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Bridging Perspectives at TrustCon 2024: Our Workshop Experience

Bridging Perspectives at TrustCon 2024: Our Workshop Experience

How can researchers and industry professionals effectively collaborate to tackle digital harms? What are the best practices for creating safe online spaces for children? How can we foster trust and communication among stakeholders in the tech and safety sectors? These were some of the critical questions that Safe Online and the Tech Coalition aimed to address during our workshop at TrustCon 2024 in San Francisco on Tuesday, 23rd July. 

Read on to discover the insights and outcomes from this pivotal event.

Kicking Off at TrustCon 2024

TrustCon 2024, one of the leading events in the Trust & Safety community attended by over 1300 participants, provided an amazing platform for engagement and collaboration among professionals from various sectors. Our workshop was a blend of fireside chat, lightning talks, and breakout sessions for Q&A with researchers, ending with an energetic brainstorming session. Our room was full with nearly 50 participants — a great mix of Trust and Safety (T&S) professionals, tech industry leaders, Civils Society Organisations (CSOs), NGOs, and academic researchers.

What Did We Achieve in the Workshop?

During our workshop, we focused on finding effective ways for researchers and industry professionals to collaborate and exchange ideas to combat digital harms. A big highlight was our discussion on the Tech Coalition Safe Online Research Fund. Alicia Blum-Ross, Global Head of Youth Safety by Design at Tik Tok (a Tech Coalition member company), and one of the tech industry representatives whose leadership has been crucial to push forward the Research Fund and support independent research joined Kay Chau, VP of Programs and Member Success for the Tech Coalition, and Natalie Shoup, Industry & Data Lead for Safe Online to share more on the origins, evolution and impact of the Research Fund to date. This fund is a neutral platform that aims to promote productive and meaningful collaboration between tech industry professionals and researchers. It specifically targets online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA), but its structures and processes can be applied more broadly across the T&S community, bridging the gap between independent research and industry policy and practice.

Diving Into Online Child Safety

Our workshop featured some incredible presenters, including grantees of our Research Fund, sharing their groundbreaking work on online child safety:

  • Caoilte Ó Ciardha from the University of Kent discussed deterrence and help-seeking strategies with potential offenders.
  • Angela Castillo Aguirre from Universidad de los Andes explored ways to detect offender behaviour and patterns.
  • Anil Raghuvanshi from ChildSafeNet talked about enhancing the role of parents in protecting children online.
  • John Zoltner from Save the Children shared youth perspectives on online grooming across cultural contexts.

These presentations highlighted the importance of multidisciplinary approaches and the value of diverse perspectives in tackling online CSEA. Participants were able to dive deeper into the findings as they moved around the room and engaged with researchers. 

"It was so energising to be making vital connections across the CSEA and broader T&S ecosystem, hearing how industry is applying research from our grantees, which often complements their internal efforts. The true multidisciplinary nature of this work was on full display. It was inspiring to see our growing community - both new and familiar faces - come together to discuss cross-sector collaboration, pioneering online child safety strategies, and more."

Natalie Shoup, Industry and Data Lead, Safe Online

Let’s Brainstorm!

One of the most insightful parts of our workshop was the brainstorming session. We wanted to see how the insights from our research-industry engagement experiences could be applied across the broader T&S space. Participants identified barriers to effective collaboration, such as differing timeframes, sector-specific approaches, varied terminology, unclear objectives, and legal ambiguities, all of which can lead to mistrust and capacity issues. We also discussed existing solutions, with the goal of co-creating shared principles and approaches for cross-sectoral collaboration. This interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral discussion was exactly what we aimed to achieve. 

Key takeaways for this shared vision was summarised as BRIDGE:

  • Building trust and safe spaces for all stakeholders
  • Rallying around shared objectives
  • Initiating multidirectional knowledge exchange
  • Developing a culture of discovery
  • Generating tailored, curated resources 
  • Elaborating clear standards and legal frameworks

The BRIDGE acronym aligns perfectly with our workshop and Research Fund objectives, as it embodies our mission to BRIDGE worlds and fields that traditionally work in silos, fostering better collaboration and impact. 

One specific example from the workshop around “Generating tailored, curated resources” was the suggestion to use a tool that can filter resources based on participants’ needs and interests. This innovative idea highlights the importance of delivering resources that are specifically designed to meet the diverse requirements of different stakeholders, ensuring that everyone has access to the most relevant and useful information. 

Additionally, under “Rallying around shared objectives” participants emphasised the value of sharing success stories to secure funding and support. By highlighting effective strategies and positive outcomes, stakeholders can learn from each other’s experiences and build a stronger, more informed community committed to tackling digital harms.

"Research is a foundational part of our work to combat online child sexual exploitation and abuse. Actionable insights from researchers are critical to informing improvements across the entire child safety ecosystem. This workshop is a great example of the impact of convening diverse stakeholders and fostering collaboration.”

