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.
Our grantees SaferNet Brazil D.I.S.C.O.V.E.R: Deploying Innovative Searchability to fight Child Online Violence and Exploitation through evidence-based Research in Brazil Countries involved:Brasil SaferNet Brasil’s “D.I.S.C.O.V.E.R project” will create a sandbox for researchers, build new training datasets in the Portuguese language and allow trusted partners to develop cross-platform contextual and evidence-based
71 Member States of the United Nations have come together to make the very first call to action statement urging increased and fast action to remove known child sexual abuse materials online.
A recent white paper by the World Economic Forum’s Global Coalition for Digital Safety highlights the critical need for assessing digital safety. It provides a roadmap to navigate the complexities of measuring digital safety in the context of ongoing technological advancements and evolving regulatory frameworks.
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All imagery is taken from the Safe Online and UNICEF image library
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.
