By Maeve Bannister

Australia has been ranked first on national action to address sexual violence against children, but advocates say there are still gaps in policies to prevent and respond to these crimes.

The 2026 Out of the Shadows Index ranked Australia top of 60 countries across six regions in a global benchmark assessing the minimum laws, policies and services needed to address sexual violence against children and adolescents.

But the research also found no country was doing enough to prevent and respond to childhood and teenage sexual violence, Economist Impact lead researcher Elly Vaughan said.

“Behind every data point in this index is a child whose life has been shaped by violence,” she said.

“Across all 60 countries evaluated, our research exposes critical gaps in child protection systems, including top-ranked nations like Australia where plans and policies to prevent and respond to child and adolescent sexual violence remain incomplete.”

Australia scores above 80 out of 100 for governance, accountability, prevention and justice, with its lowest score being 70 for healing.

“While Australia’s top ranking reflects strong legal frameworks and support services, the index measures the minimum standard: the floor, not the ceiling,” Brave Movement co-founder Caroline Taylor said.

“Survivors and victims in regional and remote areas of Australia experience significant barriers to accessing medical and other services, among other gaps,” she said.

Advocacy group Together for Girls has called on Australian governments at all levels to increase victim survivors access to medical care in all regions, ban corporal punishment of children and legally mandate training for health care staff on sexual violence against children.

Professor Taylor has also called for a royal commission on intrafamilial sexual violence.

“(The commission should) address the weak implementation of existing policies, regional disparities in protection and the persistent neglect of abuse within families, where stigma and silence continue to limit prevention, healing, and justice,” she said.