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Month: October 2023

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Meet the new Safe Online visual identity!

Meet the new Safe Online brand!

We are thrilled to share a major milestone in the journey of Safe Online and our mission of shaping a safer digital world for all children and young people everywhere.

In line with the evolving technological landscape and the ever-changing needs of young people worldwide, we are establishing ourselves as a global funding vehicle and renewing our commitment to our core purpose; to protect and empower children and young people throughout the digital world.

Alongside our communications partner, Strategic Agenda, we have developed a powerful new brand that speaks directly to our purpose, mission, and vision to launch our evolution from the End Violence partnership.  

Why?

This crucial step allows us to wholeheartedly devote our resources, expertise, and unwavering passion to the cause of ensuring the online safety and empowerment of our most vulnerable technology users.

We believe that every child and young person deserves an online experience where they can benefit from all it has to offer without fear of harm, abuse or age-inappropriate content and experiences. The digital world is an integral part of their lives, and we owe it to them to ensure digital spaces meet the standards we set for the physical world.

Our new mandate and sole focus allows us to have a greater impact and broader reach than ever before, and strengthens our position as a network and advocate at the heart of online safety. 

As we embark on the new chapter of Safe Online, we renew our promise to create a safer digital future for children and young people. Our new identity is more than a brand: it's a commitment to the well-being of every child and young person who turns to the digital world to explore, create, and dream. We will ensure that their journey online is enriching, inspiring, and, above all, safe.
- Marija Manojlovic, Director, Safe Online
Safeonline's impact so far

What will change?

We will continue to invest in research, systems, and tools developed by innovative partners focused on online safety.

We will use the learnings from our investments to build an evidence base on what works to tackle abuse online, as well as to advocate to prioritise child online safety in business practices, policies and budgets of governments and industry alike. We are now able to dedicate more time, support, and resources to new and existing partners. 

Finally, a huge thank you to all who worked on, and with, the End Violence partnership over the past 7 years. The extraordinary commitment and professionalism of all during the duration of the partnership and the transition period has helped to build the exciting and ambitious path before us now. 

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Malaysia Takes Pivotal Steps Towards a Safer Internet for Children Following Data From Disrupting Harm

Malaysia Takes Pivotal Steps Towards a Safer Internet for Children Following Data From Disrupting Harm

In a landmark step forward for children’s online safety, Malaysia has made sex extortion and livestreaming of child sexual abuse distinct offenses, to enable better prosecution of these crimes. The Parliament of Malaysia, the Dewan Rakyat, approved a Bill to amend several provisions to the Sexual Offences against Children (SOAC) Act 2017.

As per the Disrupting Harm Malaysia report, developed with active support of the Government of Malaysia, sexual extortion and livestreaming of child sexual abuse remain some of the biggest threats that children face in the country. Sexual extortion includes being blackmailed to engage in sexual activities, having sexual images shared without permission, or being coerced to engage in sexual activities through promises of money or gifts. In fact, data shows that in one year, an estimated 100,000 internet-using children aged 12-17 were subjected to clear instances of online sexual exploitation and abuse, including sex extortion.

Disrupting Harm represents the most comprehensive and large-scale research project ever undertaken on online child sexual exploitation and abuse at the national level. It has resulted in 13 country reports including Malaysia and a series of unique ‘data insights’. Implemented by UNICEF Innocenti, ECPAT International and INTERPOL and funded by the Safe Online initiative at End Violence, it provides comprehensive evidence concerning the risks children face online, how they interlink with other forms of violence and what can be done to prevent them.

The Malaysia report shares a series of unique insights specific to the country including the fact that children mainly experienced online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA) through the major social media providers including messaging platforms. More worryingly, Helplines and the police were almost never utilised to seek help by children who were subjected to OCSEA, who tended to confide in people within their interpersonal networks, particularly friends, caregivers or siblings.

Based on the findings, Disrupting Harm outlined a series of evidence-based recommendations spanning legislation, law enforcement, justice processes, social services and public awareness to support the implementation of a comprehensive and sustained response to OCSEA, or an actionable blueprint to protect children. These recommendations call on the Government of Malaysia and its partners to act, educate and invest.

The crucial amendments passed draw directly from the recommendations of the Disrupting Harm report and go a long way to further strengthen the country’s legislative framework. These include:

  • Make sexual extortion and livestreaming of child sexual abuse distinct offenses, to enable better prosecution of these crimes.

  • Stronger victim-protection in the justice system, including child-friendly mechanisms during hearings to avoid re-traumatisation of children.

  • Allow extraction of evidence at the first point of contact, such as police stations and hospitals, to prevent children having to testify multiple times.

  • Better mechanisms to provide compensation for victims; under the new law, courts have the discretion to decide on compensation instead of having to rely on prosecutors to submit such claims on behalf of the victim (which was rarely done as per the study).

