In the wake of the 2025 G7 Summit in Kananaskis, we’re reflecting on the role of advocacy in the global fight against childhood sexual violence. At Future Advocacy, we’ve been proud to partner with the Brave Movement on a high-impact campaign that has delivered real policy wins — and demonstrated the influence that strategic, data-driven government relations can have on the global stage.
A Campaign Rooted in Survivor Advocacy
Every second in the past year, three girls and two boys experienced sexual violence. One in five girls and one in seven boys will be affected before their 18th birthday. One in eight children has faced non-consensual sharing of sexual images and videos.
Working with the Brave Movement — a global, survivor-led network — we supported a multi-country advocacy campaign calling for urgent political action on this deeply under-addressed issue.
The G7 provided a crucial moment to focus and elevate these demands.
Strategic Policy Demands at the G7
The Brave Movement’s campaign centred on three core demands:
- Globally aligned legislation to protect children online
- National Survivor Councils in every G7 country
- Abolishing statutes of limitations on childhood sexual violence cases
These weren’t developed in think tanks — they came directly from survivor advocates, grounding the campaign in lived experience and moral authority.
The campaign came at a pivotal time:
- The UK committed to a new Victim and Survivor Committee
- The US signed the TAKE IT DOWN Act into law
- France’s Prime Minister pledged to establish its first National Survivor Council
- Germany elevated its Council to statutory status
These wins are a testament to what becomes possible when effective advocacy meets political will.
A Campaign Scorecard That Drove Change
To turn these political shifts into peer accountability, we created an interactive G7 scorecard — a bold new way to use data for policy advocacy.
Working with survivor leaders, we scored each G7 country on five indicators:
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- Elimination of statutes of limitations
- Online child safety legislation
- Survivor participation in policymaking
- National action plans
- Financial investment via development aid
- Elimination of statutes of limitations
The result: a digital scorecard platform that’s engaging, accessible, and built for sharing.
Brought to life by the Together for Girls team—including Roz Pen, Lucía Castuera and Ngunan Aloho—and designed by Made by Mutual, the Scorecard is hosted on the Brave Movement website, allowing users to explore country rankings and track progress in real time.
This format turned dense policy analysis into visually compelling narratives — and it resonated. Journalists, campaigners, and policymakers shared the tool widely, proving that interactivity can cut through where PDFs can’t.
Lessons for Advocacy, Government Relations and Policy Influence
Our work on the G7 campaign highlighted valuable lessons for anyone working in advocacy or government relations:
🟢 Competition creates momentum
- Governments cared deeply about their scores — and many reached out to understand how they could improve.
🟢 Survivor leadership builds legitimacy
- Grounding our indicators in survivor expertise made our campaign authentic, accountable, and harder to ignore.
🟢 Metrics give governments a roadmap
- Clear benchmarks help policymakers see what progress looks like — and how they compare to their peers.
🟢 Early engagement matters
- Consulting governments before the launch helped build trust, drive policy change, and opened doors at the right political moments.
Looking Ahead: From G7 to G20
With this foundation, the Brave Movement is now exploring opportunities for survivor-led action at the G20 level. The G7 scorecard has shown that strategic, survivor-centred campaigns — when supported with credible data and strong messaging — can drive meaningful policy change.
We’re excited to build on this model to shape opinion, influence governments, and continue advocating for the rights and safety of all children.
📢 Learn More
About the Brave Movement
The Brave Movement is a survivor-led global movement that campaigns for the right of all children and adolescents to live free from sexual violence. Its mission is to ensure global policy change, legislative reform, and survivor leadership are at the heart of the solution.
Visit: www.bravemovement.org