A/70/289 (e) Establish safe, accessible and child-sensitive counselling, reporting and complaint mechanisms for children, safeguarding the confidentiality of the proceedings and respect for children’s right to privacy; (f) Strengthen research and data to inform policymaking, to break the invisibility of sexual violence and to document good practices. IV. Placing the protection of children from violence at the centre of the post-2015 development agenda 41. Ensuring that protecting children from violence is recognized as a distinct priority and cross-cutting concern in the post-2015 development agenda has been a priority for the Special Representative, as has promoting the inclusion of children’s views in that process. 42. Children have a clear vision of the future they want for themselves and for everyone else: to enjoy a safe and healthy life, free from all forms of violence. 43. In order to capture the wealth of children’s recommendations, the Special Representative, together with civil society partners, undertook a review of national consultations and online surveys on children’s vision for the global development agenda. The report, entitled “Why children’s protection from violence should be at the heart of the post-2015 agenda: a review of consultations with children on the post-2015 development agenda”, 10 reiterated children’s eagerness to influence that important process. 44. Protecting children from violence is a human rights imperative and is in addition a smart, cost-saving investment in the future sought by all. The multiplier and intergenerational effects of protecting children from violence will yield benefits for decades to come. 45. Violence against children knows no borders. It cuts across boundaries of gender, age, race, culture, wealth and geography. It happens in the home, on the streets, in schools, in the workplace, in justice and care institutions and also online. Violence is truly a universal concern. The impact on every child is immense and long lasting, but far beyond that, violence against children weakens the very foundation of social progress and sustainable development. It diverts billions from social spending, slows economic development and erodes the human and social capital of nations. 46. Violence against children is associated with high economic costs to society. The most recent global study on the economic burden resulting from physical, psychological and sexual violence, estimates that such costs could be as high as $7 trillion per year, more than 4 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP). According to UNICEF, in the Asia-Pacific region the yearly cost of violence against children is estimated to be $209 billion, equivalent to 2 per cent of the region’s GDP. 11 When those huge costs are set against the benefits of modest investments in __________________ 10 11 15-13244 Available from srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org/page/1153. See www.unicef.org/eapro/UNICEF_Child_Maltreatment_Research_Overview_FINAL.pdf. 13/25