Emerging technologies: threats and opportunities for the protection of children from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse

Each year, the Council of Europe invites its partners to focus on a specific topic on the occasion of the 18 November: Day for the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (#EndChildSexualAbuseDay). The theme of the 2024 edition is “Emerging technologies: threats and opportunities for the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse.”   

Emerging technologies like Artificial intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR) Extended Reality (XR), including the Metaverse, are often being misused for child sexual offences in social media, networking, and online gaming contexts. These technologies increase risks such as solicitation, grooming, exposure to harmful content, and sexual exploitation or sexual abuse of children. In addition, current legislation in Europe does not fully address these issues and the public opinion is not fully sensitise to these dangers coming from a very new environment.

Nonetheless, emerging technologies can also offer opportunities to enhance prevention and protection efforts including through automated detection and reporting of illegal content.

This year’s edition of the #EndChildSexualAbuseDay aims to raise awareness at all levels of society to prevent misuse of the emerging technologies and find innovative ways to take the maximum advantage of them instead. It is crucial to learn from victims’ and survivors’ lived experiences as well as from experts in the field to encourage decision makers to develop effective public policies on the emerging technologies topical issue.

The Council of Europe works with a wide range of partners to mark the Day, including state authorities, international organisations, civil society and private sector. This web page promotes the various initiatives organised by these partners (displayed below under Activities), enabling all to share promising practices.

In line with the Interpretative opinion on the applicability of the Lanzarote Convention to sexual offences against children facilitated through the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), "existing offences in the Lanzarote Convention remain criminalized, regardless of the means used by sexual offenders, even when ICTs are not specifically mentioned." We can effectively prevent and protect children from sexual abuse through:

  • Prevention: including the active involvement of the private sector to embed safety measures into tech platforms, content moderation strategies and robust age verification systems to shield children from exposure to harmful content.
  • Protection: including effective helplines and hotlines for victims,survivors and their families, strengthening cooperation between private entities and law enforcement agencies to swiftly address and remove illegal content.
  • Prosecution of child sexual exploitation and sexual abuse facilitated by emerging technologies.
  • Promotion of national and international co-operation through multi-disciplinary and interagency co-operation at national level and effective co-operation at international level by making best use of platforms for co-operation, including through the Lanzarote Committee and Cybercrime Convention Committee of the Parties (T-CY).

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MATERIALS

 

 Our documents

ACTIVITIES AROUND THE DAY 

   Member states
 

Joint statement issued by six Council of Europe member States (Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco, San Marino and Slovenia) and supported by 36 other Council of Europe member States as well as by the European Union

 

 

 

       ANDORRA

To mark the Day for the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse on 18 November 2024, Andorra organised a conference entitled "In sport, child violence is out of the question". The conference focused on child violence, with special reference to sexual abuse of children, and was given by a specialist psychologist, Ms Pilar Polo, from the Viki Bernadet Foundation.

   CYPRUS

The police held an educational day, on November 18, in order to provide more information to professionals working with children about sexual abuse in order to recognise signs of sexual abuse.  In addition, there was a short film prepared by the police where police interviewers talked about their experience in working with sexually abused children.

The NGO Hope for Children also appeared on TV and social media to raise awareness about child sexual abuse in the context of emerging technology and the need for children to be protected with the rise of Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, and Extended Realities including Metaverse. 

   FRANCE
 

On 19 November 2024 the intermisiterial mission for the protection of women against violence and action against trafficking in human beings (MIPROF) launched a kit on combatting sexual and sexist violence in sports, and specifically child protection. The kit includes a short film and a training guide.

FRANCE and NETHERLANDS

On 14 November 2024, the UN adopted a resolution presented by France and the Netherlands on eliminating violence against women and girls in the digital environnement.

      GEORGIA
 

A series of workshops were held in Tbilisi, Kutaisi, and Batumi to raise awareness of children and their parents on sexual violence, including online, how to identify it and how to seek support. Each session included interactive sessions on online safety and existing forms of abuse and violence with a diverse group of attendees, including children, educators, and child protection professionals. The series of events was organised as part of the Council of Europe project “Combating violence against children in Georgia”.

