In every country, abusive adult-child sexual relationships have common dynamics that can be addressed to halt the abuse, an expert says.

Howard Taylor, executive director of the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children (GPeVAC), believes amplifying the voices of survivors is one way to protect children against potential abuse.

He noted that Japan has recently grappled with revelations that the late Johnny Kitagawa, a household name, allegedly assaulted young males regularly. 

Kitagawa, the founder of talent agency Johnny & Associates, died in 2019 at the age of 87.

“Behind sexual violence against children there is a common power imbalance between adults and children,” Taylor told The Asahi Shimbun in an interview in May. “It happens in every country and is by no means a problem unique to Japan.”

GPeVAC is an international effort to eradicate violence against children. It was launched in 2016 by the U.N. secretary-general and is hosted by UNICEF.

In all, 38 countries are involved in the partnership. Japan joined in 2018.

Taylor, 53, said he learned of the allegations of Kitagawa’s sexual assaults through a BBC report. He was saddened by the news but not surprised, he said.

Sexual violence against children by adults, including celebrities, teachers, religious leaders and sports coaches, occurs in all countries. Common factors are the power imbalance between adults and children and weak policy, he said. 

Adults are in an advantageous position. When they wield it, children feel fear and cannot easily resist. Moreover, the victims cannot easily report the damage to their family and friends.

Taylor is from Britain, a nation that recently had its own abuse case. Jimmy Savile was a popular BBC presenter. After Savile’s death in 2011, it was discovered that Savile had sexually assaulted many children and women.

This became a major social issue. Investigations led to a long line of entertainers and others being arrested on suspicion of historical sexual abuse.

The men who said they were sexually abused by Kitagawa were all boys at the time.

Although society has a perception that girls are the victims of child sexual abuse, the reality is that a vast number of boys have also experienced sexual abuse, Taylor said.

Harmful social norms also play to the abuser’s advantage, Taylor said. Men need to be seen as strong, which discourages the reporting of sexual abuse.

“One of our key priorities is to educate all parts of society to shift attitudes and behaviors,” he said.

Globally, there is a growing need to address the sexual abuse of children. Taylor said that there has been an explosion of sexual violence in the digital space. This includes an increase in the number of sexual images of children.

Main factors behind this were changes imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased use of the internet by children. In some cases, sexual violence against children takes place via live streaming.

Currently, one in eight adults worldwide experienced sexual abuse as a child, according to one statistic. That rate is increasing in the digital age. Already one in five children has experienced sexual abuse in the digital space in a country, a survey funded by GPeVAC found. The survey was conducted in 13 countries in Africa and Southeast Asia.

“The situation is getting worse, and it is time to address sexual violence against children,” Taylor said.

Key to changing the status quo is amplifying the voices of child victims, Taylor said.

He believes the voice of the survivor can bring about large-scale, systemic change to policies and legislation. It can also influence the attitudes and behaviors that perpetuate sexual violence against children.

The voices of survivors can lead to secondary victimization, he said. This is a process in which the victim relives the damage, causing the victim’s family to feel remorse for having been unaware of it.

An international group of survivors of childhood sexual violence and their supporters is making efforts toward this, which calls itself the Brave Movement.

The movement is fighting to prevent damage to others. When survivors demand this from governments and societies, major changes are often made.

The number of survivors who are speaking out is increasing, and victims’ networks and support circles are expanding, Taylor said.

Taylor recently attended a two-day conference in Europe with 30 participants from four continents to discuss childhood sexual violence. At this conference, the participants listened to survivors’ testimony.

“The courage to speak out is extraordinary,” he said. “But what motivated them was not revenge, but the desire to do their small part to prevent other children from being victimized in the future.”

During his visit to Japan, Taylor met with officials from the Foreign Ministry and others, and discussed measures at the Group of Seven level.

At the G-7 Summit in Britain in 2021, participants expressed commitment to accelerate efforts against child sexual abuse. Taylor urged Japan, this year’s G-7 chair, to take concrete action on the issue.

In Japan, a revised penal code has been enacted to overhaul the nation’s approach to sexual crimes. This includes raising the age of consent from 13 to 16.

The age of consent is that at which a person is considered capable of making a decision about partaking in a sexual activity.

“Laws are important, but it is important not only to enact laws but also to discuss the issues with society as a whole, including parents, caregivers and other people surrounding children,” Taylor said.

(This article was written by Yuri Murakami and Amane Shimazaki.)