Nearly 720 million school-age children live in countries where they are not fully protected by law from corporal punishment in schools. These children are unprotected from physical punishment by teachers and other authority figures.
Half of world’s teens experience violence in schools. Around 150 million students between the ages of 13 and 15 have reported experiencing peer-to-peer violence in and around school.
Violence has lifelong consequences. Toxic stress associated with repeated exposure to violence in early childhood can interfere with healthy brain development, and can lead to aggressive and anti-social behaviours, substance abuse, risky sexual behaviour and criminal activity.
Globally, the cost of violence against children adds up to US$7 trillion a year. This cost undermines investments in health, early childhood development and education.
An estimated 158 million children aged 6–17 live in conflict-affected areas where classrooms are often no safer than communities. Children going to school in conflict zones are forced to risk their lives to get an education.
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