Council of Europe

16-05-12 Ms Levamo introduces the main objectives of the ONE in FIVE Campaign to stop sexual violence against children. She explains that the figure “one in five” is an estimated figure, based on the recent studies and research in this field in Europe and from data available from UNICEF, International Labour Organisation and World Health Organisation. She adds that there are two main reasons why is so difficult to obtain a clear picture of sexual violence against children. Firstly, child victims of sexual violence find it a taboo to talk about what has happened to them, for this reason, Ms Levamo emphasised that it is necessary to empower children to be able to speak up and seek help from someone who they trust. Secondly, as she points out “in order to have more data we have to have the member states to invest in the methodologies, in making sure we have enough capacity to understand, and by having more data (…) the member states are able to implement policies better and they are able to support victims of sexual violence and their parents”. Ms Levamo also shares the recent successes and main achievements of the campaign so far: the active involvement in the campaign of the Parliamentary Assembly and of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, of professionals, civil society and NGOs, and other international organisations such as UN, UNICEF and EU. She presents two examples of best practice in campaigning: the national campaigns in Cyprus and Montenegro.

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