A/74/259 16. However, from the process of 2030 Agenda reviews, including the high-level political forum and the voluntary national reviews, we see slow progress and a need for a greater sense of urgency. 17. In her keynote address at the opening of the high-level political forum, the Special Representative reminded participants that every year at least 1 billion children – which is half of the world’s children – experience violence. Three in every four children under the age of 5 experience violent discipline at the hands of caregivers. In schools, one in every two children is subjected to peer-to-peer violence. Children now account for 30 per cent of those who are trafficked, the sexual exploitation of victims being the main driver of human trafficking. Children with disabilities are almost four times more likely to experience violence than other children, while children from other disadvantaged groups also face disproportionately high levels of violence. 18. Furthermore, there are disturbing trends and emerging challenges that threaten the gains that have been made for children, including climate change, long -term conflicts and more severe humanitarian disasters, increasing numbers of children on the move, bullying and cyberbullying, and the spread of terrorism and violent extremism groups. 19. Violence often starts in early childhood: as children grow it becomes a continuum, their lives threatened by fear, pain and insecurity that undermines their health, education and development. 20. Violence breeds violence, and children experience it in many forms across many contexts, often carrying their experiences into adulthood where violence may be passed down as a grim legacy to their own children. The physical, emotional, psychological and economic cost for victims, families and entire societies is immense. 21. The wide range of contributions to Keeping the Promise from across regions, organizations and institutions came to markedly similar conclusions on what was needed to accelerate progress towards reaching the 2030 Agenda target to end violence against children. They fell into five key domains: strengthening legal and policy frameworks; reinforcing the protective shield around children; the need for more data and research on the nature and prevalence of violence against children; strengthening the global movement on the issue by widening partnership; and, most crucially, amplifying the voice of children. B. Strengthening legal and policy frameworks 22. At the national level, almost 100 countries now have comprehensive policies in place to prevent and respond to violence against children, and around 60 have comprehensive legislation to ban violence against children in all its forms, including at home and in schools. 2 There has also been progress on ending female genital mutilation and child marriage, as a gro wing number of countries have adopted legal and policy frameworks to outlaw these harmful practices. 23. The high-level political forum provides a strategic platform to advance progress in children’s protection from violence and this topic has increasingl y gained attention. In 2019, 47 States presented voluntary national reviews and many used this opportunity to pay special attention in their reports to the protection of children. 24. The voluntary national reviews documented a wide range of measures take n towards achieving target 16.2 and the other targets of the Sustainable Development __________________ 2 4/16 See UNICEF, “Violent discipline”, November 2017. Available at https://data.unicef.org/topic/ child-protection/violence/violent-discipline/. 19-13055