About 53,000 children died in 2002 as a result of homicide, according to the UN's World Health Organization (WHO)

Hundreds of millions of children around the world regularly face violence in their homes, schools and care facilities — in all areas and all countries, according to a United Nations report released in October 2006. The study encompassed 130 countries was completed by Paulo Pinheiro, an independent expert appointed by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Findings

• About 53,000 children died in 2002 as a result of homicide, according to the UN's World Health Organization (WHO).
• From 80 per cent to 99 per cent of children suffer some sort of physical punishment at home. About one third suffer "severe physical punishment," according to the WHO.
• Sexual assault: 150 million girls and 73 million boys faced forced intercourse or other sexual violence in 2002, the WHO says.
• Boys face greater risk of physical violence. Girls face great risk of sexual violence.
• In sub-Saharan Africa, Egypt and Sudan, three million children are subjected to genital mutilation, UNICEF says.

Rich and poor

• Rate of homicide among children in low-income countries: 2.58 per 100,000
• Rate of homicide in high-income countries: 1.21 per 100,000
• Highest homicide rates in adolescents aged 15 to 17: 3.28 per 100,000 for girls and 9.06 per 100,000 for boys
• Street children, ethnic minorities, refugees are the most vulnerable to violence
• The cost of child violence is hard to quantify, but it has been estimated that in 1996, it cost the United States $12.4-billion US.
• About 218 million children are involved in child labour and 126 million of them in hazardous work. The report said 5.7 million are in forced or bonded labour.

Violence at home

The report notes that the family has the "greatest potential to protect children" but notes that it is challenging to combat violence at home because it's considered the private sphere.

It says most physical violence at home is not fatal, but for young children, it can cause permanent damage or death, such as in shaken baby syndrome.

It also reports that physical violence is often accompanied by psychological violence. "It is of critical importance that parents be encouraged to employ exclusively non-violent methods of discipline," the report says.

Up to 275 million children witness domestic violence in their household. "The exposure of children to violence in their homes on a frequent basis, usually through fights between parents or between a mother and her partner, can severely affect a child's well-being," the report says.

And in 21 countries, most of them developed, anywhere from seven per cent to 36 per cent of women and from three per cent to 29 per cent of men reported "sexual victimization" when they were children.

Violence in schools and places of care

Violence by school staff include "corporal punishment, cruel and humiliating forms of psychological punishment," the report says. "Adults who oversee and work in educational settings have a duty to provide safe environment."

Although 102 countries have banned corporal punishment in schools, "enforcement is uneven."

Violence in the community

The report says the mass media sometimes portrays violence as normal or glorifies it, including violence against children. The report also notes the use of the internet.

"Surveys in Canada and the United Kingdom suggest that large numbers of schoolchildren have be harassed, bullied or victimized through e-mail or mobile phones, or have had someone publish misleading information about them online."

How to combat violence

• Strengthen national and local commitments to fighting violence.
• Prohibit all violence against children, including banning corporal punishment and certain traditional practices that may harm children. It also calls for abolishing death penalty or life imprisonment for people under the age of 18.
• Combat underlying causes: create stronger families and fight alcohol abuse.
• Prosecute all of those who engage in violence against young people.
• Ensure that nations co-operate by implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The convention addresses children's involvement in armed conflicts, the sale of young people, and prostitution and pornography.