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By harnessing partners’ expertise, networks and evidence the initiative will create a multiplier effect and enable system-wide transformation to close the global funding gap via unlocking new investments, driving targeted financial commitments and exploring innovative funding models.
With growing global demand and a solid foundation built on a +$100 million investment by Safe Online since 2017 across more than 100 countries – in evidence generation, technological innovation and systemic change – it’s time to scale financial resources towards interventions that work and reach million of children to ensure digital childhoods are safe, inclusive and empowering.
The scale and complexity of digital risks and harms to children and young people have far outpaced the resources available to combat them, leaving millions of children exposed, unsupported, and unheard. Failure to invest now not only endangers individual children but also undermines the collective social and economic progress of communities and nations.
to countering online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (CSEA) and other digital harms to children to mobilize co-financing from domestic governments along with catalytic funding from philanthropic funders, private sector and international financial institutions to counter this fast-growing global health crisis – creating a united global front to protect children in the digital world.
in the voices of children, survivors, youth, parents, frontline workers, and decision makers across sectors and is powered by committed partners across the world. Building on the political momentum and landmark commitments from the Bogota Global Ministerial Conference on Violence against Children in November 2024 and leveraging the collaborative leadership of strategic partners, this moment presents a unique opportunity to translate commitments into tangible financial investments for sustained systemic change.
The new initiative will create a multiplier effect and enable system-wide transformation to close the global funding gap. By harnessing partners’ expertise, networks, and evidence, the initiative will align strategic advocacy with resource mobilization to build sustainable, long-term solutions for protecting children online.
Discover key moments throughout the year
Stay tuned as we highlight major milestones, impactful collaborations, and global efforts to build a safer digital world for children. From groundbreaking initiatives to high-level discussions — including the upcoming High-Level Roundtable on the margins of the G20 Summit in South Africa in November 2025 — each moment marks a step forward in driving systemic change.
Africa is home to the world’s youngest population. With over 650 million children today, and a projected one billion by 2055, their future hinges on the decisions we make now. Among the most urgent is how governments across Africa plan and budget
rom online sexual exploitation and abuse to cyberbullying and privacy violations, children face alarming risks every time they go online. Digital technologies are evolving fast, but public investments to make digital spaces safe for children by design and not as an afterthought remain dangerously behind. Most African countries still lack coordinated systems and budget allocations to address online harms.
The Roundtable will bring together governments, donors, financial institutions and private sector to catalyze strategic investment and policy action that protects children from digital harms while advancing inclusive, safe digital transformation. Specifically, it will aim to:
Violence against children is a global crisis affecting over half the world’s children and taking many forms including corporal punishment, child labour, torture, trafficking, bullying, harmful practices such as child marriage, and deprivation of liberty. The digital age has amplified the scale and complexity of these issues, exposing children to unprecedented risks most notably, online sexual violence.
The cost of inaction is severe – survivors face increased risks of self-harm, suicidal thoughts, anxiety, and long-term socio-economic disadvantages. Beyond the human toll, violence imposes significant economic burdens—disrupting education, healthcare, and productivity, and costing countries up to 11% of GDP, in some cases exceeding national health expenditures sixfold.
However, online sexual abuse is a preventable public health problem. The staggering costs of violence against children, both human and economic, underscore the urgent need for increased and sustained investments in prevention and protection. As Safe Online, we urge for prioritizing funding for holistic interventions, innovative approaches, and research to address systemic drivers and emerging digital threats, ensuring a coordinated global effort to tackle the global crisis.
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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.
