The “World Day for Prevention, Healing and Justice to End Sexual Violence Against Children and Adolescents” was developed through the efforts of the Global Collaborative, a survivor-led network of child advocacy organizations, governments, academic, and faith-based institutions committed to ending childhood sexual violence.

Building off the success of the Council of Europe’s “European Day on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse” annual observance on November 18, the Global Collaborative hopes to create an official international day to end sexual violence against children. This year, representatives from more than 55 countries are commemorating the day, including the 47 countries of the European Council, Bolivia, Canada, India, Kenya, Nepal, and the United States.

In the United States, one alliance commemorating World Day to End Sexual Violence Against Children and Adolescents is Keep Kids Safe. Led by a coalition of survivors, allies and organizations (including Together for Girls), Keep Kids Safe launched the first-ever U.S. National Blueprint to End Sexual Violence Against Children and Adolescents this morning.

Using the framework of prevention, healing, and justice, this Blueprint serves as a roadmap identifying the much-needed changes the federal government should implement to ensure that evidence-based prevention efforts will be taken to scale in families, communities, schools, sports programs, places of worship and online. It also outlines the efforts needed to ensure that children, adolescents and adults who experienced sexual violence will access equitable, child and survivor-centered services and engage in processes designed to help them heal. Finally, it details interventions at the federal level that will ensure survivors who experienced any form of sexual violence—including child sexual abuse—will access fair child- and survivor-centered justice.