GENEVA: Governments should impose a total ban on violence against children, including corporal punishment at school and in the home, the United Nations said in a new report on Wednesday.

Only 16 countries had forbidden corporal punishment at home and around 100 lacked rules stopping it in schools, said the study, which is set to be presented to the UN General Assembly on October 11.

“Beating and caning is standard practice” for youngsters in schools in many nations, it said. In institutional settings, such as the orphanages which are home to at least seven million minors worldwide, corporal punishment was allowed in 145 countries.

“Violence against children happens everywhere, in every country and society and across all social groups,” said the study. It called on every country to adopt a national strategy to stop violence against children, with legislation, a clear calendar and targets to be reached.

“Violence against children is not inevitable,” said Catherine Le Gales-Camus, deputy head of the World Health Organisation. “We need action for prevention and support for victims because we know it works,” she said.