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Survivors of Childhood Sexual Violence Mobilize to Demand Action on 18 November

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..

  1. Policy development: Improved policies based on evidence-based solutions
  2. Investment: Domestic and international investment to end violence against children and adolescents
  3. Prevention to protect current and future generations
  4. Healing for survivors and their families
  5. 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.

Statement in response to G7 Interior Ministers’ Communiqué

Brave Movement Welcomes New G7 Commitments and the Recognition of the Importance of Survivors’ Perspectives, in Creating a World Free from Childhood Sexual Violence.

Germany, 18 November 2022 – Today, on the World Day for the Prevention of and Healing from Child Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Violence, G7 leaders have for the first time acknowledged the strong role of victims’ and survivors’ perspectives to help raise awareness of these horrific online and offline crimes. The G7 also pledged to consider, and promote, victims’ and survivors’ perspectives whenever measures to end child sexual exploitation and abuse are planned or implemented.

This is the first step towards building a world free from childhood sexual violence. To achieve this, governments must commit to investing the resources needed for prevention-healing-justice solutions to end sexual violence against children.

The Brave Movement welcomes this new G7 commitment to implement the G7 Action Plan to combat Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse announced in September 2021. Nevertheless, we are extremely disappointed that the Ministers did not make specific financial, legislative or time bound commitments-to-action for ensuring a safe internet for children and adolescents.

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 towards 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.”

The Brave Movement calls on G7 Interior Ministers to urgently work with survivors on implementation of evidence-based solutions, which can end childhood sexual violence for all. And we:

To find out more about Wibke Müller and the Brave Movement, please visit our website and follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

ABOUT THE BRAVE MOVEMENT

The Brave Movement is a powerful global survivor-led 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.

Brave Movement announces new Executive Director

Brave Movement is pleased to welcome international communications and campaigns leader, Anna Macdonald, as its first Executive Director

WASHINGTON, DC, October 17, 2022 – The Brave Movement announced today that international communications and campaigns leader, Anna Macdonald, has been named as its first Executive Director.Macdonald comes to Brave with 25 years of international advocacy experience working on social justice, human rights, arms control and disarmament. Most recently she served as Practitioner-in-Residence at Columbia Law School’s Human Right Institute and New York University’s Center for Human Rights and Global Justice. Macdonald’s research investigated how international social movements achieve legal change, based on her own experience leading the campaign for the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).Daniela Ligiero, Chair of the Brave Movement’s Global Steering Group and CEO of Together for Girls, which hosts the movement, said that Macdonald is the right leader, at the right time, to take the Brave Movement to the next level.“In our second year, the Brave Movement is evolving into a powerful, global movement to end sexual violence against children and adolescents,” Ligiero said. “We believe there is power in mobilizing globally, nationally and locally to put pressure on governments and decision-makers to take action, and Anna will be the leader to make that happen.”

Macdonald, a British national, previously served as Director of the Nobel Peace Prize-nominated Control Arms Campaign where she was a leader in the campaign for the ATT and coordinated work toward its universalization and effective implementation.

As the head of arms control at Oxfam, and as Co-Chair of the Control Arms Coalition, she led over 100 organizations to develop the international advocacy and campaign strateg, which ultimately secured the ATT, in addition to advising the United Kingdom government and building a coalition with progressive governments around the world.

Commenting on her new role, Macdonald said, “The Brave Movement’s network of survivors are an impressive group, and I look forward to working with them to end the scourge of sexual violence.”

Macdonald has a Bachelor of Arts (Honors) in Politics and Geography from Sheffield University and a Masters in Development Studies from Leeds University.

Rosalia Rivera, chair of the SAGE, the Brave Movement’s survivor board, welcomed the appointment.

“The Brave Movement’s global network brings together survivors and allies with a common mission to end all forms of sexual violence against children and adolescents everywhere,” Rivera said. “Anna Macdonald will help us build the movement into a global force. We will be silent no longer.”

Brave Movement request to Hon. Elizabeth Truss, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

To continue the country’s commitments on child sexual abuse and turn them into bold concrete actions during the upcoming G7 Interior Ministers meeting.

