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A timeline of our investments

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Two investment rounds USD 25M

Two investment rounds (USD 25M)  to build the foundations of an integrated response to online CSEA through focusing on national, regional, and international capacities aligned with the Model National Response (MNR) to prevent online CSEA. Thirty-one grantees were awarded representing organisations across the world.

Invested US$6.6 million to develop Disrupting Harm
Fourth funding round was launched in September 2019 for USD 10M

A targeted call focusing on Southeast Asia and Eastern/Southern Africa to generate more data and evidence was launched. It invested US$6.6 million to develop Disrupting Harm, a holistic and innovative research project conducting comprehensive assessments of online CSEA at national and regional levels in 13 countries. 

The fourth funding round was launched in September 2019 for USD 10M  through an open call for proposals focused on cutting-edge technology tools for the global community to make children safe online. This fourth funding round was followed by two more open calls in 2021 and 2023 focusing on technology solutions (the last one specifically targeting age appropriate and live-streaming solutions).

Safe Online and the Tech Coalition launched the Tech Coalition Safe Online Research Fund
Five grants for a total amount of USD 1M.

Safe Online and the Tech Coalition launched the Tech Coalition Safe Online Research Fund to prevent online CSEA through technology innovation, collective action, research, knowledge sharing, and increased accountability.

Five grants up to US$1M were awarded for research that aimed to expand knowledge of online CSEA and explore the most effective measures for preventing it. In 2022, a new funding round under this Fund was launched, resulting in eight more grants focusing on prevention and deterrence, detection and reporting, and response and support. 

This year, Safe Online invested US$ 15 million across 18 projects focused on strengthening systems and technology-based solutions to enable more effective and coordinated efforts to tackle online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA)

Both open calls build on the previous Safe Online investments. Through the regional open call, this new investment round leveraged the evidence from the large-scale research project Disrupting Harm commissioned by Safe Online in 2019 and supports programmes poised to make country-level change in two target regions: Eastern and Southern Africa and Southeast Asia. The global open call, on the other hand, represents continuation of our 2020 US$ 10 million investment in 15 projects working to develop, adapt and scale technologies to deter online child sexual abuse.

Launched a targeted call for Evidence Generation for Sustainable and Scalable Impact (US$5.3 million)

Safe Online launched a targeted call for Evidence Generation for Sustainable and Scalable Impact (US$5.3 million). This call was aimed at evaluating and enhancing selected interventions of previously funded Safe Online projects.  Eight projects have been selected to scale up interventions around the globe and generate evidence through robust evaluations, starting in 2023, while ensuring a fair representation of different thematic interventions and geographic areas.

New US$ 10 million Global Open Call for Proposals
Safe Online launched a USD $2 million funding round focusing on innovative solutions to leverage existing and new technologies to address challenges in the online CSEA landscape. The funding was not limited solely to technology solutions, but also included research on social and policy questions for enhancing the capacity of all stakeholders around the use of tech solutions for the two focus areas – age assurance and live streaming of abuse.

Safe Online announced a new US$ 10 million Global Open Call for Proposals in 2023. The call is split into three distinct investment pillars: Networks and Systems, Research and Data, and Technology Tools. Our ‘whole system’ approach aims to achieve maximum impact by supporting work across multiple sectors to address online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA).

In 2023, the TC Safe Online Research Fund granted 4 awards to further accelerate the work of organisations from the first cohort of grantees.

Our grantees

Global projects

Internet Watch Foundation

Reporting Portal Project
Grant timeline
October 2017 – October 2019
Funding amount
$448,875
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 implement web-based portals for citizens to report online child sexual abuse content and make the Internet a safer place for children and adults around the world.

The aim of the project is to support countries without anywhere to report images and videos of child sexual abuse. IWF provides a reporting button which feeds directly to their expert analysts in the UK, who assess the reports according to UK Law and work to remove the content as quickly as possible from the internet.

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Thorn

Bringing Light to the Dark Web
Grant timeline
April 2018 - April 2021
Funding amount
$700,000
Countries involved
United States of America

The Fund is supporting Thorn’s Bringing Light to the Dark Web project, a global initiative that will use a new tool to help law enforcement identify children who are victims of online child sexual exploitation and abuse. Thorn helps gather the most important pieces of information related to child sexual abuse material online to support law enforcement investigations. By expanding the initiative’s reach, Thorn hopes to achieve the following goals:

    • Remove more children, faster, from abusive situations
    • Reduce the time it takes to identify new child sexual abuse material
    • Reduce the investigative time required to identify a child in abuse material
    • Foster collaboration among law enforcement worldwide

To date, Thorn has helped law enforcement in over 55 countries find over 800 children whose abuse material has appeared online.

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INTERPOL (Global)

The Devops Group Project
Grant timeline
November 2020 - November 2024
Funding amount
$750,000
Countries involved
France

INTERPOL will bring the most advanced technology to investigators of online CSEA through its new DevOps Group Project. The initiative will facilitate research and development by an expert group of investigators, non-governmental organisations, academia, and information technology companies, and extend solutions to specialised officers worldwide via INTERPOL’s secure channels. Headquartered in France, this project has a global reach.

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New Venture Fund

Communication and Advocacy Support: Inspiring the End of Violence Against Girls and Boys
Grant timeline
December 2018 - December 2021
Funding amount
$594,000
Countries involved
United States of America

As a part of this communications and advocacy support, New Venture Fund develops a number of communications tools for resource mobilization to end online child sexual exploitation and abuse.

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National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC)

CyberTipline
Grant timeline
August 2022 - August 2023
Funding amount
$601,328
Countries involved
United States of America

NCMEC’s CyberTipline will enhance a critical survivor-serving tool through a more accessible public reporting process for children, caregivers, and the general public. By reducing the burden of child sexual abuse reporting and developing a trauma-informed and interactive submission process, the new application will lead to more accurate data intake that will affect response, content removal, and impact global policy on child safety. 

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Swansea University

Dragons+ : Developing Resistance Against Grooming Online Stories – Strengthened Safeguards
Grant timeline
December 2020 - December 2022
Funding amount
$660,226
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 CSAM and how children try to communicatively resist groomers’ manipulation.  

The project newly synergises linguistics and participatory research methods. It is developed in partnership with UK-based lived experience experts and with child safeguarding practitioners internationally (e.g., child helpline counsellors, hotline analysts, police school liaison officers). Partners in this work span the Global North and South, enabling engagement of multiple languages, including British English, Colombian and Peninsular Spanish, Vietnamese and British Sign Language. Key project partners include: Marie Collins Foundation, DeafKidz International, INHOPE, INSAFE / European Schoolnet, Project StopOnSexGroom and Red PaPaz. DRAGONS+ will generate novel, richly contextualized insights to anchor the design and implementation, particularly for tech industry, of actionable online grooming preventative technology at scale. 

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Canadian Centre for Child Protection

Advancing Project Arachnid: Global Notice System and Tailored Tools to Expedite the Removal of Child Sexual Abuse Material
Grant timeline
September 2020 – September 2022 ($450,000) / June 2022 - June 2024 ($750000)
Funding amount
$1,200,000
Countries involved
Canada

With support from Safe Online, Canadian Centre for Child Protection has advanced its existing technological solution, Project Arachnid, to improve automated detection of child sexual abuse material. Project Arachnid is processing tens of thousands of images per second, crawling sites across the web to detect and remove abuse material. By developing an automated multi-lingual global notification system – along with tailored tools to find and report images – Project Arachnid used End Violence’s support to expedite the removal of child sexual abuse material across the world, and develop tools to find images on sites that traditionally make automated detection nearly impossible. Headquartered in Canada, this project has a global reach.

In 2022, two distinct new components will help to bolster Project Arachnid’s capabilities to target publicly available CSAM that, for the most part, has evaded detection. These efforts will have a significant impact on the removal of CSAM globally, as well as the prevention of online child victimization.

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World Health Organization

What Works to Prevent and Respond to Child Online Abuse
Grant timeline
August 2018 – December 2022
Funding amount
$306,020
Countries involved
Switzerland

The World Health Organisation is using the Fund to explore current systems of prevention and response to online child sexual exploitation and abuse. These findings will support governments and civil society organisations, giving them the tools and evidence they need to implement effective, evidence-based programs to keep children safe online. After determining what works and does not work around preventing and responding to sexual and emotional online child abuse, the project will produce accessible informational documents, including policy briefs, infographics and multimedia, which will be appropriate for a variety of audiences. The project is also holding two major international conferences to inform the programming of international organisations, development partners and civil society organisations, and providing technical support to pathfinding countries engaged in the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children.

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Suojellaan Lapsia Ry

Redirection
Grant timeline
September 2020 – September2022
Funding amount
$918,673
Countries involved
Finland

Suojellaan Lapsia Ry will develop and launch ReDirection, an evidence-based self-help programme working to prevent the consumption of CSAM on the Dark Web. By providing targeted support for these individuals, the project will also reveal new information about these searchers and their pathways to CSAM access and use. This programme builds on the Finnish government’s accredited New Direction rehabilitation programme for sex offenders. Headquartered in Finland, this project has a global reach.

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International Association of Internet Hotlines (InHope)

ESCAPE
Grant timeline
September 2020 – March 2023 ($741366) / July 2022 - July 2024 ($749317)
Funding amount
$1,490,683
Countries involved
Netherlands

With support from Safe Online, the International Association of Internet Hotlines (INHOPE) launched the programme – ESCAPE – to develop automation and intelligence tools for faster classification of CSAM reporting. These tools will allow hotline analysts and law enforcement officers to focus on the most urgent cases of abuse, allowing professionals to reach those most in need of urgent support as soon as possible. Through this project, CSAM will be removed as soon as possible, preventing further circulation and re-victimisation of children. This project has a global reach.

