Three girls, two boys face sexual violence every second - Study

The data of an extensive research effort unveiling the global prevalence of childhood sexual violence (CSV) this year was compiled by Together for Girls in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), Georgia State University, China Agricultural University, United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and University of Edinburgh.

Together for Girls chief executive officer and Brave Movement founder, Dr Daniela Ligiero said sexual violence against children (SVAC) is persistent, widespread, and devastating, yet there were proven solutions to prevent it.

"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," she said in a statement.

In a first-of-its-kind approach, Together for Girls has created a book called 'Break the Record' to measure and understand CSV 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 CSV, 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 Bogota, Colombia, on Nov 7 to 8.

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

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, one in eight children globally has been subjected to online solicitation, and one in eight children has experienced taking, sharing, and/or exposure to sexual images and videos in the last 12 months.

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

-- BERNAMA