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Advocacy tool

Finance advocacy: Justice

Governance and accountability

What this tool covers

If your country scores low on Justice, the first question to ask is: has money been allocated?

This document helps you turn Index findings into a concrete investment case and budget ‘ask’. It walks you through what governments need to budget to improve scores for different indicators, how to time your ‘ask’ to the right moment in the budget cycle, how to estimate a credible figure, and how to argue for the investment.

How to use this tool

Start with the section that matches where you are:

  • Building your case? Start with Why finance advocacy matters and Making the investment case.
  • Preparing for a meeting or submission? Go to From indicators to budget lines for ready-made ‘asks’, then use Your submission paragraph to draft your written request.
  • Not sure about timing? Check When to make budget ‘asks’ to find the right moment in the budget cycle.
  • Need a number? Go to How to put a number on your ‘ask’ for five practical costing approaches.

Use this alongside the Fact sheet for background, the Meeting guide when presenting your ask, and the Email templates to follow up in writing.

Your budget submission paragraph

Download this finance advocacy tool and use the material within it to create the following or a similar paragraph that you can include in a written submission, letter, or policy brief. 

The Out of the Shadows Index shows that [country] scores [score] on the Justice theme, which tracks whether a country has the laws, enforcement capacity, and child-friendly procedures to protect children and adolescents from sexual violence and to hold perpetrators accountable. The key gap identified is [describe the lowest-scoring indicator and what it means in practice — for example: "the law does not criminalize online grooming unless a physical meeting was planned, leaving children without legal protection from the most common form of online manipulation"]. To close this gap, we request that the [upcoming budget / supplementary estimates / sector plan] include a dedicated allocation of [amount or description] for [specific budget line from the table above — for example: legislative drafting and parliamentary review of online grooming provisions, or establishment of a specialized child exploitation investigation unit].

This investment would bring [country] in line with [peer country or regional average / international standard / Lanzarote Convention requirements / Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) obligations] and strengthen both the legal framework and the operational capacity needed to deliver justice for children.

Use this alongside the fact sheet for background, the meeting guide when presenting your ask, and the email templates to follow up in writing.

Download this finance advocacy tool

Created specifically for the Justice pillar. Learn why finance advocacy matters, how to create targeted ‘asks’ to decision-makers within the right Ministry, when to make budget ‘asks’ timed to your government’s fiscal cycle, and more.

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