Now in 2022, INHOPE is creating a new project, ‘Global Standard – a common CSAM classification’. This is a global common language (ontology) for helpline and hotline analysts and law enforcement officers to classify CSAM. Following the Global Standard, an interoperable global CSAM hash set will be created and exchanged between hotlines, law enforcement and industry for CSAM detection & removal. 

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Thorn

Global CSAM Classifier Development Program
Grant timeline
October 2020 – July 2023 ($750,000) / June 2022 - June 2024 ($750,000)
Funding amount
$950,000
Countries involved
United States of America

Supported by Safe Online’s investments, Thorn has accelerated the development of their artificial intelligence classifiers, which are working to automate the detection of CSAM. Through this project, Thorn aimed to create a global standard for labelling, connecting and organising the world’s data to help to identify victims faster – and ultimately, to stop the viral spread of CSAM across the globe. Headquartered in the United States, this project has a global reach. 

In June 2022, Thorn was granted $750,000 for their new project which fuels Thorn’s collaboration with key trusted partners, empowers investigators worldwide with the critical information they need to identify child victims faster than ever before.

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Child Rescue Coalition

Project Nemesis: Justice Through Technology
Grant timeline
September 2020 – September 2022 ($750,000) / 1 Jun 2022 - 31 May 2024 ($750,000)
Funding amount
$1,500,000
Countries involved
United States of America

Child Rescue Coalition will implement Project NEMESIS: Justice Through Technology, to automate the handling of evidence – including chat logs, data and videos – for live streaming abuse cases. Because mobile applications are often used to share CSAM and groom children, this solution will also help collect data against suspects with a sexual interest in children. Through this project, Child Rescue Coalition will help law enforcement design a secure interface to rescue more children and identify more offenders. Headquartered in the United States, this project has a global reach.

In June 2022, Thorn was granted $750,000 for their new project which fuels Thorn’s collaboration with key trusted partners, empowers investigators worldwide with the critical information they need to identify child victims faster than ever before.

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International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children & Child Helpline International

Implementing the Model National Response Collaborative Approach to Combat Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Five Countries
Grant timeline
March 2018 – December 2020
Funding amount
$855,406
Countries involved
Jordan, Kenya, Peru, Tanzania, Philippines

In addition, the project is creating eLearning modules, which will ensure continuous learning for everyone, everywhere, within the target countries. Importantly, the project is also improving the services of child helplines in each country, ensuring individuals working at helpline agencies are equipped to deal with online child sexual exploitation and abuse issues and are able to provide proper referrals to authorities and care centres.

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UNICEF Child Protection Programme Division

Global Programme to Build Capacity to Address Online Child Sexual Exploitation
Grant timeline
March 2018 – February 2022
Funding amount
$1,364,250
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 UNICEF country offices. Together, these actors are working to end online child sexual exploitation and abuse in 34 target countries in seven regions. The project’s goals include:

    • Increasing government commitment to preventing and responding to child sexual exploitation and abuse through global advocacy, including pushing forward the Model National Response of the WePROTECT Global Alliance. In addition, UNICEF is supporting the WeProtect Global Alliance as an advisory board member. 
    • Supporting governments to adapt comprehensive responsive mechanisms in-line with the WePROTECT Global Alliance’s Model National Response approach, which helps countries build their response to online child sexual exploitation and abuse. This is being done through workshops and webinars with key stakeholders, along with an accessible, available roster of experts with specific expertise on the Model National Response.
    • Documenting the implementation of the Model National Response around the world.
    • Contributing to the generation of evidence and use of evidence-based programming related to online child sexual exploitation and abuse.
    • Increasing collaboration between governments, civil society, the private sector, and international organisations, and ensuring they exchange knowledge and learnings about online child sexual exploitation prevention and response.
    • Boosting the skills and knowledge of children and caregivers to prevent online child sexual exploitation and abuse risks through the #ReplyforALL platform and others. These platforms provide educational resources for children on online safety, among other activities.
    • Supporting the coordination and effective participation of national delegates at the WePROTECT Global Summit in collaboration with UNICEF field offices.

In addition, the project is advocating with governments and supporting the realization of national commitments via the WePROTECT Statement of Action, which outlines what countries and organisations can do to stop those who use the Internet for sexual exploitation of children. UNICEF is also working alongside the information, communications and technology sectors in target countries, attempting to inform their policy and enhance their capacity to address online child sexual exploitation and abuse.

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EPCAT International (Disrupting Harm)

Evidence From 14 Countries on the Context, Threats, and Children’s Perspectives of Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.
Grant timeline
February 2019 – September 2021
Funding amount
$2,681,728
Countries involved
Thailand

Disrupting Harm is a large-scale data collection and research project to better understand online child sexual exploitation and abuse across the world. This study is assessing the scale, nature and context of this issue in 14 countries across Southern and Eastern Africa and Southeast Asia. Supported by the Fund, three grantee partners will work together to conduct the study, including ECPAT International, INTERPOL and the UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti. UNICEF’s role is o conduct nationally-representative household surveys with approximately 1,000 children and 1,000 of their parents/caregivers in each of the 14 partner countries, together with UNICEF Country Offices.

Learn more about Disrupting Harm by visiting the project’s dedicated webpage.

The role of EPCAT International

ECPAT International will conduct a comprehensive analysis of the existing research, legislation, policy, and systems addressing online child sexual exploitation and abuse in the 14 project countries. They will also collect relevant data through in-depth interviews with senior duty-bearers and governments; deliver face to face surveys with national welfare staff; interview caregivers, parents and justice stakeholders to assess the access to justice in each country; gather information from national hotlines and helplines; engage with the organisations operating in the tech and digital space; and interview survivors of sexual abuse and exploitation. 

ECPAT International is a global network of 121 child rights organisations across more than 100 countries. Since the 1990s, ECPAT has worked to end all forms of sexual exploitation of children; through prostitution; trafficking; child, early and forced marriage, online and in the context of travel and tourism. The ECPAT International Secretariat is based in Bangkok, Thailand, and advocates for stronger legal protection of children; raise awareness about the issue; partners with the private sector to prevent their services from being misused to harm children; conducts research to better understand the crime, and create space for children to access their rights.  

For more information, read the disrupting harm project brief in English. The project brief is also available in the following languages:

Khmer   Vietnamese  Bahasa Indonesia      Thai Portuguese

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UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti (Disrupting Harm)

Evidence From 14 Countries on the Context, Threats, and Children’s Perspectives of Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.
Grant timeline
Feb 2019 – September 2022
Funding amount
$2,529,270
Countries involved
Italy

Disrupting Harm is a large-scale data collection and research project to better understand online child sexual exploitation and abuse across the world. This study is assessing the scale, nature and context of this issue in 14 countries across Southern and Eastern Africa and Southeast Asia. Supported by the Fund, three grantee partners will work together to conduct the study, including ECPAT International, INTERPOL and the UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti. UNICEF’s role is o conduct nationally-representative household surveys with approximately 1,000 children and 1,000 of their parents/caregivers in each of the 14 partner countries, together with UNICEF Country Offices.

Learn more about Disrupting Harm by visiting the project’s dedicated webpage.

The role of UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti

UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti will seek to better understand the perspectives of children through nationally representative household surveys from 1,000 children and 1,000 caretakers in each project country. By speaking to children directly, UNICEF aims to gain deeper understanding of children’s experiences of online violence within the larger context of their general internet use. 

The Office of Research – Innocenti is UNICEF’s dedicated research centre. The Office works closely with UNICEF and other external academic and research institutions to undertake cutting-edge, policy-relevant research that equips the organisation and the wider global community to deliver results for children. As part of UNICEF, the Office works with national offices and governments in more than 150 countries around the world. 

For more information, read the disrupting harm project brief in English. The project brief is also available in the following languages:

Khmer   Vietnamese  Bahasa Indonesia      Thai Portuguese

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Marie Collins Foundation

The Global Protection Online Network
Grant timeline
March 2019 - January 2024
Funding amount
$839,062

With support from the Fund, the Marie Collins Foundation is rolling out a global online resource, the Global Protection Online Network, to help practitioners improve their service response for victims of online violence. Within this platform, members can access relevant materials, templates and research documents to strengthen their programmes around online violence; they will also have access to a digital “help desk.”

By December of 2019, all safeguarding professionals around the world will be able to access this resource. In addition, the Foundation will design and implement a pilot in Vietnam, developing a programme to build national infrastructure and as such, better respond to the needs of children that have been exploited or abused online.

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5rights Foundation

Creation of a Global Child Online Protection Policy Handbook
Grant timeline
March 2020 - May 2022
Funding amount
$700,046

5Rights Foundation is creating a Global Policy Handbook that outlines the steps needed to develop the cultural, technical and legal conditions to ensure the protection of children online. Specifically, the Handbook will offer the necessary roadmaps, signposts, and examples of good practices to bring the Model National Response to life and to address knowledge gaps in relation to child online protection.

The project is expected to be completed in 15 months and will include country-level consultations in Albania, Ghana, Jordan, Peru and Vietnam, countries where the Fund has made various investments to tackle online child sexual exploitation and abuse. It also builds on the Fund’s previous successful investment in Rwanda via 5Rights Foundation and the University of East London to develop a child online protection policy and implementation plan, which was passed by the Rwandan government in June 2019. 

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DeafKidz International

DeafKidz Defenders Project
Grant timeline
September 2020 – December 2022
Funding amount
$657,138
Countries involved
United Kindgom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

DeafKidz International will develop DeafKidz Defenders, an interactive, accessible digital platform to help deaf children stay safe from online abuse and exploitation. Through educational games, children will learn to protect themselves from online risks, exploring what an inappropriate chat conversation might look like, the warning signs of abusers, and more. This game will reduce children’s vulnerability to exploitation while also promoting their resilience and self-advocacy. This project will be implemented in South Africa and Pakistan

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Middlesex University

Invisible Risks: Combating Secondary Trauma to Safeguard Children
Grant timeline
October 2021 – June 2023
Funding amount
$137,685
Countries involved
United Kindgom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

We know that online child sexual abuse material is highly damaging to children. But today, little primary research exists about the impact such material has on content moderators – individuals who are charged with constantly surveilling and removing traumatic images and videos of child sexual abuse.

