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"This content is provided in partnership with GUCCI Beauty for CHIME FOR CHANGE. The Situation The world can be a very dangerous place for girls. Case in point: Sixty million girls worldwide have been sexually assaulted while walking to school. The number of girls under the age of 18 who have been the victims of sexual violence equals the populations of Germany and France combined\u2014150 million, estimates the World Health Organization. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that nearly a third of all female rape victims in the US are between 11 and 17 years old, and 12% of girls are raped before the age of 10. About a third who experience rape as minors will suffer rape again as women. Girls also carry scars from intimate relationships gone wrong. In the United Kingdom, one in four girls ages 13 to 17 has experienced physical violence from an intimate partner, and nearly all girls and women in Pakistan will be the victims of domestic violence in their lifetimes, according to the World Association of Girl Guides and Girls Scouts. &amp;quot;I have endured brutalities not once, but hundreds of times. It&amp;#039;s like fire burning within my chest,&amp;quot; said one domestic violence victim named Sosan. The physical trauma of violence may heal, but the emotional wounds often never close, creating a lifetime of anxiety, depression, suicidal behavior, low self-esteem, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Violence against girls can ruin their futures, often replacing dreams and ambitions with alcohol and drug addiction, prostitution, eating disorders, chronic health conditions like asthma and diabetes, and even death. In Australia, Canada, Israel, South Africa and the US, intimate-partner violence is responsible for up to 70% of female murders. Tragically, in many cases, girls can&amp;#039;t rely on governments or police to protect them; in 102 countries there are no laws to punish perpetrators of domestic violence, and marital rape isn&amp;#039;t considered a crime in at least 53 nations. Making a Difference Through its &amp;quot;Voices Against Violence&amp;quot; project, the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) educates and empowers young women and girls so they can stand up against violence. Later this year, the organization will host a training program for its &amp;quot;Stop the Violence&amp;quot; advocacy campaign to teach volunteers how to educate girls, young women, boys and young men around the world about violence and their rights. The ultimate goal: Mobilize 10 million girls and young women and 1.5 million volunteers around the world to end violence against girls. Click here to support WAGGGS&amp;#039; Voices Against Violence project. To learn more about the Chime for Change campaign to convene, unite and strengthen the voices speaking out for girls and women around the world, visit chimeforchange.org.  Photo Credit: The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/advertorial/a6760/domestic-violence-young-girls/>