Opinion: We are still failing boys on sexual violence
By Rita Panicker , Zeny Rosales // 16 April 2025
We believe that keeping boys safe from sexual violence is one of the most underrecognized global human rights issues.
And that’s why, along with our fellow members of the Family for Every Child alliance, we are lobbying the United Nations to declare April 16 the official international day for the prevention of sexual violence against boys. Our members have been running global awareness raising events since 2021 on what we have named Blue Umbrella Day.
But it’s not enough. We need more voices, louder voices, to join the fight to gain boys and young men around the world the protection they so desperately need.
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About the authors
Rita Panicker
Rita Panicker is the founder-director of Butterflies, a nongovernmental organization in New Delhi, India, working to protect and empower street-connected children since 1989. She is also chair of the board of Family for Every Child.
Zeny Rosales
Zeny Rosales is co-founder and executive director of the Center for the Prevention & Treatment of Child Sexual Abuse, or CPTCSA, in the Philippines. Created in 1995, CPTCSA is a nonprofit child-focused institution working toward a safe world for children free from sexual abuse and exploitation.
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