-Kay Chau, Vice President of Programs and Member Success, Tech Coalition

Wrapping up: What’s Next?

The principles and approaches discussed during the workshop will shape our future efforts and the design of collaborative spaces such as the upcoming Tech Coalition Safe Online Research Fund Convening in October which will be hosted by Google in London on the margins of the Tech Coalition Initiate Hackathon. We’d love to know your thoughts on whether we have been able to address the questions we sought out to explore, so if you have any thoughts or suggestions, please reach out to our team. And if you can think of more we can add to BRIDGE, we’d love to hear your creative ideas! 

TrustCon 2024 showed us the power of collaboration and the importance of bringing together diverse voices to tackle complex issues in online safety. We hope everyone came out of the session a little more hopeful, curious, and energised than they came in. We look forward to continuing these essential conversations and working together to create safer online environments for everyone!

See more stories from our family of grantees

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June 11, 2024

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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Safer Internet Day 2024 – Updates from Safe Online Grantees

January 29, 2024

Safer Internet Day, on February 6 2024, marks an important moment to come together to address urgent challenges. Governments, civil society, businesses, educators and children from across the globe are mobilising on this day to acknowledge and promote the theme of “Together for a better internet”.

What are Safe Online grantees doing to support a Safer Internet Day?

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Placing child safety at the centre of the connectivity agenda

Placing child safety at the centre of the connectivity agenda

“When we deliver water to remote communities, it needs to be safe and clean. We need to deliver connectivity to kids in the same way - it needs to be safe & empowering,” Marija Manojlovic, Executive Director, Safe Online

“When we deliver water to remote communities, it needs to be safe and clean. We need to deliver connectivity to kids in the same way – it needs to be safe & empowering,” said Marija Manojlovic setting the tone for the ‘Safe Connections’ event hosted by Safe Online with support from Giga on 11 July 2024 in Geneva.

The event was the first of its kind in bringing together connectivity experts and child online safety practitioners to place safety and well-being of children at the heart of the connectivity agenda.

Connecting every child to the internet is vital, but ensuring their safety online is equally crucial. Children should be able to learn, grow, and thrive in the digital world without facing online harms. The digital world has amplified existing challenges like sexual violence, exposing children to new dangers and unprecedented risks of sexual exploitation and abuse.

Dr Najat Malla, the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children opened the session highlighting the severe risks that children face online. She stressed that “connecting every school to the internet is essential to close the digital divide but as more and more children go online, we must ensure that they can do so safely”.

Over the last several years, online child sexual exploitation and abuse has skyrocketed – As per the new Childlight study, one incident of online child abuse is reported every second. The Internet Watch Foundation noted 2023 as a ‘record year’ for child sexual abuse with analysts discovering over 275,000 reports of child sexual imagery, marking an 8% increase from the previous year.

“In the age of AI and deepfakes, the risks and threats facing children and young people online are becoming increasingly complex and frequent. It’s never been more important to protect and empower our youth to exercise their rights in the digital world”, ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin

“In the age of AI and deepfakes, the risks and threats facing children and young people online are becoming increasingly complex and frequent. It’s never been more important to protect and empower our youth to exercise their rights in the digital world.” said ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin stressing the risks posed by latest technological trends like Generative AI and Extended Reality (XR). Gen AI, for instance, is turbocharging the creation and spread of child abuse material online blurring the line between ‘real’ and ‘synthetic’ images.

The initial panel discussion highlighted the latest data and trends on the risks and harms children face in digital spaces and how digital connectivity impacts children’s development, safety, and mental health. Experts discussed how new technologies can both increase risks and offer opportunities to enhance digital skills and prevent harm. 

“Child protection must accompany digital transformation. This includes integrating online safety into tech infrastructure and education curricula, fostering children’s resilience both online and offline.”, said Sheema SenGupta, Director Child Protection, UNICEF in the session on solutions which offered practical strategies to maximise the benefits of connectivity in children’s lives while ensuring digital spaces are free from risks and violence. Experts from multiple sectors showcased context-rich information and countries’ experiences including strategies, resources and best practices for robust policy and regulatory frameworks, programs’ design, technology tools and industry practices.

"As we embrace AI and emerging tech, we must prioritize safety and ethics, ensuring a future where technology enhances lives, especially for our children", Cathy Li, Head of AI, Data & Metaverse, World Economic Forum

Panellists stressed on the importance of ensuring child safety-by-design and embedding child safety considerations in the connectivity life-cycle planning and provision, including integrating safety features at the onset of digital tools and platforms & establishing legal frameworks that meet the highest standards of child protection.

The event ended on an optimistic note with panelists looking to the future and exploring what we can do now to ensure that the benefits of technology outweigh the risks.

