A/HRC/37/48 I. Introduction 1. In the present report, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children reviews the key developments promoted at the global, regional and national levels, and gives an overview of the results achieved in safeguarding children’s freedom from violence. 2. Guided by General Assembly resolution 62/141, in which the Assembly established the mandate, the Special Representative is a global, independent advocate for the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against children. 3. At its seventy-second session, the General Assembly reaffirmed its support for the work of the Special Representative, recognizing the progress achieved and the consolidated partnerships promoted, and welcoming her efforts in mainstreaming the recommendations of the United Nations study on violence against children (A/61/299) in the international, regional and national agenda, including through regional and thematic consultations, field missions and studies addressing emerging concerns. 4. The United Nations study highlighted the extent and pervasiveness of violence in and its impact on children’s lives. Thanks to the mobilization created by the study and the implementation of its recommendations, real progress has been made, and States are better equipped to prevent and respond to violence against children. 5. In the recent past, new partnerships and alliances have been formed; new international standards on children’s protection from violence, including trafficking, sexual abuse and exploitation have been adopted; a large number of States have developed a national comprehensive policy agenda on violence prevention and response, and have enacted legislation to prohibit physical, psychological and sexual violence and to support child victims; information campaigns have raised awareness of the negative impact of violence on child development and of positive practices that can prevent it; and new global initiatives are tackling bullying, domestic violence, sexual violence and harmful practices. More investment in also being made in research on the scale and nature of violence against children, and on effective strategies to prevent it, and to monitor progress towards its elimination. 6. Ten years after the publication of the United Nations study, the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides a unique opportunity to renew commitment and reinvigorate action to end violence against children. The implementation of the 2030Agenda, and its specific target 16.2 on ending all forms of violence against children and its other violence-related targets, can reduce the risk of violence in children’s lives and provide effective responses for victims. Failing to reach these targets will compromise millions of childhoods and threaten potential gains made in many other targets of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially those relating to education, health, gender equality, poverty eradication, social inclusion and justice for all. 7. Prevention is indeed critical, given that violence compromises children’s rights and undermines social progress. Violence goes hand in hand with deprivation and cycles of vulnerability, the high risk of poor health, poor school performance and long-term welfare dependency. In early childhood, the impact of violence is often irreversible. As children grow, their exposure to violence becomes part of a continuum, spreading across their life cycle and at times persisting through generations. Moreover, violence is associated with far-reaching costs for society. It diverts billions of dollars from social spending, slowing economic development and eroding States’ human and social capital. The global costs of violence against children are estimated to be as high as $7 trillion a year. 8. The widespread exposure of children to violence is well documented in United Nations reports, academic research and children’s own heart-breaking stories. In a recent 3