About two thirds of children worldwide are physically abused by their caretakers on a regular basis, including 120 million girls, close to one in 10, who have been raped or sexually assaulted by the time they turn 20, a new report published by UNICEF has found.
A global study of violence against children titled "Hidden in Plain Sight: A statistical analysis of violence against children," that compiled data based on child abuse from 190 countries revealed one fifth of all murder victims are children and adolescents under the age of 20.
"These are uncomfortable facts - no government or parent will want to see them," said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake.
"But unless we confront the reality each infuriating statistic represents - the life of a child whose right to a safe, protected childhood has been violated - we will never change the mind-set that violence against children is normal and permissible. It is neither."
According to the report, global homicides resulted in about 95,000 deaths in 2012, and slightly more than one in three students between the ages of 13 and 15 worldwide are regularly bullied in school, Indo-Asia News Service reported.
In Latin American countries such as Venezuela, Colombia, Panama and Brazil, homicide is deemed to be the leading cause of death among boys and young men aged 10 to 19, Agence France-Press reported.
"If there is one common aspect of human society right now, it is the fact that tremendous violence is committed against children," UNICEF's Child Protection chief Susan Bissell was quoted as saying.
"It is important that we don't simply go away with the message that violence is everywhere, there are tried, true, measured, evaluated solutions," Bissell added.
Other abuses include bullying, which regularly affected more than one in three school children aged 13 to 15 worldwide.
However, about 17 percent of youngsters in 58 countries are subject to violent discipline in severe forms of physical punishment, including being hit on the head, ears or face or being hit hard and repeatedly.
Meanwhile, the UNICEF report also tackled the issue of mindsets perpetuating and justifying such violence, recommending six strategies to prevent and reduce violence against children.
The strategies include "supporting parents and equipping children with life skills; changing attitudes; strengthening judicial, criminal and social systems and services; and generating evidence and awareness about violence and its human and socio-economic costs, in order to change attitudes and norms."