“As we embrace AI and emerging tech, we must prioritize safety and ethics, ensuring a future where technology enhances lives, especially for our children, said Cathy Li, Head of AI, Data & Metaverse, World Economic Forum , “The World Economic Forum exemplifies this by uniting global stakeholders to build trust and set principles focused on security, safety, and ethical responsibility in digital technologies.”

“We talked about a lot of dark things that technology enables but I believe that the only thing that can stand against that darkness is the type of quick, fair, open development of technology that can help humanity work at scale together”, said Giga’s Co-Lead Chris Fabian, wrapping up the event.

Highlight video
Full Recording

Images: Giga

See more stories from our family of grantees

What is digital safety and how do we measure it?

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Children Online Protection Lab – Request for EoI

February 7, 2024

The objective of this Request for Expressions of Interest (EOI) is to develop a better understanding of the Children Online Protection Laboratory (COPL) community’s priorities, identify ideas and resources and co-construct next steps of the experimentation process.

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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.

Read more

See more of our recent updates

Project VIC international

January 10, 2024

Our grantees Project VIC international Katalyst Countries involved:October 2017 – October 2019 Project VIC International will continue developing its KATALYST programme, which aims to boost countries’ technological and investigative capacity to combat online crimes against children. By working with local law enforcement, KATALYST will improve forensic and victim identification capabilities, and facilitate collaboration between

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University of Kent 2

January 9, 2024

Our grantees University of Kent Understanding and improving help seeking by people at risk of online child sexual exploitation and abuse Countries involved:United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland The Centre of Research and Education in Forensic Psychology at the University of Kent is a group of leading psychologists working

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Save the Children Denmark

January 10, 2024

Our grantees Save the Children Denmark Tackling Online Sexual Exploitation Through a National Action Plan Countries involved:Sri Lanka In Sri Lanka, Internet connectivity has skyrocketed: over the past 10 years, the country has seen a 600 per cent increase in connections, representing more than 25 million mobile phones. Though rates

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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.

Read the Call to Action here 

See more of our recent updates
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Press Release: Safe Online awards $10 million to 23 new grantees to join the fight against digital harms 

Press Release

Safe Online awards $10 million to 23 new grantees to join the fight against digital harms

New York, 26 June 2024: In a significant stride toward safeguarding children in the digital age, Safe Online is making a $10 million investment across 23 projects aimed at combatting online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) and related digital harms.  

Online digital harm is increasing at an alarming rate 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.  

To combat the growing threats in the digital space, Safe Online launched a global call for proposals in 2023. After a rigorous selection process, 23 grantees have been selected to receive USD 10 million. These 23 new projects, from across the world, are poised to achieve maximum impact by supporting work across multiple sectors to protect children from online harms. The projects aim to strengthen systems, key infrastructure and services and create incentives for action through changing norms, policies and regulations. Projects will create and promote a global evidence base to support the ecosystem and develop innovative tools to reduce barriers to access to cutting-edge technologies in the online safety space and promote tools that are shareable, adaptable and create efficiencies in online CSEA prevention and response efforts at all levels.  

Grantees include international organisations, child protection NGOs and CSOs, research and tech organisations and include a range of innovative projects – from looking at vulnerability of children in crisis situations to online sexual abuse and developing educational resources for protection; exploring the link between online scamming call centers and the financial sexual extortion of minors; developing advanced tech tools for helplines to better understand and combat online (CSEA), and making counselors more effective in protecting children to developing tools for law enforcement to respond and prevent online abuse. Read more on the new projects here 

The new investment grows Safe Online’s investment portfolio to USD 100 million across 106 projects with impact in 100 countries and accelerates Safe Online’s globally important role as a catalyst for new solutions to combat digital harms.  

"Safe Online is the only global investment vehicle dedicated to keeping children safe in the digital world. With these new investments, we are empowering changemakers worldwide to create a safer, brighter online future for every child. Together, we are not just responding to online harms – we are reengineering the internet for the next generation"
- Marija Manojlovic, Executive Director, Safe Online

With the launch of the new awardees, Safe Online has announced another global Open Call for $ 5 million. To invest most effectively in the most burning issues in the online CSEA ecosystem, the 2024 Open Call is focused on innovation and high impact. 

For more information 

Tahseen Alam

Communication Specialist, Safe Online 

Tahseen@SafeOnline.Global  

Meet the new grantees

See more of our recent updates

Tech Matters

January 9, 2024

Our grantees Tech Matters The Aselo Platform: Strengthening the Global Child Helpline Movement Project Countries involved:South Africa, Zambia, Chile, India, Jamaica, Thailand, Zimbabwe, United States of America With support from Safe Online’s investements, in 2020 and now in 2022, Tech Matters is continuing to develop its project ‘Aselo: Bringing Modern

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UNICEF Child Protection Programme Division

January 9, 2024

Our grantees UNICEF Child Protection Programme Division Global Programme to Build Capacity to Address Online Child Sexual Exploitation Countries involved:United States of America With support from the Fund, the UNICEF Child Protection Programme Division is working with a wide range of partners at the national, regional and global levels with support of

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What is digital safety and how do we measure it?