Through this project, researchers at Middlesex University, in collaboration with INHOPE and other sectors specific organisations, will explore and quantify the issues facing content moderators, specifically as it relates to their exposure of traumatic child sexual abuse material. They will also identify coping strategies currently used by content moderators, and highlight what works – and what does not work – for individuals and organisations that do this work. Results of this study will be used to develop a pilot intervention to support and protect the mental health of content moderators.

Learn more about Tech Coalition Safe Online Research Fund and the Advisory Group of experts who have collaborated to guide this work.

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Ireland

Technological University Dublin

N-light: An Innovative Application to Uncover Patterns of Online Child Sexual Exploitation Through National Helpline and Hotline Analysis of Caseloads
Grant timeline
November 2021 – December 2024
Funding amount
$270,333

Through this project, Technological University Dublin will develop a deployable tool that reveals the patterns of adults perpetrating online child sexual abuse and the children who are affected by such violence. By using advanced artificial intelligence machine learning for text, the study will advance global understanding of trends in perpetrator behaviour (conduct, contact, content) – including grooming – and debunk strategies and tactics used to lure and coerce children into sexually exploitative acts.

N-Light will be created in collaboration with two essential partner organisations, the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) and Hotline.ie, the Irish national centre combatting illegal content online, specifically child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and activities relating to online child sexual exploitation (OCSE). Once finalized, N-Light will be tested by both partner organisations, with the intention to make it available to other hotlines in the INHOPE network and child agencies for their use, which would in turn lead to an enriched, more robust and representative data sample and analysis capacity.

In addition, the data and insights will serve to better understand and conceptualise victim and perpetrator behaviour, patterns and activity, ultimately informing the further development of evidence-based solutions that would have the potential of transformative impact in tackling this heinous crime against children.

Learn more about Tech Coalition Safe Online Research Fund and the Advisory Group of experts who have collaborated to guide this work.

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INTERPOL (Disrupting Harm)

Evidence From 14 Countries on the Context, Threats, and Children’s Perspectives of Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.
Grant timeline
February 2019 – September2022
Funding amount
$1,782,381
Countries involved
France

Disrupting Harm is a large-scale data collection and research project to better understand online child sexual exploitation and abuse across the world. This study is assessing the scale, nature and context of this issue in 14 countries across Southern and Eastern Africa and Southeast Asia. Supported by the Fund, three grantee partners will work together to conduct the study, including ECPAT International, INTERPOL and the UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti. UNICEF’s role is o conduct nationally-representative household surveys with approximately 1,000 children and 1,000 of their parents/caregivers in each of the 14 partner countries, together with UNICEF Country Offices.

Learn more about Disrupting Harm by visiting the project’s dedicated webpage.

The role of INTERPOL

The Disrupting Harm project is being led by INTERPOL’s Crimes Against Children Unit, which works to identify and rescue young victims of sexual abuse; block access to child sexual abuse material; and prevent sex offenders from travelling abroad to escape justice or abuse children. In this project, INTERPOL will use its expertise and networks to better understand how technology facilitates the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. Their assessment will be built on data from law enforcement agencies, non-governmental organisations and the digital and online industry. INTERPOL will also conduct a needs analysis of the capacity of law enforcement agencies to counter online child sexual exploitation and abuse in each country.

INTERPOL is the International Criminal Police Organization. As an inter-governmental organization, its role is to assist law enforcement agencies across its 194 member countries to combat all forms of transnational crime. The Organization maintains global databases containing police information on criminals and crime, and provides operational and forensic support, analysis services and training. 

For more information, read the disrupting harm project brief in English. The project brief is also available in the following languages:

Khmer   Vietnamese  Bahasa Indonesia      Thai Portuguese

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University of Kent

Understanding and Improving Help-seeking by People at Risk of Perpetrating Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
Grant timeline
January 2022 – June 2023
Funding amount
$188,873
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 on offending behaviour, including sexual exploitation and abuse. In partnership with the Lucy Faithfull Foundation and researchers based in South Africa, Mexico, the US and UK, this project will shed light on the psychological processes through which people at risk of online sexual exploitation and abuse may instead seek professional support. In addition, the group will explore the efficacy and impact of prevention interventions targeting people engaging with online abuse. Overall, the project will ask a fundamental – and often overlooked – question: who seeks help for child sexual exploitation and abuse, and can we get more people to do so before committing a crime?

This project will expand the group’s existing model of psychological predicators of help-seeking for people at risk of offending, and examine how to amplify the psychological factors that support such help-seeking behaviours. At the same time, the project will also look into the psychological barriers that prevent help-seeking, and explore ways to weaken those barriers in the digital sphere.

Learn more about Tech Coalition Safe Online Research Fund and the Advisory Group of experts who have collaborated to guide this work.

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UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti (Disrupting Harm)

Disrupting Harm 2
Grant timeline
April 2022 – July 2025
Funding amount
$5,388,030
Countries involved
Italy

Disrupting Harm is a large-scale data collection and research project to better understand online child sexual exploitation and abuse across the world. This study is assessing the scale, nature and context of this issue in 14 countries across Southern and Eastern Africa and Southeast Asia. Supported by the Fund, three grantee partners will work together to conduct the study, including ECPAT International, INTERPOL and the UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti. UNICEF’s role is o conduct nationally-representative household surveys with approximately 1,000 children and 1,000 of their parents/caregivers in each of the 14 partner countries, together with UNICEF Country Offices.

Learn more about Disrupting Harm by visiting the project’s dedicated webpage.

The role of UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti

UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti will seek to better understand the perspectives of children through nationally representative household surveys from 1,000 children and 1,000 caretakers in each project country. By speaking to children directly, UNICEF aims to gain deeper understanding of children’s experiences of online violence within the larger context of their general internet use. 

The Office of Research – Innocenti is UNICEF’s dedicated research centre. The Office works closely with UNICEF and other external academic and research institutions to undertake cutting-edge, policy-relevant research that equips the organisation and the wider global community to deliver results for children. As part of UNICEF, the Office works with national offices and governments in more than 150 countries around the world. 

For more information, read the disrupting harm project brief in English. The project brief is also available in the following languages:

Khmer   Vietnamese  Bahasa Indonesia      Thai Portuguese

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EPCAT International (Disrupting Harm)

Disrupting Harm 2
Grant timeline
May 2022 – August 2025
Funding amount
$2,681,728
Countries involved
Thailand

Disrupting Harm is a large-scale data collection and research project to better understand online child sexual exploitation and abuse across the world. This study is assessing the scale, nature and context of this issue in 14 countries across Southern and Eastern Africa and Southeast Asia. Supported by the Fund, three grantee partners will work together to conduct the study, including ECPAT International, INTERPOL and the UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti. UNICEF’s role is o conduct nationally-representative household surveys with approximately 1,000 children and 1,000 of their parents/caregivers in each of the 14 partner countries, together with UNICEF Country Offices.

Learn more about Disrupting Harm by visiting the project’s dedicated webpage.

The role of EPCAT International

ECPAT International will conduct a comprehensive analysis of the existing research, legislation, policy, and systems addressing online child sexual exploitation and abuse in the 14 project countries. They will also collect relevant data through in-depth interviews with senior duty-bearers and governments; deliver face to face surveys with national welfare staff; interview caregivers, parents and justice stakeholders to assess the access to justice in each country; gather information from national hotlines and helplines; engage with the organisations operating in the tech and digital space; and interview survivors of sexual abuse and exploitation. 

ECPAT International is a global network of 121 child rights organisations across more than 100 countries. Since the 1990s, ECPAT has worked to end all forms of sexual exploitation of children; through prostitution; trafficking; child, early and forced marriage, online and in the context of travel and tourism. The ECPAT International Secretariat is based in Bangkok, Thailand, and advocates for stronger legal protection of children; raise awareness about the issue; partners with the private sector to prevent their services from being misused to harm children; conducts research to better understand the crime, and create space for children to access their rights.  

For more information, read the disrupting harm project brief in English. The project brief is also available in the following languages:

Khmer   Vietnamese  Bahasa Indonesia      Thai Portuguese

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INTERPOL (Disrupting Harm)

Disrupting Harm 2
Grant timeline
October 2022 - October 2025
Funding amount
1,573,710
Countries involved
France

Disrupting Harm is a large-scale data collection and research project to better understand online child sexual exploitation and abuse across the world. This study is assessing the scale, nature and context of this issue in 14 countries across Southern and Eastern Africa and Southeast Asia. Supported by the Fund, three grantee partners will work together to conduct the study, including ECPAT International, INTERPOL and the UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti. UNICEF’s role is o conduct nationally-representative household surveys with approximately 1,000 children and 1,000 of their parents/caregivers in each of the 14 partner countries, together with UNICEF Country Offices.

Learn more about Disrupting Harm by visiting the project’s dedicated webpage.

The role of INTERPOL

The Disrupting Harm project is being led by INTERPOL’s Crimes Against Children Unit, which works to identify and rescue young victims of sexual abuse; block access to child sexual abuse material; and prevent sex offenders from travelling abroad to escape justice or abuse children. In this project, INTERPOL will use its expertise and networks to better understand how technology facilitates the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. Their assessment will be built on data from law enforcement agencies, non-governmental organisations and the digital and online industry. INTERPOL will also conduct a needs analysis of the capacity of law enforcement agencies to counter online child sexual exploitation and abuse in each country.

