1 in 2 children are victims of violence.

Dear world leaders,

Our hands can shape the very fabric of a child’s life. They hold an extraordinary power to comfort, cradle and protect. To offer the most heartwarming hugs. And to show those little signs of support – a loving wave, a reassuring gesture or an embarrassingly loud round of applause.

They can also hold a sinister power. One where they abuse. They attack. And they incite fear. These hands type hateful messages online. They bruise fragile bodies. They invade the most intimate places. And withhold the love and care that every child needs and deserves.

Each year, one billion young people around the world are victims of cruel acts of violence. That’s 1 in every 2 children on the planet. A statistic that represents a collective failure to protect the most vulnerable, and promising, among us. Violence takes many forms, and each child experiences it differently, but they all deserve the same commitment to protection.

As survivors, advocates and allies we know the devastating impact these experiences can have on a child’s life. Violence robs children of their innocence. It leaves scars that persist throughout their lifetimes and the generations that follow. The violence experienced by a billion children today, is the same violence that will undermine the health, prosperity and stability of our societies tomorrow. Violence that erodes every investment that families, communities and governments make in children, from their education to their mental and physical health.

But, the power to change this is in our hands.

This November, the first-ever Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children will take place in Colombia. It has the potential to change the course of a billion childhoods and secure a safer, more just world for generations to come.

We know the scale of the challenge. The severity of its impact. The solutions that prevent childhood violence. What we need to know is that this Ministerial will matter. That all governments will show up in Colombia and make big, bold and brave commitments to keep every child safe.

With a billion futures in the balance, this November, we have an opportunity to make history. We cannot, and must not, let it pass us by.

Together, we can define a new legacy; a future free from violence. A future where hands are only ever used to nurture and protect every single child.

On behalf of the one billion children affected by violence, we, as a collective of survivors, advocates and allies, urgently call on world leaders to ensure that no child has to live with the scars left by violence.

Childhood is in our hands. 
The power to act is now in yours.