World Report on Violence against Children

The World Report on Violence Against Children is a landmark global study appointed by the UN Secretary-General and led by Independent Expert Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro. Representing the first comprehensive, global research effort into the nature, scale, and root causes of violence against children, the report examines child protection failures across five main settings: the home and family, schools and educational settings, care and justice institutions, workplaces, and community spaces. Drawing on extensive global consultations with governments, civil society organizations, expert bodies, and children themselves, the document documents how violence cuts across geographic, socio-economic, and cultural boundaries—frequently remaining hidden or socially tolerated. The report details the physical, psychological, and developmental impacts of corporal punishment, physical abuse, bullying, sexual exploitation, and institutional negligence. Crucially, the study presents overarching recommendations for Member States, including prohibiting all forms of violence against children in law, promoting non-violent values and upbringing, strengthening child-sensitive protection systems, and ensuring systematic data collection. Serving as a foundational open-access policy document, this resource is indispensable for students, academics, social workers, human rights advocates, and policymakers in child protection, criminology, and international development.