   ITALY

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development is organising a parliamentary seminar on online violence against children followed by a child consultation workshop on 9 and 10 December 2024. These events are organised as a follow-up to the Day for the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse.  More details are provided in the “Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe” section below.

   LUXEMBOURG
 

The Permanent Representation of Luxembourg to the Council of Europe organised a screening of the film “Elle ne pleure pas elle chante” at the Cosmos cinema on 25 November 2024. This work of fiction explores the long-term trauma caused by intrafamilial child sexual abuse and the resiliance of one survivor as she comes to terms with the abuse and finds healing. The screening was followed by an exchange of views with the Executive Secretary to the Lanzarote Committee.

   MALTA
 

To mark the occasion of the Day, the Office of the Commissioner for Children, in collaboration with the Ministry for Social Policy and Children’s Rights, launched the first phase of the study entitled “Children and the impact of technology on their well-being”. The study, carried out by the Faculty for Social Wellbeing, aims to explore the extent of the impact that technology can have on children’s physical, mental, emotional and psychological wellbeing, and will be completed in 2025.

     MONTENEGRO
 

The Lanzarote Committee declaration on protecting children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse facilitated by emerging technologies was translated into Montenegrin.

   PORTUGAL
 

On the occasion of the European Day, the Ministry of Justice translated and published a Portuguese version of the information leaflet “Why join the Lanzarote Convention”.

   SPAIN
 

The Government of Cantabria organised a training on 18 November 2024 on interviewing and taking statements from child victims of violence. Approximately 50 participants took part. This training module was originally developed under the project “ensuring child-friendly justice through the effective operation of the Barnahus-units in Finland” adapted into Spanish in the context of the Council of Europe project on strengthening child-friendly justice through effective co-operation and coordination among different Barnahus-type services in the regions of Spain.

  Non-member States

 

CURAÇAO

The Minister of Justice launched an awareness raising campaign about child sexual abuse on the occasion of #EndChildSexualAbuseDay. This included translation of child-friendly materials into Papiamento which were distributed to children and parents through schools, a press conference, the launching of a bus to raise awareness about the child helpline and the unveiling of a mural.

Facebook post

 Institutional Partners


EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

The European Parliament issued an “At A Glance” document in relation to the Day for the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse. Noting this year’s theme “Emerging technologies: threats and opportunities for the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse”, the document highlighted the EU strategy developed by the European Commission for a more effective fight against child sexual abuse.

The document also highlighted international and EU efforts to combat child sexual abuse, including the international legal framework as established by the Lanzarote Convention and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It noted that the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs is currently working on the proposed revision of the Directive on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children.

 Council of Europe 


SECRETARY GENERAL

Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe

On 18 November 2024, Secretary General Alain Berset called on Council of Europe member States to make use of the “enormous potential” to use AI to detect child sexual abuse materials and flag suspicious behaviours on social networks. He also reiterated that States should update legislation to ensure that solicitation and grooming of children online is criminalised.

 

 

PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE

As part of the “Parliamentary Action for Children's Rights 2024-2027” project, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development is organising two events in Rome on 9 and 10 December 2024.

  • On 9 December, the Committee is organising a seminar in collaboration with the Italian Parliament on protecting children from online violence, to be held in the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament.
  • On 10 December, a children's consultation workshop on age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education will be held at the Office of the Italian Authority for Children and Adolescents.

LANZAROTE COMMITTEE

Capacity-building event "Emerging technologies: threats and opportunities for the protection of children from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse

On 5 November 2024, the Lanzarote Committee hold a capacity-building event to explore the ways in which the provisions of the Lanzarote Convention regarding prevention of child sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, protection of victims, criminal and procedural rules, and international co-operation can be operationalised to address the challenges raised by emerging technologies.



Programme

Background paper for the Lanzarote Committee, prepared by Professor Victoria Baines​

EndOCSEA@Europe+

Multi-disciplinary delegations from Georgia, Montenegro and Republic of Moldova  attended the Lanzarote Committee capacity building workshop on 5 November 2024. Their participation was funded under the Council of Europe project to EndOnlineChildSexualAbuse@Europe+.