June 11, 2024

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.

Read More »
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Safe Online awards $10 million to 23 new grantees to join the fight against digital harms 

Safe Online awards $ 10 million to 23 new grantees to join the fight against digital harms

The digital world is becoming increasingly unsafe for children and young people. Data from the past year, has prompted child protection organisations to sound an alarm for 2023 as a ‘record year’ for child sexual abuse reports with analysts finding more child sexual imagery than any year previously – more than 275,000 reports -up 8% from the previous year. 

New trends emerge, such as financial sexual extortion, while threats like online grooming and child ‘self-generated’ sexual material continue to grow. Additionally, new emerging technologies like generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Extended Reality (ER) pose new risks for the safety of children online.  

To combat the growing threats in the digital space, Safe Online launched a global call for proposals in 2023. After a rigorous and thorough selection process, 23 grantees have been selected to receive USD 10 million. The new investment grows Safe Online’s investment portfolio to USD 100 million across 106 projects with impact in 100 countries and accelerates Safe Online’s globally important role as a catalyst for new solutions to combat digital harms. 

The investment award projects under a ‘whole system’ approach by supporting work across multiple sectors to achieve maximum impact.  

“With a $10M boost, Safe Online is supercharging efforts to protect kids from digital harms. Our new investments are empowering changemakers worldwide to create a safer, brighter online future for every child. Together, we're not just responding to online harms – we're reengineering the internet for the next generation."
- Marija Manojlovic, Executive Director, Safe Online

Grantees have been awarded under three different pillars:

Networks and Systems: Projects will strengthen systems, key infrastructure and services and create incentives for action through changing norms, policies and advanced regulation. 

Research and data: Projects will create and promote a global evidence base to support the ecosystem, increase alignments of efforts, and maximise their impact. 

Technology Tools: Projects will reduce barriers to access to cutting-edge technologies in the online safety space and promote tools that are shareable, adaptable and create efficiencies in online CSEA prevention and response efforts at all levels. 

Meet the new grantees

See more of our recent updates

International Justice Mission

January 10, 2024

Our grantees International Justice Mission Ending Online Sexual Exploitation of Children in Cebu Countries involved:The  Philippines International Justice Mission (IJM) has used the Fund’s support to train and mentor law enforcement officials in the Philippines, increasing their ability to prosecute individuals engaging in online child exploitation and abuse. As part of

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Council of Europe 2

January 9, 2024

Our grantees Council of Europe EndOCSEA@Europe+ Countries involved:Georgia, Montenegro, Moldova (the Republic of) The Council of Europe is using support from the Fund to promote, facilitate and support national efforts to prevent and fight against online child exploitation and abuse. Though the project covers all 47 Council of Europe member states,

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Internet Watch Foundation

January 9, 2024

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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Meet the new Safe Online Grantees

Safe Online invests an additional $10 million to combat digital harms

Meet the new grantees

To combat the growing threats in the digital space, Safe Online launched a global call for proposals in 2023. After a rigorous and thorough selection process, 23 grantees have been selected to receive USD 10 million. The new investment grows Safe Online’s investment portfolio to USD 100 million across 106 projects with impact in 100 countries and accelerates Safe Online’s globally important role as a catalyst for new solutions to combat digital harms.  

Read more about the innovative new projects

Capital Humano y Social Alternativo  

Building resilience in the native communities of the Peruvian Amazon: Systemic model for the prevention and care of online CSEA in Loreto region, Peru

Children lead a comprehensive strategy to identify situations of alarm and risk of CSE online in Amazon communities. A systemic model is proposed where the community, private company and local government build a support network that facilitates the identification of cases, reporting, support and timely access to care and protection services. 

Child Helpline International 

Voice Up Africa! Child Helplines Disrupting Online Harms 

Child Helpline International, along with seven African child helplines, enhances capabilities to tackle OCSEA through infrastructure upgrades, training, awareness raising, partnerships, and research. 

ECPAT International 

Promoting participatory-based evidence to protect children on the move and affected by crisis from online sexual abuse and exploitation 

ECPAT International leads a research initiative focused on the digital safety of children on the move and affected by crisis, aiming to understand digital risks and influence safer policies. 

GamerSafer 

DefenderNet: A unified, open source system enhancing safety in third-party server ecosystems 

DefenderNet introduces an open-source reporting system for online games and social platforms with independently managed servers, aiming to centralize harmful conduct reports and empower moderators to enhance player safety. 

