Sexual violence begins much earlier than adulthood, and needs to be tackled then too 

Female vulnerability to sexual violence, and acting out of harmful sexual behaviours in males, manifest when the child is under the age of 13

Clíona Saidléar, executive director of Rape Crisis Network Ireland says early intervention in children's lives is the strongest commitment we can make to prevention and protection from sexual violence.

Let’s face it, we all know that sexual violence doesn’t suddenly start at 18. 

But what do we really know about what happens to our children and sexual harassment before they become adults?