Millions of children experience sexual violence and other forms of violence every day, everywhere. New data shows that in the last year alone, 82 million girls and 69 million boys experienced some form of sexual violence globally, often in spaces where they should feel and be safe: at home, school, on public transport, and in community or religious spaces.
In that same period, data from the coalition group Together for Girls show that online and tech-enabled forms of sexual abuse have multiplied: more than 300 million children have been affected by online child sexual exploitation and abuse.
The scale of violence against children and its lifelong impacts on children are devastating. This week, governments meet in Bogotá, Colombia, for the first ever Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children. Hundreds of experts and organizations, including Human Rights Watch, signed an open letter urging all governments to treat school-related sexual violence (SRSV) with the seriousness and urgency required. For girls, SRSV takes many forms: sexual violence committed through coercion for grades and fees; sexual harassment and violence by teachers and peers, sometimes on a daily basis; and online gender-based violence, including sexual coercion and the nonconsensual sharing of intimate photos, to name a few. Boys, as well as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) children and children with disabilities, also suffer SRSV, often in silence due to deeply entrenched stereotypes, stigma, and discrimination. School inaction often forces children to drop out of school, resulting in learning loss. Those who are forced to have ongoing contact with perpetrators are at high risk of retraumatization.
Governments that are serious about ending SRSV should act, with measures that reflect the complexity of preventing and tackling SRSV, including by investing in training school personnel, allocating counselors with specialized expertise on SRSV to schools, and guaranteeing access to comprehensive sexuality education to empower all students. They should also end impunity for SRSV and establish robust, confidential, and accessible reporting systems, while also ensuring coordination among education ministries, police, and judicial institutions, and investing significant resources to ensure effective justice, support, and reparations for child survivors.
It is urgent for governments to acknowledge that SRSV is widespread and take concrete steps to protect all students from this scourge.