Dear Prime Minister,

We are writing to you as UK survivors of childhood sexual violence and as members of the survivor-led Brave Movement. Our movement began this year and is growing rapidly worldwide.

Many congratulations on your new role. We know you have a huge amount on your plate, but we also know that you have been an invaluable champion of ending childhood sexual violence.

In the UK, survivors came together for the first time this year to draft the attached National Call to Action with 12 requests to the UK Government to drive forward Prevention, Healing, and Justice policies and programs. In the coming weeks and months, there will be several critical opportunities to take forward progress on these issues, including within the Online Safety Bill, and the launch of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. We urge you to drive this agenda forward boldly and without delay.

There Should be Zero Tolerance to Child Sexual Abuse

Two recent incidents bring to the fore the disturbing statistics with respect to the safety and sorry condition of minor girls in India.

Publication: Haribhoomi, page 6.
By Alka Arya
(Translated from Hindi)

Two recent incidents involving the rape of an eight-year-old girl in Delhi’s Badarpur area and another case wherein a fourteen-year-old girl committed suicide after being raped by her neighbour in Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh once again bring to the fore the disturbing statistics with respect to the safety and sorry condition of minor girls in the country. For India which is home to 440 million children, child sexual abuse is an extremely sensitive issue. At the same time, it is concerning that not many parents, teachers and the general public are aware of the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) 2012. In one of the earlier surveys conducted by the Government, it emerged that 53 per cent of the children interviewed reported having faced one or more forms of sexual abuse. In most cases, abusers were persons known to the child whom their parents trusted. Such incidents are not only confined to urban areas alone as even villages aren’t untouched. India and the world need to address child sexual abuse on a priority basis.

An incident of rape was reported recently from New Delhi’s Badarpur area where an eight-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by a 30-year-old man. There were bite marks all over the victim’s body who lived with her mother. The crime took place when the victim’s mother had gone to a factory for work, leaving her alone at home. The accused entered the home, stuffed the victim’s mouth with a cloth to stop her from screaming and raped her. Police arrested the accused and sent his blood samples for tests. It came to the fore that the accused was HIV Positive, and he very well knew it. In another incident, a 14-year-old rape victim in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, committed suicide. The minor was raped on 22 May by a youth living in her neighbourhood. She was alone at her home when she was raped. She narrated her ordeal to her family members but the latter did not register a complaint against the accused. Instead, the accused’s family members reached the victim’s home on 26th May seeking a compromise. They wanted an undertaking from the girl’s family that there won’t be any case filed in the future and that the accused would marry the girl after she attained the marriageable age. However, the girl wanted her parents to get an FIR lodged against the accused, but in vain. Distraught at the sight of her parents trying to reach a compromise with the accused’s family, the minor committed suicide even as the accused’s family sat in the next room. After the suicide, the victim’s brother informed media that the Police booked the accused under Section 376 and 306 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Both the incidents – the rape of the eight-year-old girl in Delhi and suicide by the rape victim in Uttar Pradesh – once again bring to the fore the disturbing statistics with respect to the safety and sorry condition of minor girls in the country. In the current societal structure, if the offenders happen to belong to influential families, bringing them to book becomes even more difficult. In villages, it becomes tough when influential people intervene to protect the culprits. For India which is home to 440 million children along with a significant youth population, child sexual abuse is an extremely sensitive issue.. A government-sponsored survey found that more than 53 per cent children in the country faced one or more forms of sexual abuse. Most of the abusers were known to the children and a significant number of them also enjoyed the trust of the victims’ parents.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), child sexual abuse is the involvement of a child in sexual activity that he or she does not fully comprehend, is unable to give informed consent to, or that violates the laws. At the same time, it is concerning that not many parents, teachers and the general public are aware of the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) 2012. Indeed, it is highly disturbing to understand that the society at large is not fully aware about the magnitude of the challenge posed by child sexual abuse. While hearing a case, a Delhi Court once observed that lack of awareness is one of the reasons behind rising incidents of sexual offences against children. People are not aware about POCSO. They have no fear of the law in this regard. Notably, the POCSO Act, 2012 was brought in after a lot of struggles. It was promulgated to provide protection to children against sexual offence, sexual abuse and pornographic material. The POCSO Act also aims to protect children from inappropriate touch or being approached with wrong intent. It applies to all children under the age of 18 years. One of the features of the law is that it is gender-neutral. It means that the victims as well as the offenders could be both male or female. Children who happen to be the victims of sexual abuse during their childhood tend to suffer from the trauma for long. They live in depression while many even commit suicide. In many cases, Courts acquit the accused of sexual offences for want of appropriate evidence. The rate of conviction in such cases is abysmally low. Systemic issues in our judiciary, shortage of staff, insensitivity and lack of training of the officials dealing with child sexual abuse cases are among the reasons for the low conviction rate.