Hintalovon Child Rights Foundation – ECPAT Hungary  

Seeing the unseen – Researching online sexual violence against children in V4  

“Seeing the unseen” research aims to support advocacy efforts to prevent online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) in V4 countries by providing crucial data and improving mandatory reporting mechanisms. 

International Justice Mission 

Nexus of Sextortion and Online Scams 

Using NCMEC data, IJM will explore the link between online scamming call centers and the financial sextortion of minors, providing recommendations for more effective law enforcement and early tech sector detection to prevent victimization. 

International Policing and Public Protection Research Institute (IPPPRI) formerly known as PIER Anglia Ruskin University 

‘Dity online’: Experiences, knowledge and behaviours of Ukrainian children and their parents in relation to the risk of online sexual abuse during the Russian war in Ukraine. 

The ‘Dity Online’ project collaborates between Ukraine and the UK to understand the impact of the Russian war on Ukrainian children’s vulnerability to online sexual abuse and develop educational resources for protection. 

International Center LA STRADA 

Safer Internet Center in Moldova: Structured and coordinated framework of response to online child sexual abuse and exploitation 

Safer Internet Center Moldova is dedicated to addressing ineffective response to online child sexual abuse and exploitation in Moldova, this project strengthens the national response through legal framework enhancement and community empowerment. 

INHOPE         

Global Standard Project 

INHOPE implements the Universal Classification Schema to automate CSAM categorization, train stakeholders on content assessment, and expedite inter-jurisdictional data sharing for swift CSAM removal. 

International Telecommunication Union

A Global Network to Expand the Reach and Effectiveness of Online Safety Education

The project aims to enhance online safety education. Involving stakeholders from the Global South, it will create an extensive & fit-for-purpose resource repository to prevent cyber abuses & threats against children, encouraging them to seek help during attacks & ensuring they feel safe online.

 Kindred Tech 

Cloud-Enhanced Digital Governance and Regulatory Framework (CEDAR) 

The CEDAR Project equips law enforcement agencies and NGOs with cloud-based tools to enhance responses to Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (CSEA), addressing technical, legal, and perceptual barriers. 

Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse 

Philippines Adaptation and Dissemination of Responsible Behavior with Younger Children: A Curriculum to Prevent and Address Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Related Forms of Harms. 

Moore Center’s project adapts the Responsible Behavior with Younger Children curriculum for the Philippines, equipping teens and educators to prevent online child sexual exploitation and abuse. 

Mtoto Newz International Ltd Brand Name – Mtoto News 

It’s A FACT 

It’s A FACT is a participatory action research aiming to understand digital literacy among African children aged 9-17 in Malawi, Kenya, and Mali, informing the Africa Child Online Safety Model Law. 

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children 

Innovative Data: Harnessing Machine Learning to Combat & Eradicate Child Sexual Exploitation 

NCMEC’s Innovative Data project will deploy natural language processing and machine learning techniques on the largest dataset of child victimization to uncover critical trends and predictive behavior patterns. This will help accelerate victim recovery, transform global response, and prevent future child sexual exploitation.

Rigr AI 

Morrigan – Pic2Geo. Software tool built with Open Domain Image Locatisation and AI. 

Law enforcement, victim identification specialists, and NGOs collaborate using Morrigan – Pic2Geo to safeguard victims of CSEA by identifying potential locations of images or videos, aiding in successful investigations. 

SEED Foundation 

Preventing and Responding to Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Iraq 

SEED’s program strengthens legal and institutional frameworks in Iraq to address online child sexual exploitation and abuse, equipping government and NGOs to respond effectively and empowering children and caregivers through awareness efforts. 

South West Grid for Learning 

Exploring child friendly reporting platforms for online abuse. 

Utilizing SWGfL’s expertise, this project aims to adapt existing infrastructure into a child-friendly reporting platform for online abuse, empowering children to report harmful content safely and fostering a secure online environment. 

Stanford Internet Observatory 

Law Enforcement and the Online Child Safety Ecosystem 

Researchers will embed with law enforcement to investigate challenges in handling reports of online child sexual exploitation, leading to policy recommendations for improved investigation outcomes. 

UNICEF Senegal 

Strengthening the national protection system to prevent and respond to online child sexual exploitation and abuse in Senegal 

UNICEF Senegal’s project empowers children and communities and strengthens the national child protection system to prevent and respond to online exploitation and abuse in Senegal. 

Tech Matters 

The Power of AI and Data for Understanding Online CSEA 

Aselo empowers helplines with advanced data, visualization, and AI tools to better understand and combat Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (CSEA), making counselors more effective in protecting children. 

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Kazakhstan

Protecting children from online violence, abuse and exploitation in Kazakhstan 

UNICEF Kazakhstan aims to fortify defenses against online child abuse by empowering communities, parents, and children, creating a safer digital world for all.

