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Summary
On World Day for the Prevention of Child Sexual Exploitation, millions of girls face trafficking, abuse, and forced marriage. It is important that adults in the community act decisively to protect them.
It’s November 18, the World Day for the Prevention and Healing of Child Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Violence, a day meant to force adults to confront a reality too often ignored that children are being harmed, trafficked, and forced into marriage, they did not ask for this, they did not invite abuse, and the responsibility to protect them rests entirely on us.
The girl child bears the heaviest burden. She faces harassment, trafficking, and child marriage, often all at once. Globally, 38 per cent of detected human trafficking victims were children in 2022, and of those child victims, 60 per cent of girls were trafficked for sexual exploitation. Millions more are forced into early marriages, losing their chance to attend school, to play, to grow, and to live freely. Every statistic represents a stolen childhood, every number a life shaped by fear, trauma, and lost opportunities, and yet society often acts as if this is someone else’s problem.
How can we expect girls to protect themselves when the systems meant to shield them fail? How can we claim to care for children while we allow them to be trafficked, married off, or abused? These questions demand more than reflection; they demand action. Adults must stop shifting responsibility onto children and start holding perpetrators and institutions accountable. Blaming a girl for what has been done to her is a betrayal of trust and humanity, and it is an injustice that must end.
Parents, teachers, caregivers, and community leaders must act as guardians, creating spaces where children can speak freely and safely. Schools should teach about consent, bodily autonomy, and boundaries in ways children can understand, while parents must monitor online and offline spaces without instilling fear, fostering trust so children know their voices matter. Communities must provide clear reporting mechanisms, and governments must enforce laws that punish offenders while supporting survivors with trauma-informed care and long-term rehabilitation.
Protection is not only about rules or procedures; it is about trust. Every child must know that their body belongs to them, that they have a right to say no, and that adults will act if harm occurs. This trust is earned through listening, believing, and responding immediately, not through delays, excuses, or disbelief.
The girl child faces urgent risks. Cultural norms, stigma, and inequality worsen her vulnerability; she may encounter harassment at school, coercion online, early marriage, or sexual exploitation, and every denied opportunity, every silenced voice, every ignored warning represents a failure of adults to act. We cannot allow girls to bear the consequences of systems that fail them; society must step in, fully accountable.
Deepti, a survivor of human trafficking from South Asia, said, “I just wish that girls everywhere get a chance to live the way they were meant to, in dignity and freedom.” Her words remind us that action is not optional. Tony Kirwan, founder of Destiny Rescue, puts it plainly: “This evil of child sex slavery can and will end in our generation if we are willing to own the shame of what has been done and then declare with a loud voice: ‘No more’ and act.”
If we refuse to act, who will step in to protect these children? If we remain silent, what future do we offer them? And if we do not intervene now, when will we take responsibility? These questions should ignite resolve and drive us to create communities where children are safe, valued, and free. Every girl deserves protection, every child deserves safety, and every survivor deserves justice.
On this World Day, adults must confront the truth: we have failed children in the past, we have been silent, indifferent, or misdirected in our efforts, and now we must act decisively. Protecting children is not optional; it is a duty, and acting with courage and conviction today is the only way to build a generation where no child lives in fear of those who should protect them, where every girl has a chance to grow up in safety, education, and dignity.
