June 27, 2022 – On 24 June 2022, the Brave Movement global advocacy group 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:
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 honouring 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:
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 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
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