Council of Europe

A COUNCIL OF EUROPE CAMPAIGN

TO STOP SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN

Call for papers

This call for papers is addressed to legal, health, social, research and education professionals wishing to contribute to a Council of Europe study on sexual violence against children. The study will serve as a background for the Council of Europe awareness raising campaign to stop sexual violence against children.

The Council of Europe campaign

The Council of Europe Strategy on the Rights of the Child (2009-2011) has amongst its major focuses that of eradicating all forms of violence against children. In particular, it calls for launching comprehensive awareness-raising actions to prevent and combat sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children.

In response to this mandate, in autumn 2010, the Council of Europe will launch a pan-European campaign to stop sexual violence against children. The campaign’s overall objective will be to raise European societies’ awareness of the full extent of sexual violence against children and to equip them with knowledge and tools to prevent it. The campaign will address the various forms of sexual violence including child pornography, child prostitution, online grooming, child sex tourism and child sexual abuse.

The future study

Given the complexity and sensitivity of the issue at stake, the Council of Europe wishes to prepare a study to inform and guide the campaign. The study should cover inter alia the following dimensions:

• Overview of the extent of sexual violence (sexual exploitation and sexual abuse) in Europe;

• Overview of the legal framework (global and European) to combat sexual violence against children;

• Sexual violence reporting and referral mechanisms;

• Rehabilitation services for child victims of sexual violence;

• The range of services available for children exhibiting sexually harmful behaviour;

• Training of professionals to identify and report sexual violence;

• Internet dimensions of sexual violence against children;

• Support services for potential and actual adult perpetrators of sexual violence;

• Data collection on violence against children;

• Communication and awareness raising campaigns against sexual violence in Council of Europe member States.

• Sexual education and prevention of sexual violence

The proposed length for research articles addressing one of the aforementioned issues should be no more than 8,000 words (about 15 to 16 A4 pages, normal spacing) and should be submitted in one of the official languages of the Council of Europe, i.e. English or French.

Following the selection procedure, a limited number of experts will be invited to work with the Council of Europe on a contractual basis, during the period between April and June 2010.

Building a network of professionals

The experts who will contact us will be also invited to express their interest in cooperating with the Council of Europe in the various projects and activities to be launched during the campaign, the objective being to build a network of professionals wishing to bring their expertise and the results of their work to a community of practice at European level.

How to contact us

Please fill the document enclosed and send it, accompanied by your CV to Ms Marie-Francoise GLATZ (marie-francoise.glatz@coe.int) by 15 April 2010 at the latest.