The United States Ranks #13 Behind the UK, France, Mexico, Germany, and Canada in Their Response to Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

World Childhood USA Launched US Out of The Shadows Index in Partnership with Economist Impact

Live Webinar and Round Table Discussion Featuring Survivors and Advocates

NEW YORK, Oct. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On Wednesday, September 28th, 2022  World Childhood USA launched the USA's pilot US Out of the Shadows (US OOSI) Index with a live webinar and roundtable discussion featuring sex trafficking survivors, activists and policymakers at Shearman & Sterling LLP in Washington, DC. The report which was developed in partnership with  Economist Impact was designed to help uncover how individual states are tackling child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA), both in person and online. The twelve states highlighted in the US Pilot Out of The Shadows Index are Connecticut, Illinois, Nevada, New York, Texas, Vermont, Wyoming, Louisiana, California, West Virginia, North Dakota, and Minnesota.

CSEA, which the American Medical Association recently called "silent epidemic" is a complex, multifaceted, and constantly evolving issue, especially as the internet becomes an increasingly large part of children and adolescents' lives and relationships. Representatives from the White House's Gender Policy Council and grassroots children's advocacy organizations including the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Children, Brave Movement / Keep Kids Safe, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), Together for Girls, We Protect Global Alliance, National Children's Alliance, UP For Champions, Prevent Child Abuse America, and the National Children's Alliance were all in attendance. The Economist Impact debuted their documentary Out of the Shadows which was created by child advocacy pediatrician Alexandra Dixon Gray and The Moore Center's Elizabeth Letourneau.

The US, which ranked number thirteen, BEHIND the UK, France, Sweden, Canada, South Africa, South Korea, Indonesia, Turkey, Germany, Brazil, and Mexico in the Global Index DOES NOT HAVE a holistic, consistent, child-centered vision for how to prevent and respond to CSEA. Every state in the pilot study has substantial gaps in its system to protect children from CSEA. These gaps differ from state to state, but there is a common thread: the prevention and response system does not consistently place the interests and needs of the child at its core. Three-quarters of the states in the pilot study (pilot states) do not consult children when developing plans to prevent child maltreatment — with Louisiana, New York, and Texas being the exceptions. Illinois, Texas, and Vermont are the only states that have consulted CSEA victims on their experiences of the response system.

The United States Pilot Out of the Shadows Index was designed to help uncover how states are tackling CSEA both in person and online. The study builds on the Global Out of the Shadows Index that was first released in 2019 by benchmarking the prevention of and response to CSEA in 12 US states. Using 182 individual metrics aggregated into 22 indicators and four pillars, the US pilot index assesses states' legal frameworks; policies and programs to protect and educate children and key stakeholders; provision of support services for victims and offenders; and the justice process for victims.

Media Information:

• To download the full report and view state profiles/studies please visit: https://www.childhood-usa.org/us-oosi/ 
• To view a replay of the webinar please click this link, please input the passcode 7#cFUMV?
• For high-resolution images from the event please click HERE: Use the password "conference" for entry and to download images. Photos courtesy of World Childhood USA.

For United States Pilot Out of the Shadows Index media inquiries please contact Stacey Manasco at [email protected] / 917.251.0909

SOURCE World Childhood Foundation