Press Conference: Survivors Urge G7 Leaders To Take Strong Action To End Child Sexual Abuse

PRESS CONFERENCE

Survivors Urge G7 Leaders To Take Strong Action To End Child Sexual Abuse
Ikuko Ishida, Founder of Be Brave Japan 
Robert A. Shilling Jr., Co-Founder, Brave Movement
Noriko Shibata, Advocacy Senior Advisor, World Vision Japan

11:00-12:00 Thursday, March 2, 2023
(The speech and Q & A will be in English and Japanese with English interpretation)

As Japan mulls raising the age of sexual consent from 13 – the lowest among developed countries – to 16 years old following global criticism that its current laws are not enough, advocacy groups are lobbying world leaders to take stronger, more decisive steps to end sexual violence against children.

On February 17, four groups – ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes), ChildFund Japan, World Vision Japan and Be Brave Japan – discussed the problem with the National Police Agency. They have also come up with their recommendations to Japanese and world leaders, ahead of the G7 Hiroshima Summit in May.

Speakers
Ikuko Ishida was sexually abused by her school teacher as a teenager. She founded Be Brave Japan as a survivors' group, and is working to prevent sexual violence against children in school.

Robert Shilling is a former INTERPOL Head of Crimes Against Children. He co-founded the Brave Movement, a group of sexual violence survivors and their supporters campaigning on the issue since the G7 summit in Germany last year.

Noriko Shibata is Advocacy Senior Advisor for World Vision Japan, a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. She also represents the Civil Society Forum to End Violence against Children (GPeVAC Japan Forum).

How to attend: 
Please register at front@fccj.or.jp with your name, the name of your media outlet, and FCCJ membership number. Due to space restrictions attendance will be limited. Doors open 15 minutes before the event. Please sign in, giving your name and contact details at the reception, and have your temperature taken before proceeding. 

How to watch online: https://www.youtube.com/c/FCCJchannel/live 　
Livestreaming of the press events will be available and video of this event will be uploaded to our FCCJ YouTube channel. 

How to ask questions: https://forms.gle/kCkkZZKTQoVXLi1TA
Members watching the event online can submit questions for the speakers in advance using this submission form.

TV crew: Please make a reservation at front@fccj.or.jp. Doors open for TV crews only at 30 minutes before the event. 

Professional Activities Committee