Global Day to End Child Sexual Abuse 2023: Everything you need to know

Global Day to End Child Sexual Abuse is observed annually on April 11 to raise awareness of child sexual abuse and to create a strong community to end it. The day was initiated by 'The Innocence Revolution', an organisation founded by Jill Starishevsky and Tom Scales to combat sexual exploitation worldwide.

Global Day to End Child Sexual Abuse was first observed in 2013 in more than 30 countries and more than half of U.S. states.

History

In 1875, the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NYSPCC) was established as the first organisation in the world dedicated to child protection.

In 1874, Mary Ellen Wilson, age 9, was being neglected and abused by her custodians. Upon learning of her plight, missionary Etta Wheeler decided to intervene. Wheeler sought aid from a variety of sources and with the assistance of Henry Bergh, the founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; was able to save Mary Ellen.

Henry Bergh, lamenting the lack of a children’s aid organization, founded NYSPCC in 1875. By 1922, approximately 300 non-governmental child protection societies had been founded in the wake of NYSPCC.

In 1899, the first juvenile court was established in Chicago, and by 1919, almost all U.S. states had juvenile courts. The Federal Children’s Bureau was founded in 1912 in response to the growing need for a public child welfare agency in the 20th century. This was followed by the Sheppard Towner Act, which provided federal funding for maternal and infant health services from 1921 to 1929.

Henry Kempe’s 1962 article titled 'The Battered-Child Syndrome' garnered media and public attention. In 1962, Congress emphasised child protection and amended the Society Security Act 1962, mandating that all states provide statewide child welfare services. By 1967, nearly all states had enacted legislation placing the responsibility for child protection in the hands of the government.

Facts regarding global child sexual abuse

Before the age of 18, approximately one in three females and one in five boys are sexually abused.

70% of reported sexual assaults involve children under the age of 17.

Almost 90% of victims are aware of the perpetrator.

1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys is a victim of child sexual abuse.

Children are most vulnerable to child sexual abuse between the ages of 7 and 13.