A/HRC/28/55 hidden and neglected topic into a growing global concern. Over the past year, that process has been further strengthened at the international, regional and national levels. A. Further mainstreaming violence against children in the United Nations agenda 8. In 2014, violence against children gained increased visibility within the United Nations system. The consultations on the post-2015 development agenda were a decisive dimension of that process, and important United Nations studies issued during the year helped to further expose the prevalence and seriousness of incidents of violence against children. 9. As highlighted by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report “Hidden in Plain Sight”,3 the World Health Organization Global status report on violence prevention 2014,4 the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Global Study on Homicide 20135 and its Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2014,6 the risk of violence remains widespread and deeply concerning. Almost a billion children between the ages of 2 and 14 are subject to physical punishment by their caregivers; 84 million girls are victims of emotional, physical, emotional or sexual violence at the hands of their husbands or partners; 8 per cent of global homicides affect children under the age of 15; and child trafficking continues to increase, in some regions reaching more than 60 per cent of detected victims, most of whom are girls. 10. Clearly, the urgency of safeguarding children from violence has not diminished and the evidence emerging from those reports offers a sound basis to frame States’ actions and accelerate progress in implementation efforts. B. Enhancing the normative foundation: United Nations Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Children in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice 11. Significant progress has been made towards universal ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography which, by the end of 2014, was in force in 169 countries. Similarly, there has been an incremental adherence to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure, following its entry into force in April 2014. The Special Representative will continue to support those efforts and promote the wide dissemination of child-friendly versions of both protocols,7 which are already available in ten languages. 12. In December 2014, the General Assembly adopted new standards to protect children from violence — the United Nations Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Children in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (A/C.3/69/L.5). 13. The Model Strategies bring together international norms and standards on children’s rights and criminal justice. They provide valuable guidance to Member States to enhance 3 4 5 6 7 4 See http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_74865.html. See http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/status_report/2014/en/. See http://www.unodc.org/documents/gsh/pdfs/2014_GLOBAL_HOMICIDE_BOOK_web.pdf. See www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/glotip/GLOTIP_2014_full_report.pdf. See http://srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org/children-corner/materials.