OhmyNews- - Recently, an eight-year-old child from Kathmandu was kidnapped and killed the same night. His dead body was discovered only after some three weeks.

Likewise last week kidnappers threw two children, a girl and a boy, from a cliff in Pokhara. The girl survived, but the whereabouts of the boy are still unknown. The girl was sexually abused before she was thrown off.

These are just two examples of physical and sexual violence against children in Nepal. But the story of violence doesn't end here. It is a somewhat awkward and unbelievable truth that children are safe nowhere in this world, be it in Asia, Africa, Europe or America.

A recent global report from the United Nations on violence against children has reflected the alarming situation of physical, sexual and psychological violence against children all over the world.

"Violence against children happens everywhere, in every country and society and across all social groups," the report says.

It says that not all kinds of violence are seen and brought to light. Only some severe kinds of violence make the headlines but the rest of the small acts are not considered. But children are highly affected and hurt by those minor acts as well.

The report has stated that most of the acts of violence are carried out by the near and dear ones of the children like relatives, parents, boyfriends and teachers, and the violence ranges from physical to psychological like insults, humiliation, discrimination, neglect etc.

The report states that violence against children has become usual, either because it is given social approval or because it is hidden. For example it says that one billion children across the globe can be legally beaten by their teachers in school and at least 106 countries still allow physical punishment in schools.

The statistics are even more heart-rending in the case of girl children, as the report estimates that some 150 million girls around the world are abused each year. According to the BBC the numbers of girls abused comprise 14 percent of the total child population of the world. The number of boys abused is 73 million which comes to be 7 percent, half the number of girls.

Girls are not safe even at home. The report says that 82 million girls are married before the age of 18 and can face violence from family members like their husbands.

The report estimates that some 275 million children worldwide each year suffer by witnessing domestic violence. But they don't speak out, mainly because of fear and shame.

The global study on violence against children is the first of its kind. It has been prepared after research in countries all over the world. The work was headed by Professor Paulo Sergio Pinherio, who was appointed by Kofi Annan to study the overall situation of children.

"Children continue to fear and experience violence in every country of the world," said Professor Pinherio.

He says that protection from violence is a matter of urgency and that the situation cannot be accepted.

"Violence against children is a violation of their human rights and a disturbing reality of our societies," said Louise Arbour, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a statement.

The report in fact is the mirror of the horrible state in which children live. The BBC states that the author of this report compares the woes of children with the suppression of workers and women in Europe's historical past.

Stopping the widespread violence cannot be done in a day. But the U.N. recommends that each and every country should make strategies to tackle the situation. Children should be taught to respond with zero tolerance to any kinds of violence against them and strict laws should be implemented to punish those who are responsible for it.