“Our congratulations to the Government of Malaysia for taking urgent action to prioritise online safety of children by passing the amendments to the Sexual Offences Against Children Act,” said Marija Manojlovic, Director, Safe Online Initiative at the End Violence Partnership. “Malaysia is a critical example of the importance of data to drive policy action. As our flagship project Disrupting Harm shows, we need high quality data, and more importantly, political will to use the data and insights to create an actionable blueprint towards creating a safe online world for children”.

Malaysia is a critical example of the importance of data to drive policy action. As our flagship project Disrupting Harm shows, we need high quality data, and more importantly, political will to use the data and insights to create an actionable blueprint towards creating a safe online world for childre
- Marija Manojlovic, Director, Safe Online

The legislative changes in Malaysia are the latest in a series of progressive legislations that work towards creating a safer online world for our children.

Explore the insights from Disrupting Harm.
Learn more about the action to keep children Safe Online.

 

Image: © UNICEF:UN0271852:Pirozzi

See more stories from our family of grantees

Hear from our grantee: Age Check Certification Scheme Why Age Assurance is key to empowering children in the digital age

May 1, 2024

Hosted in collaboration with the British Standards Institution (BSI), this groundbreaking summit united over 700 global stakeholders to affirm a bold declaration: “Age Assurance Can Be Done!” With a focus on safeguarding children online, the summit produced a landmark Communique on Age Assurance, outlining principles like prioritising individual rights and data minimisation. Safe Online grantee, Age Assurance Certification Scheme, explains why age assurance is critical, the role of the first-ever Communique on Age Assurance and the way forward from this landmark Summit.

Read More »
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A New Educational ‘game’ to Teach Children About Being #SafeOnline

A New Educational ‘game’ to Teach Children About Being #SafeOnline

May and Bay are exploring the vast online world – and learning to keep themselves safe from the threats to their safety.  And by helping these two digital characters stay safe in the online world, children can now learn more about and gain the skills needed for navigating the risks in the digital world. 

This is part of a new culturally informed educational ‘game’ that has been developed to help educate children and young people across Thailand and Cambodia on how to better keep themselves safe online. This simulation game lets children explore various online scenarios and is designed to spot the signs of online grooming and recognise the tactics that abusers and traffickers employ.

The project is led by the Centre for Child Protection at the University of Kent, aiming to prevent the online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA) of children in Thailand and Cambodia, and is launched following a funding grant from the End Violence Partnership’s Safe Online Initiative.

Educating and empowering children

Existing research combined with the local knowledge of partners ECPAT and A21, has identified that OCSEA is an ongoing problem in Thailand and Cambodia. Disrupting Harm – a large-scale research project that aims to better understand how digital technology facilitates the sexual exploitation and abuse of children – has revealed that In the past year alone, nine percent of 12–17-year-old internet users in Thailand were victims of grave instances of online child sexual abuse and exploitation (OCSEA). While recent work to reform legislation and develop policy responses to the crime is commendable, support is needed to improve awareness, knowledge and skills related to OCSEA within the child protection sector in Thailand. And research has found that Cambodia is one of the most significant destinations in South East Asia for travelling child sex offenders. 

Innovative and educative projects such as May and Bay are essential in creating awareness and equipping and empowering children themselves. They encourage children’s critical thinking and decision-making skills in an online environment and, importantly, empower children to understand how their actions can keep them safe.

The impact of Safe Online grantees

University of Kent was awarded a funding grant by End Violence’s Safe Online initiative in 2020. Safe Online grantees from around the world are working to make the Internet safe for children across the world at national, regional and national levels. They are working on creating solutions to tackle harm such as online child sexual abuse and exploitation. Over the past five years, the Safe Online portfolio has grown to reach US$ 68 million in investments in 80 projects working to end and prevent online CSEA in over 75 countries. Part of our work involves stimulating collaboration and knowledge-sharing across the world – and most recently, over 40 grantees convened alongside donors and industry representatives to align around a shared vision of a safe Internet for children everywhere. 

You can read more about Safe Online Initiative, impact of our Safe Online grantees, watch interviews about their work, and learn about the Safe Online Network Forum. 

Action to #EndViolence

Despite the global challenges society faces today, positive change for children is taking place across countries and sectors – driven by governments, individuals and organisations fighting to ensure safe, secure and nurturing childhoods for girls and boys. As part of the Together to #ENDviolence campaign, we are placing a spotlight on these dedicated efforts that are delivering impact.

EXPLORE ACTION TO #ENDViolence FROM AROUND THE WORLD. 

