Child sexual abuse around the world is rife. Research estimates suggest 1 in 5 children will suffer some form of sexual violence in their lives.
CRIN believes transparency, accountability, access to justice for children and protection from violence are crucial to securing children’s status as individuals with rights.
So we are campaigning to end sexual violence with a focus on closed institutions where a lack of accountability, entrenched power structures and arcane institutions allow the abuse to continue.
Our goal is to push for reforms that will open these to scrutiny, prevent cover-ups and allow victims to access justice. Our work so far has looked at:
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Sexual abuse of children in religious institutions, starting with the Holy See as a State party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
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Sexual abuse by peacekeepers: our focus began following the revelations of sexual abuse of children by peacekeepers in the Central African Republic.
We are also working to change the underlying structures that allow perpetrators, whether the State or an individual to escape accountability.
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Access to justice for children is often an afterthought. We have mapped whether and how children can access justice for abuse they have suffered in every country in the world.
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Time limitations are a serious barrier to victims of sexual abuse accessing justice. We are campaigning to suspend limiation periods.
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Transparency: The UN is the best hope we have of securing human rights across the world. But if the UN is to remain fit for purpose, accountability and confidence in its processes must be guaranteed. Too many of the UN's decisions remain shrouded in secrecy, from appointment processes, to the motivations for limiting NGO access, and internal procedures for handling allegations of abuse.
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Prevention is key: better informed children is the best hope we have of preventing much of the abuse to occur in the first place. We work with others to ensure children have access to appropriate age-related information.
