Press Release: Survivors of childhood sexual violence seek urgent action to ‘redesign’ the internet to protect children

Press Release

Survivors of childhood sexual violence seek urgent action to 'redesign' the internet to protect children

Survivors join bereaved parents and high-level political figures, to put pressure on political leaders, funders and tech companies to end childhood sexual abuse online.

The move comes 100 days before the historic inaugural Global Ministerial on Ending Violence Against Children - the first time that global leaders will be asked to pledge action to end the scourge of childhood sexual violence.

July 17, 2024 [LONDON]: Today, survivors of childhood sexual violence will address the escalating threat to children’s lives posed by online abuse, and call for action to ‘redesign’ the internet and protect children ahead of the first ever global Ministerial on the issue in November 2024. This is a pivotal moment to redefine the digital world for children, ensuring that technology is used for their benefit and never for their harm.

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UNICEF Mongolia

Our grantees UNICEF Mongolia Adopting the Model National Response to Prevent and Tackle Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Mongolia Countries involved:Mongolia In Mongolia, the Fund is supporting UNICEF Mongolia’s project to increase national-level commitment to ending online child sexual exploitation and abuse. UNICEF Mongolia is pushing to implement the Model National

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UNICEF East Asia and the Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO)

Our grantees UNICEF East Asia and the Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO) Generate evidence and accelerate regional commitment and collaboration to end online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) in East Asia and the Pacific Countries involved:Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines (the), Viet Nam UNICEF’s East Asia and Pacific Regional Office

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Tech Coalition Safe Online Research Fund – Announcing the 2026 Targeted Call Grantee

For 2026, Safe Online worked with Tech Coalition members to identify three priority areas where online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA) intersects with emerging risk, informed by what we’re seeing across the ecosystem: AI companionship and intimacy, nihilistic violent extremism and sadistic online exploitation (NVE/SOE), and grooming in online gaming environments. These are areas where the evidence base is thin and the risk of harm is escalating. The result was a narrower call than in past years, asking applicants to go deep on one problem and build industry engagement into independent research itself.

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Call to Action: A digital world safe for every child

Call to Action

A digital world safe for every child!

Sexual violence against children and adolescents is a pressing global issue. The consequences of child sexual exploitation and abuse are profound, leading to serious implications for children’s health, societal participation and economic prospects. The digital world has amplified children’s exposure to sexual exploitation
and abuse, exposing children to unprecedented risks.

As per the latest Childlight data, one case of online child abuse is reported every second. The Internet Watch Foundation noted 2023 as a ‘record year’ for child sexual abuse with an 8 per cent increase in the number of child sexual abuse imagery found online from the previous year. New and emerging technologies like Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Extended Reality (ER) are turbocharging the rate of abuse, generating child sexual abuse material at a scale and speed never seen before.  

Safe Online has joined hands with survivors and global child protection organisations to call upon key actors to prevent and end the sexual exploitation and abuse of children online and create a safer digital future for every child.

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Internet Watch Foundation

Our grantees Internet Watch Foundation Reporting Portal Project Countries involved:United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland With support from the Fund, the Internet Watch Foundation is progressing its mission to eliminate child sexual abuse from the internet by working in 30 countries – the majority of which are in Africa – to

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UNICEF Tanzania

Our grantees UNICEF Tanzania Preventing and Responding to Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Countries involved:Tanzania Through support from the Fund, UNICEF Tanzania is strengthening its ongoing child protection work by establishing and supporting the national Child Online Safety Task Force, which seeks to enhance the capacity of frontline service providers in

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Royal Roads University (Global)

Our grantees Royal Roads University (Global) Youth’s Experience of Peer-to-peer Sexual Violence Online, Social Norms and Youth-led Recommendations for Prevention and Response: A Cross-regional Study Countries involved:October 2017 – October 2019 As our interactions and social relationships are increasingly transposed online, so are the harmful social norms.  Focused on youth

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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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