This investment will support Brave’s Africa regional platform’s advocacy campaigns to end childhood sexual violence across the continent.
Washington, D.C., February 21, 2024 – The Brave Movement, a survivor-centered global movement campaigning to end to sexual violence against children, has received a 230,000 USD grant from UBS Optimus Foundation to expand its Brave regional platform’s work towards ending sexual violence against children in the continent.
Brave Africa is a regionally coordinated platform catalyzing advocacy campaigns to end childhood sexual violence across Africa. This grant will support the Brave Movement plans to engage with the African Union to advocate for policy and legal reforms across the continent that focus on prevention, healing and justice and are led by survivors of childhood sexual violence.
“We are grateful for UBS Optimus Foundation’s belief in our mission and support for the Brave Movement’s work in Africa”, said Dr. Daniela Ligiero, President of Together for Girls and Founder of the Brave Movement. “This support will be instrumental in our work with brave survivors in Africa to advocate for measures that address childhood sexual violence across the continent.”
“Every child deserves a safe childhood. Brave’s work to amplify voices against childhood sexual abuse is critical to achieve prevention, healing and justice for survivors", said Kanga Rasi, Africa Campaign Manager at the Brave Movement. “We are at the forefront of change, and this grant will be a catalyst for further progress in our work to demand bold and transformative action from world leaders to put an end to childhood sexual violence.”
Sarah Veilex, Child Protection Program Director at UBS Optimus Foundation said: “We invest in evidence-based, scalable solutions that keep children safe. That’s why we are delighted to support the Brave Movement in Africa as this will enable them to increase their support for survivor organizations and amplify advocacy programs to improve child safety online and end sexual violence against children across Africa.”
With the support from UBS Optimus Foundation, Brave Africa will continue to demand action from policymakers and technology companies to ensure that children are secure, protected and free from all forms of sexual violence online. Brave Africa is reigniting action on the African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection, also known as the Malabo Convention, which came into force in 2023. Brave Africa will push for member states to sign and ratify this convention and expand the scope of online offences to include online grooming, sextortion, online trafficking, livestream sexual abuse and all other forms of online offences.
This support from UBS Optimus Foundation will enable Brave Africa to continue mobilizing survivor-led organizations across the continent, call on leaders and technology companies to ensure children’s safety online and strengthen its advocacy campaigns to end childhood sexual violence across Africa.
About Together for Girls
Together for Girls is a global partnership working to end sexual violence against children and adolescents. Active in over 20 countries, Together for Girls unites actors that often do not work together, including national governments, United Nations entities, the private sector, civil society, and survivors. Through data and advocacy, Together for Girls drives action to break cycles of violence and ensure prevention, healing, and justice.
About the Brave Movement
Hosted by Together for Girls, the Brave Movement is a survivor-led global movement campaigning to end childhood sexual violence. It is led by 14 powerful survivors and allied partners. It is demanding bold and transformative action to mobilize billions for programs focused on prevention, healing and justice worldwide, abolish statutes of limitation in every nation, and create a safer internet for children.
About UBS Optimus Foundation
The UBS Optimus Foundation is an independent grant-making foundation that offers UBS clients a platform to use their wealth to drive positive social and environmental change. The Foundation selects programs that improve children’s health, education and welfare, ones that have the potential to be transformative, scalable and sustainable as well as programs tackling environmental and climate issues.
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