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Parliaments united in combating sexual violence against children: mid-term review of the ONE in FIVE campaign

Motion for a resolution | Doc. 13075 | 23 November 2012

Committee
Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Thesaurus

The Council of Europe ONE in FIVE Campaign to stop sexual violence against children was launched in Rome on 29-30 November 2010 and is scheduled to run for four years in total. The aims of the campaign are twofold:

  • to encourage the signature, ratification and implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Violence (“Lanzarote Convention”, CETS no. 201) in order to ensure that its provisions are transposed into the policies and legislation of as many countries as possible;
  • to promote maximum awareness of the extent of sexual violence against children, and provide the means of preventing it.

When adopting Recommendation 1934 (2010) on 5 October 2010 on “Child abuse in institutions: ensuring full protection of the victims”, the Parliamentary Assembly resolved to develop the parliamentary dimension of the campaign. In the last two years, the Assembly has set up a Network of contact parliamentarians (currently November 2012, 49 members) under the banner of “parliaments united in combating sexual violence against children” which has already held 10 meetings. The Assembly has also inspired and supported numerous actions in and by national parliaments and by parliamentarians in this framework. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe has also joined the ONE in FIVE campaign, as have several countries and their governments.

After two years, the time has come for a mid-term review of the campaign. Amongst the most visible results, close to half of all Council of Europe member States have since ratified the Lanzarote Convention. The Assembly thus resolves to review the achievements of both the parliamentary, the governmental, and the local and regional dimensions of the campaign in order to learn from good practices and increase the campaign’s impact even further in the next two years.