UNICEF HQ – Child Protection Programme Team

Child-centred multidisciplinary services for victims and survivors – models of good practice for the digital age 

Models of Good Practice for the Digital Age project aims to understand and improve child-centred multidisciplinary services for victims of child sexual abuse and exploitation in low- to upper-middle-income countries, with a focus on digital aspects of abuse.

World Vision Brazil

Amplifying children and adolescents’ safety online 

iSmart360 empowers youth to navigate the web safely, countering online exploitation and fostering a community-wide dialogue on digital security. 

Images: Safe Online/Vincent Tremeau

See more of our recent updates

Save the Children Sweden

January 10, 2024

Our grantees Save the Children Sweden Combating Online Exploitation and Sexual Abuse of Children and Adolescents Countries involved:October 2017 – October 2019 In Peru, the Fund is supporting Save the Children Sweden’s programme to combat online child sexual exploitation and abuse, which is operating on a number of different levels. The organisation

Read More »

UNICEF Kenya

January 10, 2024

Our grantees UNICEF Kenya Developing and Implementing a National Plan of Action to Prevent and Respond to Online Child Exploitation and Abuse Countries involved:October 2017 – October 2019 With support from the Fund, UNICEF Kenya enhanced national capacities to prevent and respond to online child abuse and exploitation. The project has improved

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Swansea University

January 9, 2024

Our grantees Swansea University Dragons+ : Developing Resistance Against Grooming Online Stories – Strengthened Safeguards Countries involved:United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland DRAGONS+ builds on Swansea University’s expertise in anti-grooming technology to pioneer research at the intersection of offender and child interaction. This research considers development of perceived-first-person

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What is digital safety and how do we measure it?

What is digital safety and how do we measure it?

A new white paper by WEF’s Global Coalition for Digital Safety offers a roadmap

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. 

Accurate measurement of online safety is crucial for creating a safer and more reliable digital environment. It supports informed decision-making, guides policy development, and raises awareness of digital safety issues among all stakeholders. 

However, measuring digital safety is not an easy task – fundamentally, digital safety involves preventing and minimising harm in the online environment. This includes moderating illegal or harmful content, promoting responsible platform design and governance, and empowering users to customise their digital experiences. This is especially complicated in a fast-evolving environment with rapid technological advances and regulatory interventions.  

Given the complexity, the white paper proposes a set of metrics grouped into three basic categorisations to most meaningfully measure digital safety.  

3 Metrics for Digital Safety
  • Impact: Metrics that illuminate the impacts on individuals and provide insights into characteristics and patterns of lived experiences. 
  • Risk: Metrics that enable the detection and mitigation of potential harms. 
  • Process: Metrics that cover the approach, implementation and outcomes of systems relating to digital safety.  

These categorisations are not meant to be comprehensive and instead offer a guiding framework for tracking and measuring digital safety. Read the white paper here 

Images: Safe Online/Vincent Tremeau

See more stories from our family of grantees

Safe Online awards $10 million to 23 new grantees to join the fight against digital harms 

June 20, 2024

To combat the growing threats in the digital space, Safe Online launched a global call for proposals in 2023. After a rigorous and thorough selection process, 23 grantees have been selected to receive USD 10 million. The new investment grows Safe Online’s investment portfolio to USD 100 million across 106 projects with impact in 100 countries and accelerates Safe Online’s globally important role as a catalyst for new solutions to combat digital harms.

Read More »
Woman writing in notebook

Policy Proposal 3

May 13, 2023

As part of Together to #ENDviolence, experts from across the End Violence community came together to prepare a prioritized set of policy proposals to end violence against children. The result is six game-changing policy proposals, backed by evidence and research on what works to protect children.

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Safer Internet Day 2024 – Updates from Safe Online Grantees

January 29, 2024

Safer Internet Day, on February 6 2024, marks an important moment to come together to address urgent challenges. Governments, civil society, businesses, educators and children from across the globe are mobilising on this day to acknowledge and promote the theme of “Together for a better internet”.

What are Safe Online grantees doing to support a Safer Internet Day?

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A day of learning, networking and problem-solving

A Day of Learning, Networking And Problem-Solving

Safe Online Regional Network Forum in Southeast Asia and Pacific

Representatives of 21 Safe Online grants across Southeast Asia and the Pacific had the opportunity to meet face-to-face in Bangkok, Thailand this week in an important moment of reflection and learning. Participants represented ongoing projects in eight countries (Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Thailand, The Philippines and Viet Nam) and organisations including 11 NGOs, UNICEF Country Offices, academic institutions and a private company.

The forum was an open space for Safe Online grantees to cross-pollinate between their project and to:

  • Share knowledge, new trends, best practices and approaches to end online CSEA.
  • Identify pressing and challenging issues along with strategic needs and opportunities.
  • Network to build working relationships between grantees and foster future collaboration.
Highlights of the day

The day was packed with a range of presentations and panel discussions involving grantees as well as enthusiastic group discussion sessions that covered a range of critical issues that occur in the complex work of addressing technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) across the region.