INTERPOL is the International Criminal Police Organization. As an inter-governmental organization, its role is to assist law enforcement agencies across its 194 member countries to combat all forms of transnational crime. The Organization maintains global databases containing police information on criminals and crime, and provides operational and forensic support, analysis services and training. 

For more information, read the disrupting harm project brief in English. The project brief is also available in the following languages:

Khmer   Vietnamese  Bahasa Indonesia      Thai Portuguese

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Suojellaan Lapsia Ry

Primary Prevention to Protect Children: Offender-focused prevention of online sexual violence against children
Grant timeline
March 2023 - June 2024
Funding amount
$49,841
Countries involved
Finland

Suojellaan Lapsia Ry will develop and launch ReDirection, an evidence-based self-help programme working to prevent the consumption of CSAM on the Dark Web. By providing targeted support for these individuals, the project will also reveal new information about these searchers and their pathways to CSAM access and use. This programme builds on the Finnish government’s accredited New Direction rehabilitation programme for sex offenders. Headquartered in Finland, this project has a global reach.

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Swansea University

DRAGON (Developing Resistance Against Grooming Online): Stories Strengthened Safeguards
Grant timeline
March 2023 - June 2024
Funding amount
$156,454
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 CSAM and how children try to communicatively resist groomers’ manipulation.  

The project newly synergises linguistics and participatory research methods. It is developed in partnership with UK-based lived experience experts and with child safeguarding practitioners internationally (e.g., child helpline counsellors, hotline analysts, police school liaison officers). Partners in this work span the Global North and South, enabling engagement of multiple languages, including British English, Colombian and Peninsular Spanish, Vietnamese and British Sign Language. Key project partners include: Marie Collins Foundation, DeafKidz International, INHOPE, INSAFE / European Schoolnet, Project StopOnSexGroom and Red PaPaz. DRAGONS+ will generate novel, richly contextualized insights to anchor the design and implementation, particularly for tech industry, of actionable online grooming preventative technology at scale. 

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Save the Children Hong Kong

Protecting children from online grooming: Cross-cultural, qualitative and child-centred data to guide grooming prevention and response
Grant timeline
March 2023 - September 2024
Funding amount
$198,600
Countries involved
Hong Kong
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MSB Medical School Berlin GmbH

RAPPID- (Risk Assessment for the Prevention & Promotion of Internet Deterrence)
Grant timeline
March 2023 - March 2025
Funding amount
$199,406
Countries involved
Germany
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5rights Foundation

Global roll-out of the Child Online Safety Toolkit
Grant timeline
May 2023 - May 2024
Funding amount
$475,000

5Rights Foundation is creating a Global Policy Handbook that outlines the steps needed to develop the cultural, technical and legal conditions to ensure the protection of children online. Specifically, the Handbook will offer the necessary roadmaps, signposts, and examples of good practices to bring the Model National Response to life and to address knowledge gaps in relation to child online protection.

The project is expected to be completed in 15 months and will include country-level consultations in Albania, Ghana, Jordan, Peru and Vietnam, countries where the Fund has made various investments to tackle online child sexual exploitation and abuse. It also builds on the Fund’s previous successful investment in Rwanda via 5Rights Foundation and the University of East London to develop a child online protection policy and implementation plan, which was passed by the Rwandan government in June 2019. 

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DeafKidz International

DeafKidz Defenders Project
Grant timeline
May 2023 - May 2025
Funding amount
$641,170
Countries involved
United Kindgom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

DeafKidz International will develop DeafKidz Defenders, an interactive, accessible digital platform to help deaf children stay safe from online abuse and exploitation. Through educational games, children will learn to protect themselves from online risks, exploring what an inappropriate chat conversation might look like, the warning signs of abusers, and more. This game will reduce children’s vulnerability to exploitation while also promoting their resilience and self-advocacy. This project will be implemented in South Africa and Pakistan

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University of Kent

Understanding and improving help seeking by people at risk of online child sexual exploitation and abuse
Grant timeline
October 2023 - October 2024
Funding amount
$92,839
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 on offending behaviour, including sexual exploitation and abuse. In partnership with the Lucy Faithfull Foundation and researchers based in South Africa, Mexico, the US and UK, this project will shed light on the psychological processes through which people at risk of online sexual exploitation and abuse may instead seek professional support. In addition, the group will explore the efficacy and impact of prevention interventions targeting people engaging with online abuse. Overall, the project will ask a fundamental – and often overlooked – question: who seeks help for child sexual exploitation and abuse, and can we get more people to do so before committing a crime?

This project will expand the group’s existing model of psychological predicators of help-seeking for people at risk of offending, and examine how to amplify the psychological factors that support such help-seeking behaviours. At the same time, the project will also look into the psychological barriers that prevent help-seeking, and explore ways to weaken those barriers in the digital sphere.

Learn more about Tech Coalition Safe Online Research Fund and the Advisory Group of experts who have collaborated to guide this work.

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Middlesex University

Invisible Risks
Grant timeline
October 2023 - October 2024
Funding amount
$128,755
Countries involved
United Kindgom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

We know that online child sexual abuse material is highly damaging to children. But today, little primary research exists about the impact such material has on content moderators – individuals who are charged with constantly surveilling and removing traumatic images and videos of child sexual abuse.

Through this project, researchers at Middlesex University, in collaboration with INHOPE and other sectors specific organisations, will explore and quantify the issues facing content moderators, specifically as it relates to their exposure of traumatic child sexual abuse material. They will also identify coping strategies currently used by content moderators, and highlight what works – and what does not work – for individuals and organisations that do this work. Results of this study will be used to develop a pilot intervention to support and protect the mental health of content moderators.

Learn more about Tech Coalition Safe Online Research Fund and the Advisory Group of experts who have collaborated to guide this work.

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Reigonal projects

South Asian Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC)

A Strategic Response to Online Child Sexual Exploitation in South Asia
Grant timeline
August 2017 - November 2019
Funding amount
$295,695
Countries involved
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal

 

The South Asian Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC) used the support from the Fund to end online child exploitation and abuse in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. A regional strategy on addressing this issue has been prepared and is now ready for political endorsement.

Regional efforts generated momentum at the national level; as of mid-2019, national level plans have been prepared and finalised in Nepal and Sri Lanka, while other countries are in the process of developing their national plans or revitalizing their legal systems and enforcement mechanisms. In addition, SAIEVAC has expanded the development of a regional overview on child sexual exploitation and abuse. To do so, the organisation has worked with national mechanisms (including governments) to develop country profiles on child sexual exploitation and abuse, which provide insights into the country context. These country profiles also provide information on the legal, policy and enforcement environment in each country.

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Council of Europe

Ending Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
Grant timeline
Juy 2018 – June 2021
Funding amount
$1,100,000
Countries involved
Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, Republic of Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine

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, target activities are ongoing in 10 focus countries, including Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine. To end online violence against children, the project is:

    • Establishing enabling environments for cross-sectoral, multidisciplinary collaboration at the national and regional levels;
    • Supporting legislative and procedural reforms and training law enforcement officials, judiciary members, and prosecutors to better respond to cases of online child sexual exploitation and abuse;
    • Improving cooperation between the above agencies to ensure end-to-end support for children affected by online violence; and
    • Raising awareness of online violence by engaging directly with children.
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University of Bristol

Ai-based Advances for Law Enforcement’s Response to Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Southeast Asia
Grant timeline
January 2021 – December 2023
Funding amount
$723,678
Countries involved
Thailand, Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore

Researchers at the Universities of Bristol and Lancaster will enhance iCOP, the research team’s artificial intelligence software. iCOP was created to flag new or previously unknown child sexual abuse material, and iCOP 2.0 will extend the software’s reach to Southeast Asia. The project will also work with these law enforcement officers to use iCOP and strengthen their response to online child sexual abuse cases. 

The core functions and main components of the iCOP 2.0 toolkit will be as follows:

    • A novel filename classification approach that utilises a combination of linguistic clues and specialised vocabulary used by Southeast Asian offenders to share or stream child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) content on peer-to-peer networks to automatically identify suspicious media based on their filename or video title;
    • A new image and video classification module using multiple and, in the case of video, multi-modal (visual and audio) feature descriptions, leading to a robust and highly accurate identification of Southeast Asian CSEA content; and
    • An innovative triage approach based on a synthesis of the above two models to flag the most pertinent CSEA content being uploaded or streamed on peer-to-peer networks.

This project works in Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore.

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University of Kent

A Serious Game for a Serious Issue: Combatting Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking via a Digital Game
Grant timeline
December 2020 – December 2022
Funding amount
$599,653
Countries involved
Thailand, Cambodia

University of Kent will prevent online child sexual exploitation and abuse of children in Thailand and Cambodia by educating them about online child sexual exploitation and trafficking through a culturally sensitive digital “serious” game. This game has built-in evaluation and at-source reporting, helping children build the skills they need to protect themselves in a safe digital environment. 

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Tech Matters

The Aselo Platform: Strengthening the Global Child Helpline Movement Project
Grant timeline
September 2020 – March 2023 ($750000) / June 2022 - December 2024 ($750000)
Funding amount
$1,500,000
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 Technology to Child Helplines’ – a customizable, open-source, contact center platform that allows children and youth to reach out to helplines via voice, SMS, webchat, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger. It  includes automation of reporting of online child sexual abuse materials, providing children with the tools needed to protect themselves online. The project will also facilitate automated reporting of CSAM to national portals and law enforcement. This project will be implemented in South Africa and Zambia.