It is noteworthy that sexual assault of children is a global problem. As per ‘Together for Girls’, an international organization, 120 million girls and young women under 20 years of age have suffered some form of forced sexual contact. One in every fifth girl suffered sexual abuse when she was very young. The ratio for the same among boys is one in ten. Elsa D Silva, a member of the organization, calls for breaking the silence to break the chain of violence and mobilize people and institutions. He said that there is a need to collect nation-wise data and work with governments, institutions and individuals in addressing child sexual abuse.

A global campaign, Brave Movement to End Childhood Sexual Violence, has also been launched in this regard. An appeal has been made to take steps to stop incidents of child sexual abuse. Several Indian institutions and activists responded to the appeals which include providing protection to children and adolescents against sexual offences, treatment of the survivors, ensuring justice to the victims etc. Several notable institutions, including IIT Mandi, Indian Institute of Sciences (IIS), Benaras Hindu University (BHU) are signatories to the campaign. It also includes lists of child protection authorities. There is a special provision under Article 15(3) in the Indian Constitution under which states have been authorized to make provisions for ensuring child protection. Further, India is also a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) adopted by the United Nations General Assembly under Article 3. Under the provision, the onus of child protection lies on the parents, the school and the Government. India as well as other countries need to be sensitive toward child sexual abuse and needs to adopt a serious approach to tackle the problem.

Huge G7 Win in the Fight to End Childhood Sexual Abuse

Let’s #BeBrave and Continue the Momentum – Sign and Share the Petition!

Huge G7 Win in the Fight to End Childhood Sexual Abuse – Let’s #BeBrave and Continue the Momentum – Sign and Share the Petition!

We are nine survivors of childhood sexual violence from the Brave Movement from G7 countries and around the world.

We are asking you to join us, to break the silence around childhood sexual violence and demand bold action from governments all over the world.

This year, for the first time ever, G7 leaders collectively committed to stepping up our fight against trafficking in human beings and our efforts to prevent and combat child sexual abuse and exploitation globally, both online and offline. They have asked Interior Ministers to take forward the implementation of the Action Plan to combat Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse when they meet this Autumn.

This is a historic first step to creating a world where children grow up free from sexual violence. But words alone are not enough…

Now, we are urgently calling on the Leaders and Interior Ministers of the world’s richest countries to turn these words into bold and transformative action – to set an example to the rest of the world and to ensure that what happened to us never happens to another child, anywhere.

There are evidence-based, proven solutions. We demand:

  • Legislation to create a safer internet where children and adolescents are free from sexual violence;
  • A global pledging event on November 18, 2022, and an initial investment of at least US$1 billion per year for the established End Violence Fund, to scale programs of prevention, healing, and justice;
  • Creation of the G7 Survivors Council to advise governments on actions that they take to permanently end sexual violence against children and adolescents.

Please join us as survivors and our allies to demand prevention, to protect current and future generations; healing, for survivors and their families; and justice for survivors, holding perpetrators and the complicit to account.

It is time to break the silence. The burden should not be placed on survivors alone – everyone has a role to play.

***

Childhood sexual violence is a global scourge, which at least one in five girls and one in ten boys experience. It has devastating long-term consequences for children, families, and societies. And the COVID pandemic has exposed children to even greater risk.

Childhood sexual violence is happening, in silence, in every nation. In family homes, sports, schools, and places of worship. Also across borders, in the form of online abuse, trafficking, and sexual exploitation perpetrated by tourists.

Ending this scourge is essential for humanity. It demands a coordinated international response, and the world’s richest countries must take the lead because they have a special responsibility.