The first session invited those present to undertake a rapid mapping of trends, threat and solutions across their work and contexts. Groups explored CSEA in relation to offenders, deterrents, and help-seeking. As one participant observed, ‘The offenders are way faster than us.’ Taking the time to pause, convene, and reflect is therefore crucial for advocates and programmers addressing the challenges faced in our work.

The second session was an opportunity for grantees to showcase the current data ecosystem, and how data intersects with other components including technology tools to tackle CESA at all stages of project lifecycles. Highlighted examples demonstrated the importance of data security and protection – especially given the highly vulnerable nature of the data gathered from victims of CSEA.

After lunch attention turned to the narratives that we encounter, and use, in our work regarding CSEA. Sometimes we fall into these narratives without explicit consideration, yet carefully constructed narratives can be harnessed for powerful advocacy. Examples of taking existing narratives and challenging, adapting and using them to progress important conversations were shared. As one participant said in summary of this session:

“It was a humbling experience to realize that we have lots of narratives about victims but struggled to find common narratives to describe offenders. Maybe it’s time to shift the public focus on CSEA towards the offenders?”

In the final session of the day, a panel of grantees shared some innovative strategies and approaches – as well as some great examples – of unlocking evidence generation about technology facilitated CSEA. Unsurprisingly, methodologies that come from the context and fit what is right for the project have the greatest impact. One panel member shared a guiding principles for data they sought:

“If the piece of data hits you it should be memorable. It should stick with you. It should drive you towards some change or action.”

Images: ECPAT International

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

July 22, 2024

Press Release: 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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Safer Internet Day 2024 – Updates from Safe Online Grantees

January 29, 2024

Safer Internet Day, on February 6 2024, marks an important moment to come together to address urgent challenges. Governments, civil society, businesses, educators and children from across the globe are mobilising on this day to acknowledge and promote the theme of “Together for a better internet”.

What are Safe Online grantees doing to support a Safer Internet Day?

Read More »
Posted on

Learnings, partnership and collaboration for a safe digital future

Learnings, partnership and collaboration for a safe digital future

Safe Online joins ECPAT and other partners to host a Regional Workshop to promote collective action to end child sexual exploitation and abuse in Southeast Asia and the Pacific

There is growing momentum and positive development of progressive child protection frameworks in Asia. In November 2019, ASEAN adopted the Declaration on the Protection of Children from All Forms of Online Exploitation and Abuse in ASEAN, followed by the Regional Plan of Action for the Protection of Children from All Forms of Online Exploitation and Abuse in ASEAN. These together with two regional guidelines for Comprehensive National Legislation Against All Forms of Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Provision of Protective and Support Services for All Child Victims and Children in Contact with the Law, launched at the 2nd Annual ASEAN ICT Forum on Child Online Protection in November 2023, have created a movement to strengthen regional coordination to prevent and response to online child sexual exploitation and abuse in ASEAN.  

Safe Online funded Disrupting Harm research project jointly implemented by ECPAT International, INTERPOL, and UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti has been significant in contributing to this momentum by generating unique insights on how online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) is manifesting in 13 countries – including Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam – and providing tailored roadmaps for countries to strengthen their prevention and response systems. The results are ground-breaking and are complemented with conversations with survivors in 12 countries, including Malaysia, Cambodia, and South Korea. 

The regional workshop will build upon the above-mentioned momentum, The two day workshop on March 5 and 6 led by ECPAT International along with partners like Safe Online is aimed at sharing experiences and lessons learned in combatting CSEA and strengthening the capacity of practitioners in identifying the best approaches on how to strategically engage with their governments and to support the global advocacy efforts to address this crime.   

The ECPAT Regional Workshop will be followed by a day long Safe Online Regional Network Forum on March 7. Bringing together 20 grantees and implementing partners directly working in the region with a particular focus in 8 countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, The Philippines and Viet Nam) the Forum will offer a space in which a group of selected grantees can connect and learn from each other and co-create a body of collaborative knowledge and solutions to tackle online child sexual exploitation and abuse in the context of other forms of violence against children.

Learn more about select grantees participating in the Safe Online Network Forum and their projects

UNICEF  Indonesia and the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, Indonesia launched a national campaign #JagaBareng (“caring together”) to raise public awareness on online CSEA.

International Justice Mission

The Scale of Harm project is a pioneering methodology to estimate the prevalence of trafficking to produce new child sexual exploitation material in livestreamed videos, images, and recorded videos. Through a nationwide survey supplemented by IJM casework data and survivor experience, the study proves how widespread this form of online child sexual exploitation spreads across the Philippines. 