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UNICEF East Asia and the Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO)

Strengthening Regional Commitment and Collaboration to End Online Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation in East Asia and the Pacific
Grant timeline
December 2016 – April 2020
Funding amount
$722,250
Countries involved
Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Philippines, China

UNICEF’s East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO) is using support from the Fund to prevent and end online violence throughout the region. To do so, the office is:

    • Engaging the information, communications and technology sector to increase the use of effective practices in the industry;
  • Promoting learning across the region to aid the criminal justice sector and discover solutions to online child sexual exploitation and abuse;
  • Conducting research into children’s use of social media and possible online risks and opportunities in the region, and developing some recommendations for the private sector to promote child online safety;
  • Reviewing existing educational materials on child online protection produced or used by governments in the region, and recommending ways to improve these;
  • Reviewing existing educational materials produced by non-governmental organisations and the private sector that aim to protect children online, and developing an evaluation framework in partnership with the ICT private sector to assess their impact on behavior change, with the aim of enhancing the quality and reach of educational initiatives for children, increasing their access to quality and effective resources and information on online safety; and
  • Convening a regional conference on child online protection in collaboration with UNODC, the ITU, and the ASEAN, to bring together stakeholders from across the region to share lessons learned and promote inter-sectoral and cross-sectoral discussions and action planning.
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Justice and Care

Understanding Traffickers and Pathways to Offending: Analysis and Recommendations to Better Detect, Deter, and Prevent Online Sexual Exploitation of Children in the Philippines
Grant timeline
January 2022 – January 2024
Funding amount
$198,092
Countries involved
United Kingdom, Philippines

Justice and Care is a United Kingdom-based non-governmental organisation that works with law enforcement officers to rescue victims of human trafficking, protect at-risk communities, and dismantle criminal networks. With support from the Tech Coalition Safe Online Research Fund and in partnership with International Justice Mission (IJM), Dublin City University and De La Salle University in the Philippines, Justice and Care is launching a study to help the world better understand online sexual exploitation of children in the Philippines – and as a result, provide analysis and recommendations to better detect, deter and prevent this type of violence.

To do so, Justice and Care will explore the profiles of those who perpetrate and facilitate online sexual exploitation of children, interviewing convicted offenders, key informants, and others. This analysis will fill a gap in global research into online child exploitation of children and shed light on the “supply-side” of such violence in a country known to be an epicenter of live-streamed child sexual abuse. Ultimately, this research will seek to inform practical strategies and enhance industry, prevention and law enforcement response to the issue.

 

Learn more about Tech Coalition Safe Online Research Fund and the Advisory Group of experts who have collaborated to guide this work.

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Pathfinder Kindred

The Auditor
Grant timeline
June 2022 - June 2024
Funding amount
$246,598
Countries involved
Australia, New Zealand

Pathfinder Kindred is developing ‘The Auditor’, a software solution designed to work with Internet Hotlines, government organisation and legal entities responsible for the removal of online harmful content. The Auditor is designed to be utilised by Analysts, who, while monitoring the removal of harmful content, suffer from vicarious trauma which can lead to a high turnover of staff and loss of expert knowledge. The Auditor will assist them with the monitoring of website removal, whilst protecting their wellbeing. 

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Council of Europe

EndOCSEA@Europe+
Grant timeline
September 2023 - September 2025
Funding amount
$613,647
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, target activities are ongoing in 10 focus countries, including Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine. To end online violence against children, the project is:

    • Establishing enabling environments for cross-sectoral, multidisciplinary collaboration at the national and regional levels;
    • Supporting legislative and procedural reforms and training law enforcement officials, judiciary members, and prosecutors to better respond to cases of online child sexual exploitation and abuse;
    • Improving cooperation between the above agencies to ensure end-to-end support for children affected by online violence; and
    • Raising awareness of online violence by engaging directly with children.
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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
Grant timeline
May 2023 - May 2025
Funding amount
$651,119
Countries involved
Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines (the), Viet Nam

UNICEF’s East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO) is using support from the Fund to prevent and end online violence throughout the region. To do so, the office is:

    • Engaging the information, communications and technology sector to increase the use of effective practices in the industry;
  • Promoting learning across the region to aid the criminal justice sector and discover solutions to online child sexual exploitation and abuse;
  • Conducting research into children’s use of social media and possible online risks and opportunities in the region, and developing some recommendations for the private sector to promote child online safety;
  • Reviewing existing educational materials on child online protection produced or used by governments in the region, and recommending ways to improve these;
  • Reviewing existing educational materials produced by non-governmental organisations and the private sector that aim to protect children online, and developing an evaluation framework in partnership with the ICT private sector to assess their impact on behavior change, with the aim of enhancing the quality and reach of educational initiatives for children, increasing their access to quality and effective resources and information on online safety; and
  • Convening a regional conference on child online protection in collaboration with UNODC, the ITU, and the ASEAN, to bring together stakeholders from across the region to share lessons learned and promote inter-sectoral and cross-sectoral discussions and action planning.
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National projects

Albania

UNICEF Albania

Safer and Better Internet for Children and Youth in Albania
Grant timeline
May 2017 – October 2020
Funding amount
$999,915

UNICEF Albania is using support from the Fund to end violence against children online on multiple levels. To reach children, the agency is training children to become peer educators on online violence, increasing their knowledge on safe Internet navigation and helping them spread that information to their peers. UNICEF Albania conducted research on children’s use of the Internet and risk of online violence using the Global Kids Online methodology. The results from this study are being used to conduct national awareness activities.

UNICEF Albania is also working at the national level by strengthening the national child helpline and hotline, which alert authorities about child sexual abuse material online. They are also carrying out an assessment of national legislation, policies and programmes currently targeting online child sexual exploitation and abuse in-line with the WePROTECT Global Alliance Model National Response. This will inform measures to improve the systematic response to online child sexual exploitation and abuse.

UNICEF Albania is also helping the government develop a national strategy for cyber-security with a focus on children’s online safety. The agency is also supporting law enforcement authorities, strengthening their ability to investigate and prosecute cases of online child sexual abuse and exploitation.

In addition, the agency is working with local municipalities and Internet service providers to promote “Albania Friendly Wi-Fi,” a safe certification standard for public Wi-Fi. These services will make Internet navigation safer for children and families, while also increasing national awareness on internet safety. Irana, the capital of Albania, is on its way to becoming the first capital in the region that promotes such friendly Wi-Fi services to its citizens.

The agency is also using support from the Fund to engage the information, communications and technology sector on children’s Internet usage and risks in the digital space.

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Bosnia and Herzegovina

UNICEF, Save the Children & the International Forum of Solidarity-emmaus

End Violence Against Children (EVAC): Preventing and Tackling Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Bosnia & Herzegovina
Grant timeline
February 2018 – August 2021
Funding amount
$999,939

The Fund is helping UNICEF Bosnia and Herzegovina, Save the Children, and International Forum of Solidarity-EMMAUS to work as a consortium to support and advocate for online safety in Bosnia and Herzegovina. To do so, the organisations have worked with the government to establish a National Advisory Board to coordinate actions around online child sexual exploitation and abuse at the national level. They are also conducting mapping and assessment of existing victim support services and documented best national and international practices and recommendations.

In addition to advocacy and policy dialogue work with the government and other stakeholders, the consortium seeks to strengthen the response and engage the information, communications and technology industry. The project is also:

    • Developing contextually-specific support services for children who have experienced online violence;
    • Raising community awareness about online child sexual exploitation and abuse; and
    • Integrating online safety into the school curriculum.

As a platform for these activities, the project has developed the Safer Internet Centre, which comprises of a hotline for reports of online child sexual abuse material, a helpline for children and enhanced hotline, and an awareness centre. Training and awareness-raising sessions are also being delivered to children, parents, caregivers, teachers, social service providers, government officials, law enforcement and the judiciary, and the information, communications and technology sector.

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Brasil

Huddersfield University

None in Three Emilio
Grant timeline
January 2021 – June 2023
Funding amount
$749,971

None in Three through the University of Huddersfield will develop an immersive, prosocial computer game, Emilio, to prevent online CSEA. Based on empirical research and evaluated through clinical trials, Emilio will target young males who are at risk of perpetrating online abuse. Participants will play in therapeutic settings (such as young offenders’ institutions, youth centres, schools and colleges), while also engaging in discussion sessions as they complete different stages of the game. The game and supporting materials will be made freely available online, extending their reach as an educational tool across the world. This game will be rolled out in Brazil.

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Brasil

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
Grant timeline
July 2022 – July 2024
Funding amount
$749,115

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 research to foster the development of new open-source prototypes to fight online CSEA. 

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Cambodia

UNICEF Cambodia

Effective Prevention and Response to Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Through the Adaptation of Existing Models and Technology Tools and Strengthened Child Protection System
Grant timeline
July 2021 - March 2024
Funding amount
$1,497,041

This project will support the Government of Cambodia to holistically and systematically address child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) by contributing to system building to increase access to quality services for CSEA victims, promoting increased reporting of cases, strengthening law enforcement’s ability to bring perpetrators to justice, and empowering children and young people to protect themselves online.

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Canada

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
Grant timeline
February 2023 - February 2025
Funding amount
$99,004

As our interactions and social relationships are increasingly transposed online, so are the harmful social norms.  Focused on youth participation, Royal Roads University’s research investigates emerging social norms that perpetuate sexual violence among youth online, explores youth ideas for prevention by challenging destructive norms and bolstering supportive ones, and increases the understanding of youth experience of peer-to-peer online sexual violence.

It asks: what online social norms related to sexuality and sexual relationships are linked to CSEA, what do youth understand about peer-to-peer online sexual violence, what social norms pertain to reporting/disclosing abuse and the use of online safety tools, and what recommendations do youth have to disrupt destructive norms?  This project aims to work with, and provide actionable experiential insight to, key players in the technology industry to better prevent, detect, deter and respond to CSEA and identify strategies to combat peer-to-peer online sexual violence. 

