A/RES/66/140 directly by households, especially those depending on income from the informal sector, and particularly by women and girls, Recognizing also that girl children are often at greater risk of being exposed to and encountering various forms of discrimination and violence, which continue to hinder efforts towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, and reaffirming the need to achieve gender equality to ensure a just and equitable world for girls, including through partnering with men and boys, as an important strategy for advancing the rights of the girl child, Recognizing further that progress has been made in the adoption of national legislation that affirms the equality of girls and boys and that corresponding measures have not been taken to effectively implement such legislation, and recognizing the continuing existence of discrimination against women and girls throughout the world and that addressing this situation will require additional efforts to strengthen policy implementation, including through international cooperation, Recognizing that the empowerment of and investment in girls, which is critical for economic growth, and the achievement of all Millennium Development Goals, including the eradication of poverty and extreme poverty, as well as the meaningful participation of girls in decisions that affect them, are key in breaking the cycle of discrimination and violence and in promoting and protecting the full and effective enjoyment of their human rights, and recognizing also that empowering girls requires their active participation in decision-making processes and the active support and engagement of their parents, legal guardians, families and care providers, boys and men, as well as the wider community, Deeply concerned about all forms of violence against children, in particular the phenomena that disproportionately affect girls, such as commercial sexual exploitation and child pornography, child and forced marriages, rape, sexual abuse, domestic violence and trafficking in persons and, in addition, about the corresponding lack of accountability and impunity, which reflect discriminatory norms reinforcing the lower status of girls in society, Deeply concerned also that violence against women and girls is underrecognized, particularly at the community level, and underreported or unrecorded because of stigma, fear, social tolerance and the often illegal and covert nature of such activities, Deeply concerned further about discrimination against the girl child and the violation of the rights of the girl child, which often result in less access for girls to education, and to quality education, nutrition and physical and mental health care, in girls enjoying fewer of the rights, opportunities and benefits of childhood and adolescence than boys, and in leaving them more vulnerable than boys to the consequences of unprotected and premature sexual relations and often being subjected to various forms of cultural, social, sexual and economic exploitation and violence, abuse, rape, incest, honour-related crimes and harmful traditional practices, such as female infanticide, child and forced marriages, prenatal sex selection and female genital mutilation, Deeply concerned that child and forced marriages expose young married girls to greater risk of HIV and sexually transmitted infections, often lead to early childbearing and increase the risk of disability, stillbirth and maternal death, and reduce their opportunities to complete their education, gain comprehensive knowledge, participate in the community or develop employable skills, and violate and impair the full enjoyment of the human rights of women and girls, 3