The study revealed that nearly half a million children were trafficked to produce new child sexual exploitation materials in 2022. That’s approximately 1 in every 100 Filipino children. Additionally, nearly a quarter of a million Filipino adults trafficked children for the purpose of creating these materials. Roughly 3 in every 1,000 adults participated in this crime.  

Plan International Pilipinas

The research study, ‘Safeguarding young people from the dark path of self-facilitated live streaming of CSEA’, aims to contribute to understanding the landscape of live streaming of CSEA, particularly those which are “self-facilitated” by older adolescents, to support efforts to prevent and address the live streaming of CSEA in the Philippines. The emphasis on self-facilitated live streaming is to address a critical gap in understanding the motivation and risk factors of online commercial sexual exploitation, as studies in the Philippines often focus on family-facilitated or externally facilitated commercial sexual abuse and exploitation. Plan and ECPAT Philippines will investigate the critical aspects of the demand and supply chain of self-facilitated live streaming of CSEA and will identify the gaps on current preventive and responsive policies and programs, based on these aspects, and develop, together with other stakeholders, policy recommendations and effective interventions to prevent and respond to live streaming of CSEA. 

Plan International Vietnam

The community-based OCSEA support project is implemented in most disadvantaged communities in two coastal provinces of Vietnam to support adolescents aged 10-18, particularly girls from ethnic minorities, access gender-responsive, survivor-centred cross-sectoral support for OCSEA through interdisciplinary coordination. 

The project’s SOPs for quality coordination to address online CSEA contributed significantly to identifying and addressing 6 cases with provision of comprehensive support services.  

Save the Children International

Protecting Children from Online Grooming: The Young & Resilient Research Centre at Western Sydney University and Save the Children conducted the ‘Protecting Children from Online Grooming’ study. Young & Resilient facilitated workshops with 597 children and young people aged between 9 and 16 across Australia, Cambodia, Finland, the Philippines, Kenya, South Africa and Colombia to learn about their thoughts and experiences regarding their online interactions. 

Preliminary research findings reveal that children routinely interact with people they don’t know online and respond with caution when approached, but they want tech companies and governments to do more to keep them safe. The findings also show that more than half were likely to speak about online safety to their parents, highlighting the importance of supporting caregivers with online safety education. 

UNICEF Cambodia

The Project aims to support the Royal Government of Cambodia to further strengthen a functional child protection system to prevent/respond to online and offline CSEA through innovative solutions in information management system, capacity building, enhanced coordination including with the private sector, empowerment of parents and young people. 

The Child Online Protection Guidelines for the Digital Technology Industry newly developed by the Royal Government of Cambodia, provide unparallel opportunities for nearly 100 industry players including mobile operators, social media, content creators, and App developers to enhance the online safety of every child and young person in respect of children’s rights across Cambodia. 

UNICEF Indonesia

UNICEF Indonesia, in collaboration with the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection and ECPAT Indonesia, is implementing a comprehensive approach to prevent and respond to Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (OCSEA). This project builds upon an existing program, Safe and Friendly Environment for Children (SAFE4C), connecting prevention and response services from community to service providers to achieve sustainable protection results for children. The project focuses on three action areas: 

  • Strengthen child protection policies, programs, and services to prevent and respond to OCSEA. 
  • Enhance the engagement of children and their caregivers as active agents in the prevention of OCSEA and adaptation to digital parenting. 
  • Build a robust evidence base to inform policies, advocacy, and programming to address OCSEA. 

The project is implemented in 10 districts/cities across three selected provinces in Indonesia. 

As part of the project, UNICEF Indonesia and the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (MOWECP) launched the national campaign platform entitled #JagaBareng or “caring together“.  The campaign aimed to raise public awareness and encourage participation in child online protection, with a particular focus on preventing OCSEA. Leveraging various social media platforms, the campaign successfully reached over 71.5 million internet users, including 26.6 million young internet users. META’s support for the Brand Lift Study further enhanced the campaign’s impact.

Images:

© UNICEF / UN0671248

© UNICEF Indonesia / 2023

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End violence hosts its 10th global knowledge exchange webinar

July 6, 2020

On 17 June, End Violence held its 10th Global Knowledge Exchange Webinar, which gathered 117 individuals from partner and grantee organisations around the world. This webinar, the third event held in 2020, focused on integrated, child-centred frameworks for investigation, rehabilitation and recovery for survivors of online child sexual exploitation and abuse.

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Joint Stakeholder Statement: Call on policymakers to swiftly adopt the extension of the ePrivacy derogation

January 23, 2024

Joint call on policymakers to swiftly adopt the extension of the interim ePrivacy derogation Joint Stakeholder Statement Brussels, 23 January 2024 The undersigned organisations have been participating, from different angles, in the discussions surrounding the proposal laying down rules to prevent and combat child sexual abuse. All signatories share the same goal,

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