Child Safety Online Must be a Priority

14 organizations launch campaign to stop the spread of child sexual abuse material online.

We are proud to launch the Child Safety Online Now (#ChildSafetyOnlineNow) campaign in partnership with 14 organisations dedicated to protecting children’s safety and rights online.

The campaign supports the European Commission’s proposal to tackle the rampant and growing spread of child sexual abuse online. In 2021, 85 million pieces of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) were reported online.[1] This is a growth of 35% from 2020.[2] The European Commission’s proposal aims to make it mandatory for technology platforms to detect, report, and remove CSAM. This will have a huge impact in protecting children, preserving children’s privacy, and reducing the devastating harm this content has on survivors of child sexual abuse. The proposal also aims to establish an EU Centre that will be responsible for coordinating actions between online service providers and law enforcement agencies to end child sexual abuse online while also providing support to child victims of sexual abuse in the EU. A crucial element of the proposal asks online service providers always to report cases of grooming, a vital measure to prevent harm before it happens.

With the #ChildSafetyOnlineNow campaign, Missing Children Europe, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, ECPAT International, Brave Movement, Canadian Centre for Child Protection, Internet Watch Foundation, NSPCC, End Violence Against Children, Thorn, 5 Rights Foundation, Terre des Hommes, WeProtect Global Alliance, Inhope, Child Helpine International aim to raise awareness of the pressing need to protect children online and support the European Commission proposal to both prevent and combat child sexual abuse online. Children are spending more and more time online through all manner of devices and platforms; the proposal looks to protect children wherever they are so they can live, learn, and thrive in their digital worlds without the threat of online child sexual abuse. The campaign includes a hero video, website, and social media content. The website and social media content is available in EN, FR, IT, ES, DE & NL.

THE SCALE AND SCOPE OF THE CHALLENGE

  • 1 in 5 users of digital services in the EU is a child.[3]
  • 62% of all reported CSAM in 2021 was hosted in Europe.[4]
  • In 2021, the Internet Watch Foundation found child sexual abuse material online every two minutes.[5]
  • Public polling shows widespread public support (68%) for the use of technical tools to identify child sexual abuse material and for the European Union to introduce legislative change to help improve child safety.[6]

Sarah Cooper, Brave Movement SAGE member and human trafficking survivor, said: “The Brave Movement is calling for a child rights and protection driven approach to creating a safe internet where children and adolescents are safe and secure, free from all forms of digital sexual violence. We call on all technology companies to immediately detect, report, and remove all online childhood sexual violence materials. Online childhood sexual violence is a universal, borderless crime, which demands action in every country around the globe.”

Susie Hargreaves OBE, IWF Chief Executive, said: “The IWF’s mission is to create an internet free from child sexual abuse that’s a safe place for children and adults to use around the world, but we cannot do this alone.

“We are proud to be part of this vital campaign supporting the European Commission’s necessary and timely proposal to tackle the insidious growth of child sexual abuse online.

“Technology platforms have a responsibility to safeguard their young users’ safety and privacy and the IWF has the world-class expertise and quality datasets to help companies detect, report and remove the spread of this illegal content.”

Lianna McDonald, Executive Director, Canadian Centre for Child Protection, said: “We have waited years for tech companies to do the right thing and voluntarily take action to stop child sexual abuse on their platforms – now it is time for regulation. Almost half of all CSAM removal notices issued by Project Arachnid had previously been flagged to the same providers, meaning that tech companies are allowing known CSAM to be re-uploaded on their services. It is time for governments to do what only they can. We applaud the EU for leading the world in requiring tech companies to employ proactive detection to prevent harm from occurring on their services.”

Patrick Krens, Executive Director, Child Helpline International, said: “Child Helpline International welcomes the European Commission’s proposal to combat and prevent child sexual abuse online. We support the strong safeguards, the new independent EU Centre and mandatory use of safe technologies. Child helplines are a key service in any child protection system and play a crucial role in the victim response mechanisms across Europe. We believe in this campaign since it has the potential to make an impact far beyond the European Union and will help advance the global fight against child sexual abuse in both the offline and online worlds. By joining forces, we are in a unique position to turn the tide and win this fight as quickly as possible.”

