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Pillar

Governance and accountability

Overview

88.6/100
Australia (top score)
41.7/100
Average score
9.3/100
Algeria (lowest score)
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Taking coordinated national action to end childhood sexual violence.

Lasting change relies on strong political will. Effective governance means national governments make and follow through on public commitments to end sexual violence against children and adolescents.

These commitments should be developed: in consultation with children and survivors, in coordination across sectors, with a monitoring and evaluation plan, and with an appropriate budget allocated. 

The Index assesses whether national governments have established the leadership and accountability needed to end sexual violence against children and adolescents at a national level.  This includes:

  • Ratifying key international legal instruments, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child
  • Putting in place national action plans for addressing sexual violence against children and adolescents, both online and offline
  • Engaging children and survivors of childhood sexual violence in developing child protection and violence programs and policies
  • Collecting national data on the prevalence of sexual violence against children and adolescents

Preventing and addressing sexual violence against children and adolescents should be treated as a national priority, connected to health, education, justice, and economic development goals and plans.

Data explorer

No country is fully meeting the standard

Closing the scoring gap will require stronger national commitments and more consistent implementation informed by population-level data and the lived experiences of children and survivors.

  • Australia scored highest at 89. Germany followed at 81 and the UK at 75. 
  • Only Albania has signed all eight protective international legal instruments.
  • Two countries, Australia and Germany, have National Survivors Councils (NSC) supported by their government.The NSC in Germany is focused specifically on the issue of child sexual abuse and exploitation, whereas the one in Australia is broader to include individuals with lived experience of domestic, family, and sexual violence.
  • Just three countries have comprehensive, up-to-date National Action Plans to end violence against children and adolescents both online and offline: Albania, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania.
  • Nearly one in three countries has collected national data on the size of the problem of sexual violence against children both online and offline.
  • More than one-third of countries have formal mechanisms for child participation in violence or child protection policy development.
  • The global average score for budget transparency is 52 out of 100.

How Governance and accountability connects to other pillars

The Governance and accountability pillar does not work in isolation. It provides the foundations on which every other theme stands:

  • Prevention: Does the National Action Plan include prevention strategies? Are activities clearly defined and budgeted, and are roles and responsibilities for implementation clearly assigned? 
  • Healing: Are healing services funded through dedicated budget lines? Does the National Action Plan include targets for medical care and mental health access?
  • Justice: Has the country ratified the conventions that underpin its criminal justice obligations? Does the online safety plan connect to laws against online grooming and child sexual violence material?

Advocacy tip

If you find a gap in the Governance and Accountability theme, check the related indicators in other themes. A weak score for National Survivors Councils  (1.3.1) may connect to weak budgetary commitment or transparency (1.4),  absence of integrated victim and survivor services (3.2), or a lack of special procedures for child victims in the justice system (4.8). Building a cross-theme ‘ask’ strengthens your advocacy.

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Data driving change

Third Richest Nation

www.bravemovement.org/campaigns/third-richest-nation

A world without childhood violence would be $7 trillion richer. This nation isn’t real. Its wealth could be. Brave Movement's survivor-led advocacy campaign at the G20 in 2025 pressured decision makers to invest in prevention, healing and justice to create stronger, happier nations.

#BeBrave G7 Scorecard 2025

www.bravemovement.org/g7

By evaluating each G7 nation’s progress on vital policy measures we're drawing global attention to the global, silent pandemic of sexual violence against children. This is a crisis that undermines the G7's commitment to building secure, prosperous, and equitable societies. Kids need bold leadership and decisive action now to be safe and thrive.

Break the record

www.togetherforgirls.org/en/press/a-record-breaking-event-now-governments-must-deliver

We broke the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ for the most countries represented at a childhood violence summit! With 120 governments attending, this first ever Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children was the largest organized event to address this issue on a global scale. Most importantly, as a result, we also broke the world’s record of inaction against childhood sexual violence.