Published: Thu 16 Mar 2023
Ending child sexual abuse requires a multi-perspective approach including law enforcement, child rights professionals, prevention, victim support, survivors, technology, and more. A closely-knit ecosystem encompassing all these fields of expertise has helped increase child safety online and offline in Europe over the past decades. The legislative proposal crafted by policymakers in Brussels to tackle child sexual abuse is urgently needed and holds tremendous potential to further boost these efforts.
To join efforts and bring together child rights and technical experts, an informal coalition of child rights and protection organisations has formed as the European Child Sexual Abuse Legislation Advocacy Group (ECLAG). ECLAG brings together over 60 organisations with the IWF, Brave Movement, ECPAT, Missing Children Europe, Terre des Hommes and Thorn as members of the steering group.
On March 20, ECLAG will host a high-level hybrid event in Brussels on the need for an EU regulation to prevent and combat child sexual abuse online. The first part of this gathering will consist of keynote speeches from MEP Javier Zarzalejos and MEP Hilde Vautmans, both members of the European Parliament, and Ashton Kutcher, the co-founder of Thorn.
In the following debate, panelists will discuss what policymakers will need to adjust in the regulation to better protect children globally. The panel will consist of Mié Kohiyama, co-founder of the Be Brave Movement France, and survivor of childhood sexual violence, Michael Tunks, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at IWF, Heidi de Pauw, CEO of Child Focus and founding member of Missing Children Europe, and Cathal Delaney, a former law enforcement officer from Europol who now works for Thorn. The panel will be moderated by Amy Crocker, Head of Child Protection and Technology at ECPAT International and closing remarks will be given by Nathalie Meurens, EU Advocacy Lead at Terre des Hommes Netherlands.
“I put the highest hopes in the European Union. We must get this legislation right to make sure that as few children as possible have to live through the horrible nightmare I have been through”, says Mié Kohiyama from the Brave Movement and survivor of childhood sexual violence “We are brave so that children can be safe.”
“For ECPAT, being part of ECLAG means building a strong coalition of voices and professionals to ensure EU policymakers recognise how much this legislation is needed. Leveraging the unique insights and expertise of the group's members, we will do everything in our power to make sure the new legislation effectively protects children from sexual abuse online,” says Amy Crocker, Head of Child Protection and Technology at ECPAT International.
“This event comes at a vital time. In the last two years we have seen a 1,000% increase in self-generated child sexual abuse material involving 7- to 10-year-olds. Sixty-two per cent of the images we removed from the internet in 2021 were hosted in a European Union Member State. It is vitally important we bring together child protection charities and policy makers to ensure that we improve the response to this heinous crime in the European Union,” says Michael Tunks, IWF Head of Policy and Public Affairs.
“Defending children from sexual abuse is a never-ending task, because with every new technology – no matter how positive its advances are for our lives – comes new threats to children's safety," says Ashton Kutcher, co-founder of Thorn. “I’m proud that Thorn is part of the European child protection ecosystem. Bringing together all our different areas of expertise is the only way to ensure child safety.”
Registration for the event on-site or online is open here.
About ECLAG
The European Child Sexual Abuse Legislation Advocacy Group (ECLAG) is an informal coalition of NGOs and IGOs fighting to protect children from sexual violence and abuse. The ECLAG Group has been established to join forces in the advocacy around the Child Sexual Abuse Regulation proposed by the European Commission in May 2022. ECLAG brings together more than 60 organizations present in Europe and globally. The steering group consists of the Brave Movement, ECPAT, Missing Children Europe, IWF, Terre des Hommes and Thorn.
Local MP Ian Sollom learned about the herculean task faced by analysts at the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) who find, assess and remove child sexual abuse material on the internet.
