Inleidende toespraak van de Koningin, WHO High-level Dinner “Violence against children and its impact on mental health”, New York, 22 september 2024

Introductory Statement by H.M. the Queen, WHO High-level Dinner on “Violence against children and its impact on mental health”, New York, 22 September 2024

Your Excellencies,

As an SDG Advocate, I find it very encouraging to see so many leaders – from across the world, the United Nations, diplomacy, philanthropy and civil society – coming together here tonight to prioritize the prevention of violence against children. It is also very important that young people and survivors are among us. They will testify about their ordeal and the impact on their lives. Their testimonies will no doubt be central to our conversations.

Through Agenda 2030, we are committed to delivering a world free from violence for all children, but today – with just over 6 years until the SDGs’ deadline – we are far from achieving this commitment. We must do more and we must do it faster.

Violence against children can take many forms. Most of it happens behind closed doors, at home, the place where children should be safest. But it also happens at school with bullying or in sports clubs, for instance. It can be physical, psychological, or sexual, in person or online. Very often, the child who suffers from one form of violence is also affected by other forms.

Today, one in two (!) children is affected by violence around the world. This is a staggering statistic. This violence often causes not only physical injuries but also mental health problems such as anxiety, insomnia, social withdrawal, aggressivity, and depression. In addition, victims of sexual violence can suffer from unwanted pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases. Finally, the consequences of violence can lead to increased risk of addictions such as smoking, alcohol, and drug abuse.

So it is right that WHO together with UNICEF and others is bringing this large public health and societal issue to the fore. Ensuring that every child is free from violence is possible. The solutions exist. Investing in better laws, changing norms, and supporting parents all help children develop and reduce violence against them.

The INSPIRE package of the WHO contains examples of these measures. These solutions enable real progress across education, poverty reduction, and physical and mental health.

We are gathered here tonight out of our belief in this cause. We must do more. Status quo is not an option.

In my capacity as SDG Advocate, I am dedicated to the efforts to accelerate progress towards this Goal. In recent years I made field visits not only in my own country, but also to Bangladesh and Vietnam. On all these occasions, I witnessed the damage caused to children when they are victims of different forms of violence. For instance, a few months ago I visited an NGO in Ivory Coast that concentrates on the social reinsertion of very young girls, victims of sexual violences, into society. It was painful to see the mental disorders caused by those violences, but at the same time it was encouraging that with the care and love provided by the team of this NGO, those children could be reconnected to a normal life.

The first-ever Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children will take place next November in Bogota. It will be a milestone moment, an opportunity to drive ambition and action for children. The objectives of the conference are clear. It seeks strong new commitments to accelerate progress and to launch a youth movement dedicated to the prevention of violence to children.

The case for action is compelling, and the time to act is now.

Thank you.