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Colombia

Red Papaz, UNICEF Colombia & Fundación Renacer

Youth’s Experience of Peer-to-peer Sexual Violence Online, Social Norms and Youth-led Recommendations for Prevention and Response: A Cross-regional Study
Grant timeline
July 2017 - October 2020
Funding amount
$1,094,854

In Bogota, Medellin and Cartagena, Red PaPaz is partnering with Fundacion Renacer and UNICEF Colombia to work on multiple levels to end online violence against children. They are:

    • Creating context-specific, child-friendly educational materials to help girls and boys learn about online child sexual exploitation and abuse;
    • Strengthening and supporting youth groups on prevention and incidence of child protection issues;
    • Developing a pilot project with Internet service providers to design a “notice and takedown” protocol for online child sexual exploitation and abuse materials;
    • Strengthening their existing hotline for child sexual exploitation and abuse materials, Te Protejo;
    • Training journalists and spokespersons on vocabulary on online child sexual exploitation and abuse;
    • Training criminal justice officials to handle online child sexual exploitation and abuse victims and cases, in part by creating recommendations for judicial investigations to follow; and
    • Recommending updates to comprehensive care guidelines for victims.
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Colombia

Red Papaz

Consolidation and Strengthening of the Safer Internet Center - Viguías in Colombia
Grant timeline
July 2020 - July 2024
Funding amount
$1,500,000

To ensure the protection of children and adolescents in digital environments, Red PaPaz is developing the Safer Internet Centre – Viguías, to adopt technical and technological tools for promoting effective actions in the prevention and investigation of child exploitation and abuse online.

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Colombia

Universidad de Los Andes

Prevention of Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Latin America and Evaluation of Mitigation Strategies With Artificial Intelligence
Grant timeline
October 2021 – August 2023
Funding amount
$151,777

Through support from the Tech Coalition Safe Online Research Fund, Universidad de los Andes in partnership with Programa Aulas en Paz will use artificial intelligence strategies and tools to study the language and patterns of interactions between potential and current offenders of online child sexual exploitation and abuse and current or potential victims of such violence. At the same time, researchers will explore strategies designed to mitigate such abuse, such as parental mediation and industry-created and deployed protection tools.

As a result, the study’s findings will be used to develop artificial intelligence tools to analyse interaction patterns between aggressors and victims of online sexual exploitation and abuse. These strategies, which will be designed for adaptability across contexts, will then be channeled to law enforcement agencies in the region. The project will ensure applications for families, industries, and governments to better protect children online, including and especially for organisations that process information related to online child sexual abuse.

Learn more about Tech Coalition Safe Online Research Fund and the Advisory Group of experts who have collaborated to guide this work.

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Costa Rica

Fundacion Paniamor

Costa Rica Says No to Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
Grant timeline
July 2017 – June 2021
Funding amount
$1,046,409

 

The Paniamor Foundation is using support from the Fund to bring prevention and response of child sexual exploitation to the forefront of national conversation. The Foundation is supporting the Government of Costa Rica’s Connected Households Program to equip families and children with knowledge on online violence, along with the skills to prevent and respond to it. They are also building the capacity of child protection systems and those involved in its processes, ensuring such mechanisms are both scalable and sustainable.

Paniamor Foundation is also introducing a digital application to the existing 911 emergency response system, which will allow users to make reports via the app and help the police process reports of online child sexual exploitation and abuse.

In addition, the Foundation has conducted the first national survey with children using the Global Kids Online methodology, along with a baseline study on Costa Rica’s national capacity to protect children and adolescents from online sexual exploitation and abuse. The latter is mapped against the WeProtect Global Alliance Model National Response.

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Dominican Republic

UNICEF Dominican Republic & Plan International Dominican Republic

Protecting Every Child Against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
Grant timeline
February 2018 - June 2020
Funding amount
$999,312

In the Dominican Republic, UNICEF Dominican Republic and Plan International Dominican Republic have teamed up to establish and implement the country’s national response board, which is charged with coordinating initaitives that prevent and respond to online sexual exploitation and abuse. Current priorities involve assessing children’s perception of possibilities and risks associated with the use of the Internet; building the capacity of the local child protection board members to raise awareness, identify and respond to cases at the local level; strengthening the capacity of the Attorney General’s Office to prosecute crimes and provide victim assistance; and to strengthen the existing helpline for cases of online violence. The project is also collaborating with Internet service providers to identify and remove online sexual exploitation content while also raising awareness on the subject.

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Ethiopia

UNICEF Ethiopia

Strengthening Child Protection in Ethiopia to prevent and respond to violence against children, including online child sexual abuse and exploitation
Grant timeline
June 2018 - June 2024
Funding amount
Funding amount: $999,594

UNICEF Ethiopia’s project will focus on strengthening child protection systems, including social welfare and justice systems, to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation and abuse that involves digital, internet and communication technologies. Capacity of the social service workforce and law enforcement professionals to deal with the OCSEA cases will be enhanced through training while parents, educators and public at large will be reached out to with various awareness raising activities on online safety for children and adolescents.

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Ghana

UNICEF Ghana

Protecting children from online CSEA in Ghana
Grant timeline
May 2023 - May 2025
Funding amount
$799,988

UNICEF Ghana is using support from the Fund to develop a National Plan of Action to tackle online child sexual exploitation and abuse. The agency is also working closely with the National Cybersecurity Crime Centre to integrate online child protections into the country’s national cybersecurity strategy.

To further protect children, UNICEF Ghana is working with law enforcement officers and social workers, increasing their understanding of online exploitation and response strategies. They are also helping the Government of Ghana review the legal framework and propose online child protection-related amendments to deter online crime, punish offenders and ensure the protection of child victims. This support includes the establishment of the first child protection digital forensics lab for the Ghana Police Service, which will help prevent and respond to cases of online child protection.

UNICEF Ghana is also working with the government to integrate awareness on child safety into existing programmes and campaigns, ensuring that children, adolescents and caregivers are equipped with the knowledge they need to stay safe online. The agency is also working within the private sector, both boosting corporate social responsibility and accountable of online violence and stimulating self-regulation of the telecommunications sector, among other activities.

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India

Population Foundation of India

SNEHAI: a Companion to Empower and Protect
Grant timeline
September 2020 – December 2023
Funding amount
$743,650

Population Foundation of India will sustain SnehAI: A Companion to Empower and Protect to equip adolescents with tools, information and resources to identify and report online CSEA in India. This project, which functions as an artificially intelligent chatbot, was designed with adolescents themselves – providing them with a safe, trusted online space for education and information. This project is being implemented in India.

Read more about the project and its launch:
An Artificial Intelligence companion empowering India’s youth to be safe online.

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India

Project VIC international

Katalyst
Grant timeline
October 2020 – March 2023
Funding amount
$748,052

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 national law enforcement teams and international partners to ensure the safety of children online. This project will be implemented in India, with the potential for scale-up in many other countries.

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Indonesia

UNICEF Indonesia

Strengthening Safe and Friendly Environments for Children (SAFE4C) to Prevent and Respond to Online Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (CSEA)
Grant timeline
May 2022 – May 2025
Funding amount
$999,623

UNICEF Indonesia’s Strengthening Safe and Friendly Environments for Children Online (SAFE4C) project aims to improve Indonesia’s national infrastructure and early support for victims so that children and caregivers are able to prevent harmful or unwanted experiences online.

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Jordan

UNICEF Jordan

Targeting Online Sexual Exploitation of Children in Jordan
Grant timeline
January 2017 – December 2019
Funding amount
$945,880

UNICEF Jordan is using support from the Fund to improve services for children and families experiencing online child sexual exploitation and abuse. To do so, the agency is building national capacity through the Prevention of Online Sexual Exploitation of Children Unit, which sits under the Family Protection Department Public Security Directorate. This unit is mandated to identify and handle cases of online sexual exploitation of children and has seen 146 of these cases proceed to trial.

UNICEF Jordan is linking this unit to the INTERPOL International Child Sexual Exploitation Database, enhancing their ability to identify and support children that have experienced online violence. UNICEF Jordan is also helping to strengthen child helplines, and supporting partners to develop standard operating procedures and national standards for reporting management and referrals. This work is ensuring that when someone calls the helpline, they are supported in the most effective, appropriate ways possible.

UNICEF Jordan is also working with government stakeholders to review and recommend updates to existing legislation to ensure children are better protected online. Furthermore, it has used support from the Fund to hold a social media campaign on the risks of online exploitation, which reached over 30,000 parents and children throughout the country

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Jordan

UNICEF Jordan

Accelerating action on Child Online Protection from all online child sexual exploitation (OCSEA) in Jordan
Grant timeline
May 2023 - May 2025
Funding amount
$648,225
View their website
Kenya

UNICEF Kenya

Developing and Implementing a National Plan of Action to Prevent and Respond to Online Child Exploitation and Abuse
Grant timeline
February 2018 – February 2022 ($994931) / July 2022 - July 2025 ($1000000)
Funding amount
$1,994,931

With support from the Fund, UNICEF Kenya enhanced national capacities to prevent and respond to online child abuse and exploitation. The project has improved and expanded service provision to children who have been subjected to abuse and exploitation. The Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Protection Unit will, thanks to the Fund’s support, now be expanded from Nairobi to Mombasa.

The project is also enhanced the capacity of judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officials and social workers to improve access of children who have been subjected to sexual abuse and exploitation to appropriate support services. UNICEF Kenya has also supported the establishment of a Technical Working Group, which is chaired by the Communications Authority of Kenya and comprised of all relevant government agencies. This group is charged with coordinating online child protection work in Kenya. In addition, the project is supporting the development and finalization of an assessment of the Model National Response, along with a related plan of action to address child online protection.

Community outreach and awareness-raising on child online protection is also a key component of the project and targets children, adolescents, caregivers and teachers.