Guillaume Landry, Executive Director, ECPAT International, said: “The protection and empowerment of children in digital spaces must become the rule, not the exception. And ECPAT knows from an EU-wide survey conducted in late 2021 the EU public agrees. Indeed, 68 % have expressed widespread support for the use of automated tools to identify child sexual abuse materials, and for the EU to introduce long-term legislation that will keep children safe online. This regulation is important because it serves as a reference to the rest of the world, establishing concrete mechanisms for the safe use of technologies to detect child sexual exploitation and abuse, and by making online service providers responsible and accountable for protecting children. Children have a right to live a life free from exploitation. It is time that we take all necessary measures to ensure that their privacy and protection is enforced in all online and offline environment. With children, we can turn the tide.”

Anna Maria Corazza Bildt, President, Missing Children Europe, said: “This legislation is crucial, not only to protect survivors of child sexual abuse from further harm but also to address the continuous increase in online grooming leading to children going missing”.

Iain Drennan, Executive Director, WeProtect Global Alliance, said: “Child sexual exploitation and abuse online is increasing at a rapid rate and a step change is required in the collective response to create safe online environments for children. Legislations like the one that the EU have proposed are crucial to protect children online, by focusing on preventing harm from happening in the first place and bringing offenders to justice.”

Dr. Howard Taylor, Executive Director of the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, said: “We welcome the EU’s proposed legislation which presents an important opportunity for the EU to set high standards to create a safe digital environment through policy action, which is key in keeping children safe online. End Violence believes that strong legislation is the basis for decisive action by governments, industry and other key stakeholders to make sure that the internet is safe for children. Our Safe Online initiative is proud to be part of this important campaign and is also promoting and seeking support for the legislation across our network of more than 700 member organisations and with our global network of Safe Online partners working specifically to tackle online child sexual exploitation and abuse across 75 countries, including across the EU.”

Please contact press@bravenewsroom.org for interviews. To find out more about the Brave Movement, please visit our website and follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn andTwitter

[1]European Commission, May 2022

[2]Guardian, March 2022

[3] 5Rights, The Digital Services Act must deliver for children, 2022

[4] IWF, Annual Report, 2021

[5] IWF, Annual Report 2021, 2021

[6] ECPAT, Project Beacon: What do EU Citizens think of the balance between online privacy and child protection?, 2021

Brave Movement Statement on New Legislation in Bolivia to Protect Child Survivors of Sexual Violence

On March 29th and 30th 2022, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights heard the groundbreaking case of Brisa De Angulo Losada vs. Bolivia

Background:

  • On March 29th and 30th 2022, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights heard the groundbreaking case of Brisa De Angulo Losada vs. Bolivia.
  • The case has been so damning of the Bolivian government’s inaction that there have been threats to Brisa’s person, her family, doxxing of her private information and character assassination strategies to try and get her to drop the case.
  • This week, Bolivia announced approval of new legislation for the protection of child victims of sexual violence that includes significant reforms aimed at reducing impunity and revictimization.
  • Bolivian President Luis Arce’s statement on the new legislation can be viewed here

Statement by Brisa de Angulo, lawyer, child psychologist, human right activist and human rights defender:

JULY 11, 2022 – “In 2002, I was repeatedly raped and tortured by an adult family member. When I sought justice and support from the Bolivian government, I was failed by a judicial system which protects perpetrators and cements a culture of impunity. It was government officials who committed the most horrific acts of revictimization that I suffered.

But today, Bolivia has taken action to protect the children and adolescents who experience sexual violence in our country. This new law reduces the probability of the atorcous abuses of official capacity that I suffered in my case, and it creates clear mechanisms for holding government officials accountable. After almost twenty years of fighting for justice, I am so humbled to be part of this first and great step on the path to policy reform and justice for all of us.

This new legislation breaks new ground here in Bolivia. Now the Inter-American court must take the lead and act to ensure similar and even more extensive law and policy reform – and justice – for all children in the region.”

Statement by Bolivian Senator Andrea Barrientos:

“One of the most important aspects of this law is that the crime of rape against an infant, child, or adolesent is no long subject to a statute of limitations. This is of fundamental importance because, sadly, when a person suffers rape in childhood or adolescense, it takes a long time to denouce the crime because denouncing implies a process of profound healing.”

