NEW DELHI: Despite gains in education, the world is still a violent, highly discriminatory place for girls, according to a new report released by Unicef , Plan International and UN Women ahead of the 64th session of the Commission on the Status of Women on Wednesday.The report, “A New Era for Girls: Taking stock on 25 years of progress”, underlined, among others disturbing trends, that despite the number of out-of-school girls having dropped by 79 million in the last two decades, one in every 20 girls aged 15-19 – around 13 million – has experienced rape in their lifetime.In south Asia , while the report notes that the practice of child marriage has almost halved in the last 25 years, 30% of girls are still married before they reach their 18th birthday. The report also found prevalence of ‘overweight’ among girls aged 5-19 had nearly doubled touching 155 million from 75 million in 1995 due to negative trends for girls in nutrition and suicide is currently the second leading cause of death among adolescent girls aged 15-19.While girls became more likely to be in secondary school than boys in just the last decade, violence and harmful practices against women and girls was the harsh other reality. Around one in five adolescent girls aged 15 and 19 in South Asia who have been married or lived with a partner, have experienced intimate partner violence.“Twenty-five years ago, the world’s governments made a commitment to women and girls, but they have only made partial good on that promise. While the world has mustered the political will to send many girls to school, it has come up embarrassingly short on equipping them with the skills and support they need not only to shape their own destinies, but to live in safety and dignity,” said Unicef executive director Henrietta Fore.Girls today are at risk of violence in every space – both online and in the classroom, home and community – leading to physical, psychological and social consequences. The report notes that harmful practices such as child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM) continue to disrupt and damage the lives and potential of millions of girls globally. Each year, 12 million girls are married in childhood, and 4 million are at risk of FGM. Globally, girls aged 15-19 are as likely to justify wife-beating as boys of the same age.The report also points that due to globalisation, a shift from traditional diets to processed, unhealthy foods and the rapid expansion of aggressive marketing techniques targeting children, have resulted in increased consumption of unhealthy foods and sugar-sweetened beverages. This has contributed to an increase in overweight and obesity in childhood and adolescence. Between 1995 and 2016, the prevalence of overweight among girls aged 5-19 has nearly doubled from 9% to 17%.Meanwhile, the last 25 years have seen growing concerns about poor mental health fuelled in part by excessive use of digital technologies. The report notes that suicide is currently the second leading cause of death among adolescent girls aged 15-19, surpassed only by maternal conditions.