UN study details widespread abuse of children

A UN report states that around 120 million girls worldwide have been forced to have sex and that globally one-fifth of murder victims from both sexes are under 20 years old, resulting in 95,000 deaths in 2012.

Drawing on data from 190 countries, the report released on Thursday from the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, notes that children around the world are routinely exposed to physical, sexual and emotional violence ranging from murder and forced sexual acts to bullying and abusive discipline.

The violence “cuts across boundaries of age, geography, religion,ethnicity and income brackets,” UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said in a statement. Read more»