A new report from the United Nations children's agency, UNICEF, delivers a grim picture of life for many of the world's children. One-fifth of all homicide victims around the world are under 20 years old, and 120 million girls under age 20 have been forced to have sex. Violence remains a leading cause of preventable injury and death among children. Children around the world are subjected to physical, sexual and emotional violence on a regular basis.
Gang violence and ongoing conflicts in South and Central America mean that homicide is the leading cause of death among males between the ages of 10 and 19 in countries such as Panama, Venezuela, El Salvador, Brazil and Guatemala. Among developed countries, the United States had the highest child homicide rate, due to the prevalence of firearms.
As for girls younger than 20, they also die young in many parts of the world. Nigeria alone had 13,000 young women who died violent deaths in 2012, and Brazil had 11,000 violent deaths, or roughly 30 a day. For girls, sexual violence was very widespread. An estimated 120 million girls, or about 1 in 10 worldwide, has been forced into sex acts. One in three married adolescent girls, around 84 million, has been victims of violence committed by their husbands or partners.