We’re dealing with an issue of International Human Rights. The Bolivian government, just a while back, lost a case involving that girl Brisa from Cochabamba. She is a victim of estupro and rape, and this iconic case has made us see that we have the duty to develop better protection policies immediately.”

“This effort is advancing in a meaningful and important way. It’s the first time the legislative branch is developing legislation with total consensus and unanimous agreement from both the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, as well as with the full collaboration of the three branches of government.”

Please contact press@bravenewsroom.org for interviews with Brisa and other members of the Brave Movement.

To find out more about the Brave Movement, please visit our website and follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Brave Movement statement in response to G7 communiqué

Wibke Müller, survivor, co-founder of the Brave Movement and co-chair of its G7 survivors’ taskforce responds

Wibke Müller, survivor, co-founder of the Brave Movement and co-chair of its G7 survivors’ taskforce:

Schloss Elmau, Germany, June 28 2022 – “When I was a child, nobody protected me from sexual violence. Today, G7 leaders have collectively committed for the first-time to be the protectors that I needed – and that all children deserve.

This is a first historic breakthrough for our movement. Survivors and our allies in the G7 countries and around the world want our leaders to know that words aren’t enough. We need bold action now. Starting in your countries, at the meeting of G7 interior ministers in October, and then at the 2023 G7 summit in Hiroshima.

Last week, the Brave Movement ranked G7 countries in their efforts to protect children and adolescents from childhood sexual violence, and found woefully inadequate action from all G7 countries.

The Brave Movement is calling on the G7 and all global governments to:

  • Support the Brave Movement’s call for a global pledging event on November 18, 2022 and commit to an initial investment of at least US$1 billion per year for the established End Violence Fund
  • Legislate to create a safe internet where children and adolescents are free from sexual violence
  • Create a G7 Survivors Council to advise G7 governments on actions that they take to permanently end sexual violence against children everywhere and for every child.”

To find out more about Wibke Müller and the Brave Movement, please visit our website and follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

G7 Governments Failing to Take Action to End Childhood Sexual Violence

New data released by the Brave Movement assesses G7 policies to tackle childhood sexual violence

  • A new report ranking G7 nations on their efforts to protect children from abuse shows that global leaders are failing – with progress woefully inadequate to end childhood sexual violence
  • The U.S.A, France, Japan and Italy are the worst performers, having made very limited progress to end sexual violence against children based on key indicators developed by survivors
  • The report from the Brave Movement is the first ever comparative assessment of G7 policies to tackle the humanitarian crisis of childhood sexual violence – as survivors call on G7 leaders to table this issue at their Summit this weekend

June 24, 2022: Global advocacy group, the Brave Movement, has delivered a scathing assessment of global leaders’ lack of progress to end sexual violence against children.

In an emergency press conference ahead of the G7 Summit being held June 26-28, survivors and allies will release the details of the Ending Childhood Sexual Violence: #BeBrave G7 Scorecard analyzing the commitment of G7 nations to tackle child sexual violence, with damning results for France, Italy, Japan and the U.S.A. in particular. The newly released data proves that there is an appalling lack of progress by all G7 countries when it comes to ending childhood sexual violence in their own countries and across the world.

Key findings:

  • G7 governments’ efforts are woefully inadequate to end childhood sexual violence, both domestically and globally
  • The UK is the only G7 country to have made a meaningful investment to the End Violence Fund to tackle childhood sexual violence
  • Canada has made the largest ODA investment to tackle childhood sexual violence out of all G7 countries but data shows that Official Development Assistance to end childhood violence decreased between 2018 and 2020 in real terms
  • No G7 country has adequate protections in place to create a safe internet free of all online forms of sexual violence
  • The Government of Germany is the only country that has successfully established a National Survivors Council
  • No country has a comprehensive National Action Plan to address childhood sexual violence which adequately addresses prevention, healing, and justice

Wibke Müller, SAGE member and Co-Chair of the Brave Movement G7 Taskforce with Co-Chair, Matthias Katsch, said: “Without sufficient funding, prevention, healing and justice policies and programs are small-scale, non-existent, or failing to reach the populations in urgent need of action and services. The Brave Movement envisions a world in which children and adolescents grow up free from the threat of sexual violence. Bold, decisive action and investment is urgently needed to make this a reality now.”

Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and Board Chair, PMNCH, said: “Childhood sexual violence is a global scourge, affecting at least one in ten girls globally. It undermines other investments in child health, education, gender equality, SRHR, and sustainable development. The “triple C” threat of COVID-19, climate change, and the rising number of conflicts around the world puts children, adolescents and women everywhere at high risk. Tracking and reporting progress, as the Brave Movement is doing, is essential for giving a voice to survivors, and ending all sexual violence moving forward.”

The Brave Movement is putting pressure on leaders by catalyzing action around the world in the run up to the G7, targeting landmarks with commemorative ‘#BeBrave Purple Plaques’ which highlight atrocities against children perpetrated by institutions within G7 nations and beyond.

Following the emergency press conference, survivors and allies will unveil a plaque honoring survivors of clergy abuse in Germany at the ‘Peterskirche’ (St Peter’s Church) in Munich. St Peter’s Church is the oldest recorded Roman Catholic parish church in Munich and the plaque will send a signal to leaders and institutions that survivors will not allow them to hide in plain sight any longer.

The church is one of the landmarks of the Bavarian capital Munich. At least 497 children and adolescents were abused in the Archdiocese of Munich-Freising over a period of almost 74 years (from 1945 to 2019). Most of them were young; 247 are male victims and 182 are female. Sixty percent of the survivors were between the ages of 8-14, abused by 235 perpetrators of abuse including 173 priests and nine deacons.

The German leadership has expressed its commitment to tackling childhood sexual violence and adding it to the G7 Summit agenda. As recently as June 2, Dr. Markus Richter, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community, Government of Germany said, “the German Government is putting this topic on the top of the list of its Presidency of the G7.”

Now, the Brave Movement is calling for tangible, bold and transformative action which goes beyond commitments. At the G7 Summit, the Brave Movement survivors and allies will deliver a petition signed by more than 70 thousand survivors and allies, asking G7 leaders to:

  • Support the Brave Movement’s call for a global pledging event on November 18, 2022 and commit to an initial investment of at least US$1 billion per year for the established Global Partnership and Fund to End Violence Against Children
  • Legislate to create a safe internet where children and adolescents are free from sexual violence
  • Create a G7 Survivors Council to advise G7 governments on actions that they take to permanently end sexual violence against children

— ENDS —

NOTES TO EDITORS

G7 nation survivor statements:

Rosalia Rivera, is a Canadian survivor, consent educator and abuse prevention specialist, sexual literacy advocate and member of the Brave Movement: “The lifelong effects of child sexual abuse, like mental health crises, addiction, suicide, and chronic illnesses, create a world where individuals struggle to be thriving productive members of their communities. The economic impact of these long-term consequences is costing the world trillions of dollars in loss of, not only productivity but the overall quality of life. I hope that the leaders of the G7 can understand why investing in the solutions that the Brave Movement proposes, must be prioritized, now more than ever, as we face the biggest child sexual abuse epidemic in history.”

Ending Childhood Sexual Violence: #BeBrave G7 Scorecard

The 2022 Ending Childhood Sexual Violence: #BeBrave G7 Scorecard assesses each G7 country on how they are responding to childhood sexual violence at home and across the world. Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States are evaluated and ranked according to their progress on a strategic set of policy indicators necessary to moving forward action on ending this abhorrent global crisis.

  • The indicators have been developed and informed by survivor advocates at the heart of the Brave Movement, who co-created demands such as the G7 Call to Action and the #BeBrave Global Call to Action.
  • The Scorecard uses newly released data from the forthcoming 2022 Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Out of the Shadows Index and the preliminary data from the forthcoming 2022 Counting Pennies 3 report developed by World Vision International and partners. These full reports will be released later in 2022.
  • See the full Ending Childhood Sexual Violence: #BeBrave G7 Scorecard

The Brave Movement G7 Survivor’s Camp:

The Brave Movement will be present at the G7 Summit at its first “Survivors Camp” in Munich, Germany : For more information, contact: brave@eckiger-tisch.de

The Brave Newsroom:

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