Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here.
One of the things that we've been doing quite a bit at ChildFund Alliance in New York is helping to create awareness about these issues. Part of that has been the work around the post-2015 development agenda. Right now the version of the outcome document that we have has targets and goals partly for children but also for sustainable development. Within that we currently do have a target that is looking at forced female genital mutilation and cutting as well as child marriage.
One of the arguments that we've been using here is that the overall issue of violence against children and the costs of the physical, psychological, and sexual violence against children, according to the Overseas Development Institute and ChildFund Alliance, is $7 trillion U.S. a year. Not only do countries have the moral obligation as set out in these different conventions but also it makes economic sense for all of us to be working together to address these issues of violence against children. That number is 8% of the world's GDP. That includes the combined GDPs of Australia, Canada, India, and Mexico.
Starting in January 2016 the world will have the opportunity with the newest version of a global agenda to be able to set out and address these issues and to ensure that violence against children including child marriage and FGM/C are both prevented across the social norms of countries.