UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 3 -- UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on Wednesday warned of "alarmingly common" child sexual abuse and exploitation globally.

Speaking at the event of "Shedding Light on Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation," Mohammed said "every day, across all countries and levels of society, millions of girls and boys face the alarmingly common childhood experience of sexual abuse and exploitation, scarring them for life."

She went on to say that globally, at least 120 million girls under the age of 20 -- about 1 in 10 -- have been forced to engage in sex or perform other sexual acts.

"Millions more, including millions of boys, never tell anyone," she added.

She stressed that "preventing violence and exploitation of children is everyone's business, everywhere, at all times. We must address this challenge and break the silence."

She also pointed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a UN milestone vision adopted by member states in 2015, which includes a goal to end violence against children by 2030.

In this regard, she said "all over the world, governments are updating their laws and policies to more effectively criminalize child sexual abuse and exploitation" in efforts towards the goal.

Closing her speech, she called for zero tolerance to violence and exploitation of children, investment of sufficient resources to make the 2030 Agenda goal a reality, and commitment by all to take actions.