A/HRC/52/61 violence, online violence and armed conflict, followed by violence against women and girls, bullying and sexual violence and exploitation. This initiative will combine mapping results with lessons learned from industry, child helplines and children and young people themselves and will make recommendations on how to implement or improve these services. V. Looking ahead 87. Given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and numerous ongoing crises, more children than ever are experiencing violence in all settings. However, it is possible to accelerate efforts to achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda and put an end to violence against children. 88. The human and economic costs are sizeable but the economic benefits of investing in child protection, development and well-being are even larger. In all countries without exception, there is an urgent need to fully support the reinforcement of integrated and wellcoordinated child- and gender-sensitive protection and violence prevention systems which place children and their rights at the centre. The Special Representative is particularly pleased at the interest in the investment case for ending all forms of violence, which is gaining increased political support in many countries across different regions. These experiences should be supported and expanded further. 89. As outlined above, there is a particular need to tackle the wide range of forms of violence and crimes against children in the digital environment as an integral component of wider efforts to keep children safe from harm. Children live in an interconnected, digital world. More and more children are online, and at younger ages, which brings with it a wide range of risks. Guidance exists on what constitutes a children’s rights-based approach to tackling these issues and how to respond effectively. There are strong partnerships for coordinated action which bring together States, civil society, industry, academia and other entities. Yet, this has not been translated into action at the scale or speed required at this critical moment to keep pace with the threats faced by children in the digital environment. Moreover, new tools and options are being developed without proper frameworks in place to address risk and mitigation from the outset. 90. Addressing violence in the digital environment requires a broad view of violence and harm online. While understanding that sexual violence is a key rights violation and a crime to be addressed efficiently and promptly, violence against children in the digital environment takes many forms, all of which have devastating and lifelong impacts on them. Different forms of violence occur at the same time and are often closely linked to violence offline. Moreover, children facing vulnerabilities outside the digital environment are also more likely to be vulnerable online. For this reason, it is important to stress the crucial role of protective frameworks for addressing the risks and drivers of violence outside the digital environment. Too often, online protection of children is treated in isolation from action to prevent and address violence against children more broadly. 91. The current debate in many countries and regions on protections for individual privacy is important and merits careful consideration. However, the privacy of children – particularly child victims of violence online – must be protected and their protection as victims first and foremost must be ensured. Voluntary approaches by industry to ensuring that their services and platform are safe for children are insufficient: more robust regulation built on principles of children’s rights must become a reality. While it takes time to enact legislation and regulations, at the same time risks to children in the digital world emerge quickly and spread rapidly, hence the ICT industry has a special responsibility. The ICT industry is uniquely placed to mitigate the negative impact that digital technologies can exert on children: they must put children first and build the rights of children to safety and protection into their business models. 92. The Special Representative will continue to promote the need for a stronger legal and regulatory environment to ensure children’s protection and privacy online, including in the context of the development of the global digital compact and the elaboration of a comprehensive international convention on countering the use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes. 18 GE.22-29128