31 Finnish professionals, including judges, prosecutors, detectives, and police officers participated in a Training on preventing  and combating online child exploitation and abuse (OCSEA), organised in the framework of the Council of Europe – European Union joint project “Ensuring child-friendly justice through the effective operation of the Barnahus-units in Finland” in Tampere from 29 to 30 March 2023. The training followed closely the Council of Europe Training Module for Law Enforcement, judges and prosecutors on online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA)  and aimed enhancing capacities of professionals working on cases of child sexual abuse, including online child sexual abuse. It covered the topics of Substantive and Procedural Criminal Law; Proactive OCSEA Investigations; Reactive OCSEA Investigations; and Protecting the child victim or witness throughout criminal proceedings.

The Council of Europe international expert presented relevant international and European standards, including the Council of Europe Conventions on the Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention) and on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention). National experts presented the relevant laws and procedures under the Finnish legislation concerning cases of OCSEA, particularly the recent changes in the Finnish law in January 2023. Investigators also discussed real cases involving OCSEA offences, as well as how to fill OCSEA reports according to the Finnish procedures, and which social media platforms are used the most by perpetrators in Finland. The presentations were followed by a discussion on best practices, challenges and opportunities for better interagency coordination.