Daniela Ligiero, CEO and President of Together for Girls and Co-Founder of the Brave Movement, joins us to talk about working to end sexual violence against children and adolescents.
Daniela is a survivor of child sexual abuse and has been sharing her story publicly for around 15 years. The silence around this topic is something that needs to be tackled. Coming forward and speaking up is not easy and takes a lot courage.
Together for Girls, a global partnership uniting governments, UN Agencies, and civil society to end violence against children and adolescents, particularly sexual violence. This partnership uses a model of data and advocacy to drive action, spanning over twenty countries. With nationally led surveys, it has amassed data on over 12% of the world's population under 24 and more than 20% of children and adolescents in low-income nations.
The Brave Movement is a survivor-centered global movement fighting to end childhood sexual violence. They have two main strategies: one is to elevate and support survivor leaders and voices by showcasing their work; the second is aligned campaigning with clear focus on things such as online safety for kids and abolishing statutes of limitation.
About Daniela Ligiero
Dr. Daniela Ligiero is the CEO and President of Together for Girls, and Co-Founder of the Brave Movement. Before her tenure at Together for Girls, Daniela served as the Vice President of Girls and Women's Strategy at the UN Foundation, where she developed the foundation's gender integration strategy. During her five years at the U.S. Department of State, she pioneered the integration of gender issues into foreign policy and global health investments, impacting over 70 countries and over $1 billion in funding. Notably, she helped develop the first-ever International U.S. Government Strategy to End Gender-Based Violence and also the largest investment in adolescent girls' health, the PEPFAR DREAMS program.
Daniela also held leadership roles at UNICEF, including Chief of HIV and Deputy Representative in the UNICEF Brazil Country Office. Her extensive experience extends to the World Bank, the U.S. Senate, and direct work with sexual assault survivors. She herself is a survivor of childhood sexual violence, openly sharing her story for over a decade.
She holds a doctoral degree in counseling psychology, has worked in multiple countries across Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, and is fluent in four languages—English, Portuguese, Spanish, and French. Daniela is a Brazilian American who resides in Bethesda, MD, with her husband and two daughters. Beyond her professional pursuits, she enjoys family time, furniture making, gardening, ocean-related activities like scuba diving, and meditation practice.