22 NOVEMBER 2022 – Friday, 18 November 2022 marked the 2nd Annual World Day for Prevention, Healing and Justice to End Childhood Sexual Violence, during which survivors of childhood sexual abuse around the world mobilized for the implementation and financing of evidence-based solutions to end childhood sexual abuse for all.
The Brave Movement, led by survivors, and supported by advocates and partners, calls for policy development and sustained funding, both domestically and internationally, to support survivors on prevention, healing, and justice.
On 18 November, survivors and allies all over the world took action – across six continents and in 24 countries.
- In Bolivia, 42 organizations mobilized to put pressure on the new Bolivian government
- In India, advocates commemorated Child Safety Week, a collaborative movement to mainstream conversations about child sexual abuse
- In Japan, Brave Movement survivors met with G7 partners, Ministers and survivors
- In Kenya, survivors marched to the Ministry of Health and the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to hand over their demands
The Brave Movement produced, shared and curated four moments of survivor activation every hour during 18 November, with activity from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, DRC, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, Philippines, Nepal, India, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France, Spain and the UK.
The mobilization was backed and supported by global organizations including the WHO,, UNICEF, UN Women, UNFPA, World Vision and the Global Partnership to End Violence – which all echoed the Brave Movement’s calls on social media.
Violence against children impacts more than one billion children and costs world economies US$7 trillion annually (World Vision).
The COVID-19 pandemic placed even more children at risk (World Vision) both off and online. The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) said that in 2021, it investigated more reports of suspected child sexual abuse than in the first 15 years of its existence (Out of the Shadows Index).
This global scourge calls for immediate action on a global scale. The Brave Movement and our partners have evidence-based solutions to drastically reduce these rates if world leaders implement stronger policies and invest in programs to support survivors in every nation across the globe..
- Policy development: Improved policies based on evidence-based solutions
- Investment: Domestic and international investment to end violence against children and adolescents
- Prevention to protect current and future generations
- Healing for survivors and their families
- Justice for perpetrators of childhood sexual violence and the complicit
Wibke Müller, survivor, co-founder of the Brave Movement and co-chair of its G7 survivors’ taskforce said, “When I was a child, nobody protected me from sexual violence. I am devastated that over one billion children continue to be affected by this crime. Childhood sexual violence is the great silent scourge of our time. Shrouded in secrecy, it strikes individuals, shakes families and ravages communities in every corner of the world. We need bold and transformative action, not half-hearted commitments from the most powerful nations. This includes serious financial commitments toward evidence-based solutions. The Brave Movement is growing stronger every day. Our demands will only get louder and stronger until we are impossible to ignore. We can, and must, end childhood sexual violence for every child, everywhere.”
FIND OUT MORE:
#EndChildSexAbuseDay, #Nov18WorldDay, #PreventionHealingJustice
@BeBraveGlobal, @coe_children, @WorldVision, @together4girls
https://www.bravemovement.org/global-mobilization-day
ENDS
ABOUT THE BRAVE MOVEMENT
The Brave Movement is a powerful global survivor-centered movement that welcomes all allies in our mission to end childhood sexual violence. Supported by a $10M grant from the Oak Foundation to Together for Girls, this movement has become a powerful global force for change.
CONTACT THE BRAVE NEWSROOM
If you are a journalist or media outlet seeking further information about the Brave Movement, please contact our Brave Newsroom: press@bravemovement.org
Our Brave Newsroom supports the movement by disseminating survivor calls for action, recruiting advocates and galvanizing supporters all over the world to end childhood sexual violence.