violence has far-reaching financial costs, diverting billions of dollars from social spending, slowing economic development and eroding States’ human and social capital. But steady investment in the protection of children can avoid these high costs. In an era of big data and real-time information, better tracking of spending on prevention and response to violence is possible. The Special Representative remains committed to advocate for increased budget allocations by Governments, donors and other partners for this relatively neglected sector, including through collaboration with a major international study in 2019 to estimate the return on investment from the prevention of violence against children. 19. In 2018, children’s exposure to violence continued to be given much attention by Member States; in United Nations reports, academic research and the work of civil society; as well as through children’s own heartbreaking stories. 20. In February 2018, Sweden hosted the first End Violence Solutions Summit, gathering Governments, United Nations organizations, civil society, religious, academic and private sector leaders and children to promote prevention and response solutions. In her address to the Summit, the Special Representative welcomed the progress made in children’s protection from violence, but also called for more and better investment and a greater sense of urgency for action. She called for a global mobilization around the opportunities presented by the thirtieth anniversary of the Convention, and by the review of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2019 by the high-level political forum on sustainable development, to place children’s protection from violence centre stage and achieve lasting change. 21. Children’s protection from bullying and cyberbullying gained special attention through the adoption of the second report of the Secretary-General to the General Assembly on this topic (A/73/265). 2 Drawing on submissions by governments, civil society and academia, and on three important expert consultations organized in collaboration with the Special Representative in China, 3 Mexico 4 and the Republic of Korea, 5 the report documented positive experiences, highlighted successful approaches to tackling bullying, and identified major areas where further research was needed: investment in prevention, starting in early childhood; the role of teachers in modelling positive behaviour; and breaking the silence around bullying in sports. 22. The report presented key recommendations, including the need to raise awareness of the severe negative impact of bullying on children’s development, and effective prevention strategies; the importance of closely involving, empowering and consulting with children; the crucial support for, and the engagement of, schools, parents and the community in prevention and response programmes; and the need for a sound legal foundation to underpin public policies and the promotion of restorative approaches. The report reiterated the call of the Secretary-General to strengthen data and research on bullying and cyberbullying to break the shame and silence that often surrounds its victims, and to promote proven prevention initiatives, early detection and response interventions. 23. The launch of the report of the Secretary-General was marked by the presentation at the United Nations of an innovative multimedia initiative – Cyber Cocoon Kids – sponsored by the Special Representative and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The exhibit featured four sculptures of children, representing aspects of cyberbullying and other online risks facing children around the world. The Special 2 3 4 5 See also General Assembly resolution 73/154. Fourth World Internet Conference, held in Wuzhen. Inter-American Consultation of Experts on the Protection of Children from Bullying and Cyberbullying, held in Mexico City. International Symposium on School Violence and Bullying, held in Seoul. 5