Image: © UNICEF/UNI358629/Cristofoletti

See more stories from our family of grantees

Hear from our grantee: Age Check Certification Scheme Why Age Assurance is key to empowering children in the digital age

May 1, 2024

Hosted in collaboration with the British Standards Institution (BSI), this groundbreaking summit united over 700 global stakeholders to affirm a bold declaration: “Age Assurance Can Be Done!” With a focus on safeguarding children online, the summit produced a landmark Communique on Age Assurance, outlining principles like prioritising individual rights and data minimisation. Safe Online grantee, Age Assurance Certification Scheme, explains why age assurance is critical, the role of the first-ever Communique on Age Assurance and the way forward from this landmark Summit.

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​​A Major Victory for Children in Peru as Country Brings in New Law to Tackle Online CSEA

​​A Major Victory for Children in Peru as Country Brings in New Law to Tackle Online CSEA

In a huge step forward to tackle online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA), Peru has passed a new law which makes it mandatory for Internet service providers to inform their users about parental filters. Such filters help better ensure safety by keeping out child sexual abuse material (CSAM) or other content that could lead to abuse of children. In addition to the new stipulation, it also broadens the definition of violence, including crimes that occur through technological means. The law is a major milestone for the country to better protect children against the many forms of violence online. 

Latest data from the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) reports a tenfold increase in child sexual abuse material online since the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from the End Violence funded multi-country Disrupting Harm project shows that up to 20% of 12–17-year-olds across 13 countries were subjected to online sexual exploitation and abuse in the past year alone. The law in Peru is the latest in a series of progressive legislations tackling online CSEA by governments across the world which are fast waking up to the danger of this rapidly growing global threat. 

The Bill in Peru was initially proposed in 2020 by Capital Humano y Social (CHS) ALTERNATIVO, a Safe Online grantee. It specified that internet service providers are required to inform their users about the need to install filters, free or paid, to block harmful content on home or mobile devices, conversation channels or any other form of network communication. Non-compliance by the companies operating the internet service constitutes a serious offense, sanctioned by OSIPTEL, a State Supervisory Agency in Telecommunications. Places where people can access public internet including internet booths, restaurants, hotels, airports, government facilities, etc. are required to place parental filters and must guarantee that their services have minimum records so that web pages, conversation channels or any other form of online communication, content and/or pornographic information cannot be accessed.

Safe Online has funded CHS Alternativo to raise awareness on online CSEA and strengthen response mechanisms to prevent it. The project was successful in strengthening capacities for responding to cases of online CSEA in almost 400 service providers including justice operators, teachers and administrative personnel. The organisation also conducted a study in seven regions where the project was being implemented, evaluating the services provided to victims of violence. This research was used to inform advocacy efforts towards developing national protocols and response strategies to address online violence.

“Peru is an important success story and points to the critical work that Safe Online grantees are doing across the world”, said Marija Manojlovic, Director, Safe Online Initiative at the End Violence Partnership. “As Safe Online, we leverage our investments to build strong foundations for a safe internet across the globe and strengthen systems at the national level by focusing on strong legislative and policy frameworks”, she added.

Peru is an important success story and points to the critical work that Safe Online grantees are doing across the world.
- Marija Manojlovic, Director, Safe Online

CHS Alternativo played a key role in advocating for the new law given the increase in internet access by children and adolescents in the country. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Information in Peru, internet access of children between 6 and 11 years in 2020 was 69.8%, an increase of 29% compared to 2019. The organisation also highlighted the lack of awareness on the issue of online CSEA as a key risk to children and young people.

“Thanks to the support of Safe Online, CHS Alternativo implemented a digital patrol experience to identify innovative recruitment strategies for the purpose of sexual exploitation on the Internet. Our study gave priority to digital environments where children and adolescents have the most interaction, that is, video game environments and social networks. In addition, CHS Alternativo conducted various surveys that revealed that around 890,000 children have faced situations of risk and sexual assault. As a result of the findings, Law No. 31664, was unanimously approved in the Congress of the Republic.Without the valuable contribution of Safe Online both studies would not have been possible”, said – Ricardo Valdés, CHS Alternativo Executive Director.

Peru has a number of progressive legislations to tackle online CSEA. This includes Act No. 27337, Code of Children and Adolescents; Act No. 30254, Promotion Law for the safe and responsible use of Information and Communication Technologies by Children and Adolescents and the Multi-Sectoral National Policy for Girls, Boys and Adolescents. The new law will strengthen the existing framework and help to create a safe digital future for children and young people in the country.

Learn more about the work of the Safe Online initiative. 

 

Image: 

© UNICEF/UN0405470/UNICEF Perú

See more stories from our family of grantees

Hear from our grantee: Age Check Certification Scheme Why Age Assurance is key to empowering children in the digital age

May 1, 2024

Hosted in collaboration with the British Standards Institution (BSI), this groundbreaking summit united over 700 global stakeholders to affirm a bold declaration: “Age Assurance Can Be Done!” With a focus on safeguarding children online, the summit produced a landmark Communique on Age Assurance, outlining principles like prioritising individual rights and data minimisation. Safe Online grantee, Age Assurance Certification Scheme, explains why age assurance is critical, the role of the first-ever Communique on Age Assurance and the way forward from this landmark Summit.

