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Pillar

Justice

Overview

85.3/100
Australia (top score)
58.5/100
Average score
30.9/100
Saudi Arabia (lowest score)
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Strengthening legal systems for deterrence and accountability.

Seeking justice sends a clear message: sexual violence against children and adolescents will not be tolerated. Accountability becomes real when laws are strong, statutes of limitations do not shield perpetrators, and justice systems are child-friendly, survivor-centered, and accessible. Strong justice systems uphold the rights of survivors and victims and hold perpetrators accountable – deterring future violence.

Ending sexual violence against children and adolescents requires more than promises — it requires consequences.

The Index is a global benchmark of national governments' efforts to prevent and respond to sexual violence against children and adolescents. It assesses whether countries have created legal frameworks and enforcement mechanisms that protect children and adolescents and hold perpetrators responsible. These include:

  • Laws that ban corporal punishment, child marriage, and multiple forms of contact and non-contact sexual violence against children and adolescents, including intrafamilial sexual violence
  • Statutes requiring internet service providers to report suspected child sexual abuse material
  • The elimination of statutes of limitations for bringing forward childhood sexual violence cases
  • Cross-border provisions to prosecute perpetrators
  • Ensuring countries are connected to the INTERPOL international child sexual exploitation database 
  • Dedicated law enforcement units or trained personnel to respond to cases of sexual violence against children and adolescents
  • Child- and adolescent-friendly justice procedures

While the Index tracks whether laws and policies are in place, it does not capture the quality or reach of their implementation.

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No country gets it right

All must strengthen their legal frameworks to better protect children and adolescents – and hold those responsible accountable. 

  • Australia ranked the highest with a score of 85. The United Kingdom and France are second and third at 82, with Canada following at 79, and India at 78. 
  • Rwanda is the only country to receive full marks for setting the legal age of sexual consent at 18 (with a close in age exemption), while in some countries it remains as low as 12 years old. 
  • South Africa is the only country to receive a score of 100 out of 100 for facilitating cross-border prosecution of sexual violence against children through extraterritoriality and extradition provisions.
  • Many countries – including the United States – still lack a minimum age of marriage, and in others, children can be married at age 16 or younger. 
  • Fewer than one-third of countries, including Argentina, Kenya, Nepal, South Africa, Venezuela, banned corporal punishment in all settings, while Australia and the United Kingdom have not.
  • Fewer than one in three countries has fully criminalized childhood sexual abuse by family members.
  • Less than one-third of countries has fully criminalized sexual violence against children and adolescents by people in positions of authority.
  • Only six countries, including El Salvador and South Korea, have fully defined and banned online grooming of children for sexual purposes with or without the intention to meet.
  • One in four countries has a full score for child-friendly court proceedings.

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Share your experience, research, and success stories using the Index in your work!

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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.