No more excuses: what governments must do to end violence against children.

Two years ago, over 100 governments came together in Bogotá, Colombia, to acknowledge the global scourge of violence against children, and pledge publicly to address it. This was the first time that child protection was the sole focus at a high-level ministerial conference. It even broke a Guinness World Record for the most countries represented at a childhood violence summit. Hopes were high that these pledges would spark concrete action to protect children worldwide.

In the intervening time, advocates – including many members of the Brave Movement – have pushed governments to live up to their commitments, resulting in major successes.

But many countries are still falling short. Two years after the Bogotá conference, the 2026 Out of the Shadows Index (researched and developed by Economist Enterprise, with advocacy led by Together for Girls), which measures how governments are preventing and responding to childhood sexual violence, found that the average score across 60 countries was just 53 out of 100.

The solutions outlined in the Out of the Shadows Index are foundational policy requirements proven to be effective. They include steps such as training health providers to recognize and respond to sexual violence, background checks for adults working in direct contact with children, and reforming statutes of limitations so survivors who come forward later in life can still seek justice – and prevent further abuse.

If governments choose to commit to, fund, and follow through on what we know works, more children will grow up safe.

This November, governments from around the world will again gather – this time in Manila, the Philippines – for the second Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children. They once again will have an opportunity and a responsibility to turn decades of evidence into decisive action against childhood sexual violence.

Out of more than 100 countries that made pledges in the first Ministerial, 64 countries have reported progress and 165 pledges are completed or on track. The efforts of Brave Movement members contributed directly to the delivery of the pledge to create a National Survivor Council in France and the pledge to improve school safety in Tanzania.

These countries and others making and keeping their commitments know that it’s in their own best interest. Not only does investing in prevention work for children; it is a game-changer for economies. In just one example, a $1 million investment in an app to support parents in preventing violence in Tanzania generated US $19 million in savings on health and social services in just one year.

And this is not an isolated example. Studies have proven that for every dollar invested in child protection, economies gain up to $21 in economic and social benefits.

Starting today, all eyes are on the governments coming to Manila. And there are four commitments governments cannot leave the Philippines without making:

• Establish national survivor councils to put lived experience at the center of policymaking. Survivors have essential experience and expertise about what works in practice — and what does not — when it comes to preventing violence, accessing healing services, and seeking justice.  Governments should recognize survivors as partners in decisions that affect them. We must prevent other children from experiencing the same harm.
• Dedicate budget to governance and accountability, prevention, healing and justice. The knock-on effects of physical, psychological, and sexual violence against children come with a massive economic toll: up to $7 trillion USD globally. Policies without budgets are merely promises without plans. If a country is serious about protecting young people, it must back its commitments with real funding.
• Make the internet safer for children.  Governments must pass strong online safety legislation that puts children at the center, informed by lived experience, while holding technology companies accountable for safety across their platforms. To ensure these protections are more than just promises, leaders must back them with dedicated funding in national digital safety budgets.
• End time limits on justice for survivors of childhood sexual violence.  For psychological, cultural, and circumstantial reasons, survivors often disclose childhood abuse decades after it occurs. Yet arbitrary deadlines prevent them from bringing forward legal cases against perpetrators. Removing statutes of limitations allows survivors to pursue abuse cases, helps identify repeat offenders, and strengthens protection for future generations. Governments must commit to completely removing the age limits for survivors to access justice.