Together for Girls Launch ‘Break the Record’ in record-breaking attempt to end childhood sexual violence

By Emmanuel Oluebube, Bureau Chief, United Kingdom

A global partnership working to end violence against children and adolescents, Together for Girls is unveiling the findings of an extensive research effort revealing the global prevalence of childhood sexual violence (CSV) this year, comprising data representing 193 countries and relevant to the experiences of 2.4 billion young people, Cyber Era NG gathers.

In the past 12 months, 82 million girls and 69 million boys have experienced some form of sexual violence, approximately 3 girls and 2 boys per second. The data was compiled by Together for Girls in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), Georgia State University, China Agricultural University, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and University of Edinburgh.

In a first-of-its-kind approach, Together for Girls has created a book called ‘Break the Record’ to measure and understand childhood sexual violence and offer a practical framework to end it. This effort is part of a wider Break the Record campaign supported by influencers and advocates around the world including the Brave Movement, a survivor-led global advocacy movement to end childhood sexual violence and special initiative of Together for Girls. The campaign will also attempt a Guinness World Records™ title for the most countries represented at a childhood violence summit at the Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children taking place in Bogotá, Colombia on November 7-8, 2024.

The Break the Record book features additional world-first numbers: UNICEF’s first-ever global and regional estimates, which Together for Girls and research partners fed into revealing that 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 7 boys will experience some form of sexual violence before their 18th birthday.

Together for Girls CEO and Brave Movement founder, Dr Daniela Ligiero says: “Sexual violence against children (SVAC) is persistent, widespread, and devastating, yet we know there are proven solutions to prevent it. We also know that SVAC happens in the dark. One of the key reasons for its proliferation is the lack of global measurement. While some governments and organizations measure on a national or regional level, we have yet to see rigorous measures on a global scale. This lack of global measurement has meant no effective global solutions. With this world-first effort, measuring the experiences of 1.5 billion young people, we hope to transform people’s understanding of SVAC and spur governments to take action.”

“So today, ahead of the world’s first violence against children ministerial, we are calling on governments and individuals to take action, to see that there is hope if we all share a vision for the future – a world in which survivors have a seat at the table, and the collective efforts of governments, civil society, and the private sector combine to ensure that every child grows up safe and free from fear and violence. A world everyone has access to prevention, healing, and justice.”

The book also features the Out of the Shadows Index (OOSI), as well as data from Childlight: Global Child Safety Institute at the University of Edinburgh, which finds that over 300 million children under the age of 18 have been affected by online child and sexual exploitation and abuse in the last 12 months. According to the Into the Light Index, 1 in 8 children globally have been subjected to online solicitation and 1 in 8 children have experienced taking, sharing, and/or exposure to sexual images and videos in the last 12 months. The Into the Light index consolidates data from national surveys, research, and practice to estimate the prevalence of online child sexual abuse and exploitation.

These forms of childhood sexual violence, both contact and non-contact, have serious emotional, health, and psychosocial impacts on children and youth, including into adulthood.