In 2022, with new investment through the End Violence Fund, UNICEF Kenya’s project will strengthen Kenya’s response to online sexual exploitation and abuse. It will help frontline workers prevent, identify and respond to abuse and improve laws, procedures and standards for quality services. Children and caregivers will also be trained on online protection.

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Kenya

ChildFund International

Grant timeline
June 2022 – June 2025
Funding amount
$1,000,000

ChildFund Kenya’s Safe CLICS project will address key gaps by increasing OCSEA awareness, building children’s and youth’s online safety skills, improving service providers’, schools’, communities’, parents’ and caregivers’ abilities to detect and respond to OCSEA, strengthening Kenya’s national framework and improving interagency coordination.

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Kenya

Zana Africa

Understanding Online Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Children With Intellectual Disabilities in Kenya
Grant timeline
February 2023 - October 2023
Funding amount
$49,252

Children and young people in general can be vulnerable online. But unfortunately, the risk can be more profound for those with an intellectual disability. While there are positive benefits of online engagement for children with intellectual disabilities (enhanced learning, communication and so on), these children and young people may struggle with understanding and negotiating the social world, leading to communication difficulties and vulnerability in social interactions, and leaving them with challenges such as access to inappropriate content and oblivious interactions with online predators.

ZanaAfrica’s research will delve into the questions to identify these challenges and solutions, asking:
– Which online platforms are commonly used by children with intellectual disabilities
– How can children, youth and communities be engaged to ensure the risk of online CSEA is minimized?
– What can the tech industry do to protect children with intellectual disabilities from online CSEA? 

The aim is to increase awareness and generate new thinking around safe design of online platforms that are inclusive.

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Madagascar

UNICEF Madagascar

Strengthening the National Protection System to Prevent and Respond to Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Madagascar
Grant timeline
March 2018 – December 2021 ($999916) - May 2022 - May 2025 ($999799)
Funding amount
$1,999,715

From 2018-2021, UNICEF Madagascar  used Fund support to educate children, youth and caregivers on online child sexual exploitation and abuse, ensuring families know how to report cases of violence and address online sexual exploitation. In addition, UNICEF Madagascar strengthened existing services in place to protect children, integrating specific measures for addressing online sexual exploitation and abuse into the National Child Helpline and Madagascar’s “One Stop Centres,” which provide children who have experienced sexual violence with access to medical and psychosocial care. In these centres, the child protection service division of the police are all located under one roof.

To ensure perpetrators are investigated and prosecuted, UNICEF Madagascar is trained judges, police, social service providers, prosecutors and other members of the justice system, ensuring they have the tools they need to handle an online child sexual exploitation and abuse case. UNICEF Madagascar also strengthened the country’s existing database on sex offenders and collected data on online child sexual exploitation and abuse, identifying the trends and drivers of the issue to tackle it at its roots.

In 2022, with more support from the Fund, UNICEF Madagascar will support children and those around them to be able keep themselves safe online. Although access to the internet remains limited in Madagascar, its use is presenting opportunities but also many dangers for children and young users. This project will empower children and their families to prevent and respond to online exploitation and abuse while providing supportive services for children who have been abused. It is working for a safe, positive online experience #ForEveryChild

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Mexico

Oficina De Defensoria De Los Derechos De La Infancia (ODI)

Representing Child Victims of Online Sexual Exploitation in the Legal System
Grant timeline
January 2017 – September 2019
Funding amount
$317,606

Since January of 2017, the Fund has helped Mexico’s Child Rights Protection Office (Oficina de Defensoria de Los Derechos de la Infancia, or ODI) strengthen the capacity of lawyers and caseworkers representing child victims of online sexual exploitation. The agency works with child protection services to ensure holistic protection and reinstitution plans for victims of online violence; it also monitors the number and progress of related criminal cases. ODI trains judges and judicial authorities on child rights and safety and implements specialised procedures to ease child testimony and minimise re-traumatisation. In addition, ODI has developed an online resource portal with training and orientation materials, helping judicial and social service staff access essential information from across the country.

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Mongolia

UNICEF Mongolia

Adopting the Model National Response to Prevent and Tackle Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Mongolia
Grant timeline
February 2018 – February 2022
Funding amount
$471,000

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 Response approach in Mongolia, which was created by the WePROTECT Global Alliance to help countries build programming and services around online child sexual exploitation and abuse.

As part of this process, UNICEF Mongolia is improving helpline reporting and referral processes, developing new support services for children who have experienced online abuse, and raising awareness of the issue among children, caregivers, teachers and childcare professionals. The project is also engaged the information, communications and technology industry to remove and block child abuse materials.

In addition, UNICEF Mongolia has provided technical support to the government, law enforcement and industry experts, helping these stakeholders access international good practices and effective solutions to prevent and respond to online child sexual exploitation and abuse. This is being done in partnership with regional and global experts, including Interpol, Facebook, the International Telecommunication Union, and Child Helpline International. UNICEF Mongolia is also commissioning a situational analysis on risks and responses to this issue, which will help national stakeholders make evidence-based decisions to increase children’s safety.

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Namibia

UNICEF Namibia

Tackling Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Namibia
Grant timeline
December 2016 – March 2020 ($630551) / May 2022 - May 2025 ($999277)
Funding amount
$1,629,828

In Namibia, the Fund helped UNICEF Namibia establish an online reporting portal, which now provides the public with a way to anonymously report cases of online child sexual exploitation and abuse. This project has also educated teachers, caregivers and children themselves, raising awareness of online child sexual exploitation and abuse through trainings, events and the celebration of Safer Internet Day.

UNICEF Namibia is also working directly with national law enforcement, including the police, prosecutors and members of the judiciary system. By establishing gender-based violence protection units and supporting the National Task Force on Online Child Protection, the agency is strengthening services for children while increasing the issue’s priority on the national agenda.

In addition, UNICEF Namibia is engaging the Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology by conducting advocacy activities toward Namibian Internet service providers and mobile operators. The agency is also pushing for adherence to regional and global Internet codes of conduct, among other activities.

With new funding in 2022, UNICEF Namibia’s “In the picture: protect children from (online) violence” project will empower children and their caregivers by enabling them to recognise risky online situations and unacceptable sexual behaviour and seek help from police, social workers and other trusted adults when they are confronted with sexual exploitation and abuse.  

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Nepal

ChildSafeNet

Enhancing Parental Roles in Protecting Children from Online Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
Grant timeline
January 2023 - July 2024
Funding amount
$49,989

Online child sexual abuse and exploitation can affect almost all households globally – and parents and caregivers, who can be influential in most, if not all, settings of children’s lives, play an important role in keeping children safe online. But how well-equipped are they to keep them safe? 

In Nepal, at a time when the increased access and affordability of the internet in the country is putting children at a higher risk of online harm, most parents may have little to no knowledge of online risks for children and online safety. ChildSafeNet’s research, therefore, focuses on parents – it aims to explore their perspectives, knowledge, and awareness of online risks for children, with a focus on protecting children from online sexual abuse and exploitation. This will develop a knowledge base on parents’ preferences for effective technological solutions and awareness measures for education on online safety.

    1. Operationalising the Comprehensive School Safety Master Plan;
    2. Building capacity of headteachers and government officials to create a safer learning environment;
    3. Building capacities of teachers on positive discipline and classroom management;
    4. Supporting student-led initiatives;
    5. Establishing and activating Student groups (Peace Circles); and
    6. Raising awareness among community members for behavioural change.
 
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Palestine

The Palestinian Centre for Democracy and Conflict Resolution

Safe Online Environmnets for Children
Grant timeline
March 2018 – December 2020
Funding amount
$504,797

With support from the Fund, the Palestinian Centre for Democracy and Conflict Resolution is raising awareness about online child sexual exploitation and abuse in Palestine. By holding workshops for children, parents, school counselors, teachers, law enforcement agencies and child protection organisations, the Palestinian Centre for Democracy and Conflict Resolution is boosting understanding of the issue for all those affected and increasing agencies’ ability to respond to such cases when they occur. They are also training young people to become youth educators on the topic, and organizing awareness campaigns through television, radio, billboards and printed materials.

In addition, the organisation is commissioning a study on online child sexual exploitation and abuse to inform Palestine’s National Strategic Plan. As part of this process, they are also conducting meetings and workshops for those at-risk of (and interested in ending) online violence, including children, parents and community-based organisations.

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Peru

Capital Humano Y Social (CHS) Alternativo

Preventing and Responding to Online Child Sexual Exploitation
Grant timeline
June 2017 – December 2021
Funding amount
$907,440

In Peru, the Fund is supporting Capital Humano y Social Alternativo (CHS) to address child sexual exploitation online. CHS is providing psychological and legal assistance to victims of online sexual exploitation. They are also working to prevent such situations through media campaigns, community-based awareness initiatives, and direct involvement with the technology industry. One of those initiatives includes engaging teachers, parents, child service providers, government officials, and members of the judicial system in trainings about online exploitation. Through these trainings, the organisation is increasing communities’ awareness of the issue and strengthening response mechanisms to prevent it. CHS is also working with young people directly by implementing peer-led trainings in schools.

CHS carried out an investigation in seven regions of the project’s intervention, evaluating the services currently provided to victims of violence. This study was a qualitative investigation that identified individuals’ knowledge and perceptions of online child sexual exploitation, and analysed the resources available for those who have experienced such violence. The investigation also resulted in the development of case studies, which were used to enrich CHS’ programming. Going forward, CHS is using this research to inform its advocacy efforts and promote change.

Lastly, as part of the National Children’s Action Plan committee, CHS is helping to integrate prevention of online sexual exploitation into the committee’s agenda and develop national protocols and response strategies to address online violence.

