Together for Girls is a global public-private partnership dedicated to ending violence against children, with a focus on sexual violence against girls.

To address this horrific human rights violation and public health problem, Together for Girls brings together the expertise and resources of many of the strongest organizations working globally in development, public health, and children and women’s rights to collaborate with national governments and civil society.

Using the Violence Against Children Survey (VACS), led by CDC as part of the Together for Girls Partnership, we provide comprehensive data on the magnitude and consequences of this issue on a scale that never existed before. Their approach provides the foundation for action, mobilizing countries to lead a response and inform solutions that are evidence-based and supported by their global partners.

Launched as a Clinton Global Initiative commitment, the partnership includes five UN agencies, the governments of the United States and Canada, several private sector organizations and more than 15 implementing country governments in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. Their UN partners are led by UNICEF and include UNAIDS, UN Women, WHO and UNFPA. The United States and Canada are represented by their respective agencies, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Violence Prevention; the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief; the U.S. Agency for International Development; the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Global Women’s Issues; and the Government of Canada. Their private sector partners are BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), the CDC Foundation and Cummins & Partners.

The partnership hosts the intersection between child protection, gender rights, violence prevention and HIV/AIDS prevention, creating synergies and efficiencies that make it possible to take on such a large issue with a comprehensive, multi-sector response.

Mission:

Together for Girls’ mission is to mobilize and sustain a global movement to end the deep human rights violations, public health impacts and long term individual and social consequences associated with violence against children, especially sexual violence against girls.

Vision:

Ending violence against children is central to achieving justice, health and prosperity for all. They imagine a world where children are safe, empowered and protected—free from violence, exploitation and abuse.