Read More »
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Tech Coalition Safe Online Research Fund announces additional funding of US $500k to select existing grantees for research extension, product development & innovation

Tech Coalition Safe Online Research Fund announces additional funding of US $500k to select existing grantees for research extension, product development & innovation

The Tech Coalition Safe Online Research Fund is granting 4 awards to further accelerate the work of organisations from the first cohort of grantees. The additional funds will be for a duration of 12 months and will support projects to extend research to applications such as piloting solutions, technical collaboration and innovation efforts.   

The boost in funding is a move towards promoting more real-world application of independent research – and strengthening application of research to product and service development within the tech industry. Building on the existing research grants, the Fund aims to enhance the community of practice for online CSEA research to support capacity across the ecosystem in tackling digital harms against children.

Read more on the innovative projects that have been awarded the boost funding below:

Dublin City University: Understanding Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in the Philippines

The additional funding will help translate findings from a white paper developed in the first phase of the project to practical policy changes and recommendations to improve detection and reporting of online CSEA-related transactions on financial platforms – as well as refining a typology to support enhanced online CSEA-related payments detection. The project will also develop and pilot a public awareness campaign (online and offline) in the Philippines alongside key stakeholders to develop greater community understanding of the scope and harm of online CSEA to children, reduce associated stigma and encourage reporting – thus enabling better detection of the crime as well as deterring potential offenders at the level of online CSEA-affected communities.

Technological University Dublin: N-Light Discovering Child Grooming patterns

In the first phase, the N-Light project gathered and analysed data from the national child agency (ISPCC), national Hotline (Hotline.ie) and Dark web CSAM text posts. CSAM posts were identified and visual explorations were developed to allow investigation. The new funding will support the conversion of the static models and analyses into a deployed software tool, with a wider user base. This will allow agencies to analyse the most recent data to spot grooming techniques and correlations over relevant timelines between child victim reports and groomer activity discussions; extend into more sophisticated analyses including the ability to profile messages coming from child victims; deploy the tools to their partners and beyond; and adapt the tool such that other hotline/ child agency partners can take use the tool to analyse their own data.

University of Kent: Understanding and improving help seeking by people at risk of online child sexual exploitation and abuse

The findings from the first phase of the project demonstrate ways to further optimise existing ‘get help’ messaging to promote not only deterrence but importantly, help seeking. Furthermore, findings show alternative messages as well as reframed industry-typical messages that are perceived as more effective promoters of help seeking. These are findings from tightly controlled studies. To transform industry practice, these findings need to be implemented “in the wild” of the internet ecosystem. Through partnering with industry collaborators, real-world links can be established between message content and click-throughs to helplines and other prevention resources. The new funding will allow us greater collaboration with tech organisations to pilot alternative warning messages and to track their impact and through this to translate our existing work into industry-wide solutions promoting greater engagement with help resources. 

University of Middlesex: Invisible Risks

This funding would be used to further develop and expand the intervention prototype developed in the initial funding to enhance the wellbeing of content moderators addressing child sexual abuse and exploitation. The current research project helped develop skeleton versions of three online intervention modules: sleep hygiene, managing anxiety and staying positive. However, the evidence has identified a number of other areas that need development including, but not limited to, managing intrusive thoughts, maintaining positive relationships and maintaining a work/life balance. The additional funding will provide the opportunity to enhance and expand these modules even further, resulting in a highly effective online platform that can significantly support content moderators in their self-driven psychological wellbeing. 

Image: © UNICEF:UN0582709

See more stories from our family of grantees

Hear from our grantee: Age Check Certification Scheme Why Age Assurance is key to empowering children in the digital age

May 1, 2024

Hosted in collaboration with the British Standards Institution (BSI), this groundbreaking summit united over 700 global stakeholders to affirm a bold declaration: “Age Assurance Can Be Done!” With a focus on safeguarding children online, the summit produced a landmark Communique on Age Assurance, outlining principles like prioritising individual rights and data minimisation. Safe Online grantee, Age Assurance Certification Scheme, explains why age assurance is critical, the role of the first-ever Communique on Age Assurance and the way forward from this landmark Summit.

Read More »

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Our purpose in detail

We are here to ensure every child and young person grows in to the digital world feeling safe, and is protected from harm.

We support, champion, and invest in innovative partners from the public, private, and third sectors working towards the same objective.

We believe in equipping guardians and young people with the skills to understand and see danger themselves once accessing digital experiences without supervision.

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