Gabriella Jóźwiak - Freelance Journalist

  About 1 billion children —half of all children globally —  experience violence , according to the  World Health Organization . Ending “abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against, and torture of, children” is a target of the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Fifteen years ago, the U.N. appointed its first special representative of the secretary-general on violence against children to tackle the issue. The post is currently held by Najat Maalla M’jid. In July of this year, she published a  report  warning that despite many actions around the world to address violence against children, progress has not reached the scale or speed needed. To highlight this stubborn problem, the first  Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children  takes place this week in Bogotá, Colombia — hosted by the governments of Colombia and Sweden, WHO,  UNICEF , and M’jid. On Nov. 7 and 8, delegates will ...

In this article for the Guardian Global Development Professionals Network I spoke to young victims of breast ironing in Cameroon. This little-documented practice needs more attention to enable the girls affected by it, and the mothers who do it, to understand the risks it carries to women's physical and mental health. The article sought to demonstrate the importance of empowering girls in Cameroon to speak out about harmful practices, including early child marriage and rape. You can read the article in full on the Guardian  Adolescent Girls Hub . A small London-based charity set up by Cameroonian women is campaigning to raise awareness of the issue here and in Cameroon. The  Came Women and Girls Development Organisation needs more support to continue its work.