Together for Girls, a global partnership working to end violence against children and adolescents, launched their Break the Record campaign on day one of the first-ever Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, on Thursday 7th November, inviting delegates to join them to #BreakTheRecord of inaction, when it comes to ending childhood sexual violence.
Government delegates were invited to sign-in at Together for Girls’ physical installation at the conference. With 119 countries attending, the conference – with Colombia as the host country – has succeeded in breaking the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the most countries represented at a childhood violence summit.
This record-breaking effort – coordinated by Together for Girls – was verified using official logbooks and validated on-site by Guinness World Record adjudicator, Natalia Ramirez Talero, who handed the certificate to Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luis Gilberto Murillo.
Natalia Ramirez Talero says:
“It is a true honor to officially recognize this remarkable achievement at the 1st Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children. This conference represents a crucial step forward in the global effort to protect children and ensure their safety. The dedication shown by all involved in this event not only sets a new Guinness World Records title but also reinforces the collective responsibility we share in ending violence against children worldwide. Together, we can make a lasting impact, and I am proud to welcome this extraordinary accomplishment to our Guinness World Records family. You are Officially Amazing.”
Together for Girls CEO and Brave Movement founder, Dr Daniela Ligiero says:
“We are thrilled to have achieved a world record today here in Bogotá, Colombia. The government delegations that have come together at this Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children have made history – and set a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the most countries represented at a childhood violence summit. The next step is taking this momentum forward. 101 delegations submitted concrete and quantifiable commitments to action – in the form of pledges.These commitments spark a new era of hope that together survivors and allies, leaders of all kinds, we can end childhood sexual violence, for good. At Together for Girls, we look forward to supporting the delegates to make progress on their commitments.”
This record is part of a larger Break the Record campaign, led by Together for Girls. It provides critical data and solutions to end childhood sexual violence and calls on individuals and policymakers to #BreakTheRecord of inaction.
At the heart of the campaign is a special-edition book called ‘Break the Record’, which amplifies world-first prevalence data on childhood sexual violence; offers a practical framework for addressing this violence; and calls on individuals and policymakers to take action. The book includes data such as:
- Globally, in the last 12 months: 82 million girls and 69 million boys have experienced some form of sexual violence, that is approximately 3 girls and 2 boys per second.[1] Thesefindings are the results 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. The data was compiled by Together for Girls in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), Georgia State University, China Agricultural University, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and University of Edinburgh.
- 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. It also found that 1 in 8 girls and 1 in 11 boys under the age of 18 will experience contact sexual violence, which includes unwanted touching, attempted rape, and rape.[2]
- The book also features prevalence 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. A 2023 study published in Nature Medicine led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), found that childhood sexual violence is a significant risk factor for ill health: Children who experience sexual violence are 270% more likely to develop schizophrenia and 98% more likely to harm themselves, as compared to those without such experience. Additionally, children who have experienced sexual violence are at a higher risk for several other negative outcomes, such as bipolar disorder, bulimia, substance use disorders, anxiety, and depression.
The Out of the Shadows Index (OOSI) is also included in the Break the Record book. Developed by Economist Impact and Ignite Philanthropy, OOSI is the first global benchmark for how countries address childhood sexual violence. The index benchmarks how 60 countries (home to approximately 85% of the global population of children) are preventing and responding to child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA). Scored 0–100 where 0 = the worst environment for children and 100 = the best environment for children.
To read a digital version of the book and take action to end childhood sexual violence, visit:
www.BreakTheRecord.org