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Peru

Save the Children Sweden

Combating Online Exploitation and Sexual Abuse of Children and Adolescents
Grant timeline
January 2017 – December 2019
Funding amount
$369,147

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 has reached hundreds of children with information on online violence by training adolescent leaders who cascade information to their peers, broadcasting messages in schools, and empowering adolescents to lead public events about the risks and dangers of online abuse. Save the Children has also promoted activism among adolescents, helping them promote awareness through communications campaigns and dialogue spaces with authorities.

The project is also reaching adults: for example, they have developed an online course, Prevention of Sexual Violence Against Children and Adolescents in Online Environments, for child protection service providers. They are also training members of the criminal justice system, developing curricula for teachers, education staff and health care providers, and increasing knowledge of online sexual exploitation and abuse within schools.

The Fund’s support has also allowed Save the Children Sweden to conduct a baseline study on sexual violence and its impact on children, and create national communications and advocacy campaigns to raise awareness of online sexual violence against children.

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Philippines

International Justice Mission

Ending Online Sexual Exploitation of Children in Cebu
Grant timeline
January 2017 - May 2020
Funding amount
$999,752

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 this program, law enforcement officials are shown how to work with digital evidence and conduct investigations in more effective ways.

IJM is also working with Philippines law enforcement to rescue victims of online child exploitation and abuse. The organisation is also working directly with aftercare shelters, foster care providers and government social workers to help these children recover from their experiences, expanding and improving the quality of child protection services to do so. From the start of the grant until July 2019, 123 children have been rescued from ongoing situations of online exploitation and abuse and 42 suspected perpetrators arrested.

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Philippines

Plan International UK

Cyber-safe Spaces for Children and Youth in Manila and Quezon City
Grant timeline
June 2017 - August 2020
Funding amount
$1,000,000

In the Philippines, Plan International United Kingdom is working in the Philippines to ensure children are protected from online sexual exploitation and abuse, perpetrators are apprehended and prosecutors, and children enjoy the benefits of the Internet free from danger.

This project is aligned with the Model National Response. It helps children learn to protect themselves from online sexual exploitation by establishing peer support groups, and giving them the knowledge and skills to roll out awareness sessions in their schools and communities.

The project also trains parents, teachers, social service providers and other adults to become advocates for cyber safety. At the industry level, the project is also engaging Internet service providers and other technology companies in the fight against online child sexual exploitation and abuse.

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Philippines

Justice and Care

Understanding Traffickers and Pathways to Offending: Analysis and Recommendations to Better Detect, Deter, and Prevent Online Sexual Exploitation of Children in the Philippines
Grant timeline
October 2021 – December 2023
Funding amount
$198,092

Justice and Care is a United Kingdom-based non-governmental organisation that works with law enforcement officers to rescue victims of human trafficking, protect at-risk communities, and dismantle criminal networks. With support from the Tech Coalition Safe Online Research Fund and in partnership with International Justice Mission (IJM), Dublin City University and De La Salle University in the Philippines, Justice and Care is launching a study to help the world better understand online sexual exploitation of children in the Philippines – and as a result, provide analysis and recommendations to better detect, deter and prevent this type of violence.

To do so, Justice and Care will explore the profiles of those who perpetrate and facilitate online sexual exploitation of children, interviewing convicted offenders, key informants, and others. This analysis will fill a gap in global research into online child exploitation of children and shed light on the “supply-side” of such violence in a country known to be an epicenter of live-streamed child sexual abuse. Ultimately, this research will seek to inform practical strategies and enhance industry, prevention and law enforcement response to the issue.

Learn more about Tech Coalition Safe Online Research Fund and the Advisory Group of experts who have collaborated to guide this work.

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UNICEF Philippines

"Project Safe"
Grant timeline
May 2022 - May 2025
Funding amount
Funding amount: $1,000,000

UNICEF Philippines’s “Project Safe” will focus on strengthening systems so children will be protected from the risks and threats in online and offline platforms. It also aims to empower children to demonstrate personal skills and  protective behaviour in identifying and managing risks, protecting themselves and reporting their experience of violence, including seeking professional help when needed.

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Rwanda

University of East London, 5rights Foundation & the University of Rwanda

Creating and Supporting a Child Online Protection Policy in Rwanda
Grant timeline
November 2018 – July 2019
Funding amount
$186,094

In Rwanda, the University of East London partnered with 5Rights Foundation and the University of Rwanda to support to the Government of Rwanda in its development of a Child Online Protection Policy and its Implementation Plan. Together, these partners used the support from the Fund to assess gaps in the current system in place to protect children online, convene a cross-sectoral working group of international and Rwandan experts to improve that system; and hold a consultation with key stakeholders to draw directly on their experiences. The Child Online Protection Policy and Implementation Plan was approved by the Cabinet in June 2019.

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South Africa

UNICEF South Africa

Strengthening Children’s Online Safety in South Africa
Grant timeline
February 2018 – December 2021 ($999,615) / May 2022 - May 2025 ($996780)
Funding amount
$1,996,395

The Fund is helping UNICEF South Africa promote positive Internet use while deterring online violence, exploitation and abuse. From 2018-2022, the agency worked on creating tools on online safety and integrating them into existing programmes and platforms to create awareness among parents, children and communities. This included training religious leaders on children’s rights and violence against children and supporting faith-based organisations to establish child protection reporting mechanisms. In addition, UNICEF South Africa worked with the National Department of Social Development to implement the 365 Days Child Protection Programme, a social mobilisation campaign that is spurring dialogue about violence against children in communities throughout the country.

UNICEF South Africa also conducted a survey on children’s behaviour online according to the Global Kids Online methodology to inform legislative and policy reform and implementation. The findings of this study will inform relevant programme development.

In addition, UNICEF South Africa is boosting the knowledge and skills of children, families and communities to help children safely use the Internet, and is increasing children’s access to victim services, among other activities working to create awareness, identify children exposed to violence, and refer those children to services.

Through new funding by Safe Online in 2022, UNICEF South Africa is working on the Enhancing Child Online Safety Programme. This falls within UNICEF’s wider strategy to protect children from violence and exploitation in all settings and builds on UNICEF’s continued efforts to support coordinated national responses to OCSEA using the WePROTECT Global Alliance Model National Response as a guide to drive national action.

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Sri Lanka

Save the Children Denmark

Tackling Online Sexual Exploitation Through a National Action Plan
Grant timeline
March 2018 - March 2020
Funding amount
$417,638

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 of online child sexual exploitation and abuse have increased, Sri Lanka’s ability to handle the issue is limited.

To mitigate this problem, since March 2018, the Fund has supported Save the Children Denmark’s program to enhance national prevention and response mechanisms. The organisation is working with the Government of Sri Lanka to create a fully costed National Action Plan, the aim of which is to bring down rates of child sexual exploitation and abuse, prosecute perpetrators of such violence, and restore the rights of child victims.

The programme is also strengthening and improving the national helpline facility and establishing a cybercrime unit at the National Child Protection Authority. As part of this work, the agency is developing a Victim Support Service that is linked to the helpline. This service provides psychosocial support to those affected and helps coordinate legal and law enforcement agencies. It also strengthens follow-up services for children and their families.

In addition, the program is working at the local level as well as the national one: through Fund support, Save the Children in creating a school-based Internet safety awareness program. By incorporating this program into the national education curricula (and developing relevant instructional materials), the organisation is ensuring that children in Sri Lanka have the information they need to protect themselves from online sexual exploitation and abuse.

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Tanzania

UNICEF Tanzania

Preventing and Responding to Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
Grant timeline
March 2018 - December 2022
Funding amount
$952,300

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 responding to cases of online exploitation. These service providers include those who directly interact with children who have experienced online abuse, such as social welfare officers, police and managers of the child helpline. UNICEF Tanzania is also working to improve community-based mechanisms to prevent and respond to issues of online exploitation, building the ability of children, teachers and caregivers to identify, manage and report situations of online child sexual exploitation and abuse. Through parenting groups in villages – and sessions inside classrooms – UNICEF Tanzania is both raising awareness and decreasing community-wide acceptance of violence, both on and offline.

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Turkiye

Turkiye Kadın Dernekleri Federasyonu

Connect the dots
Grant timeline
March 2023 - March 2024
Funding amount
$47,710
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Uganda

UNICEF Uganda

Ensuring Children in Uganda Are Safe Online
Grant timeline
December 2016 - April 2021
Funding amount
$977,777

UNICEF Uganda is using support from the Fund to raise awareness of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The agency is working directly with the Government of Uganda to integrate mechanisms for prevention, reporting and response into the national child protection system. They are also making related resources available across the social welfare, education, health and justice sectors. As part of this process, UNICEF Uganda is holding outreach and awareness sessions inside of schools in partnership with Uganda Child Helpline and the Uganda Police Force and other national partners. In 2018 alone, the agency reached more than 35,000 children with information on online protection in three urban districts.

To increase understanding of online child sexual exploitation and abuse within the judicial system, UNICEF Uganda is also facilitating training for justice sector officials, and developing standard operating procedures to help police navigate cases of children experiencing gender-based violence and online sexual exploitation and abuse. UNICEF Uganda is also assisting the government to integrate the issues of online child sexual exploitation and abuse in the national key policy and legislation so that the country systematically addresses the issues.

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United Kingdom

Internet Watch Foundation

Rethink ChatBot
Grant timeline
September 2020 – September 2023
Funding amount
$684,343
Countries involved
United Kingdom, Zambia

Internet Watch Foundation will continue developing its reThink Chatbot, an automated device that detects potential offenders and refers them to support through the Lucy Faithfull Foundation. By redirecting potential offenders to self-help programmes, this project will not only reduce the demand for CSAM online but also protect children from being victims of child sexual abuse. The chatbot will first be developed for pilot use in the United Kingdom with the potential for scaling up in other countries.

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Vietnam

ChildFund Australia

Swipe Safe: Helping Young People Make the Most of the Online World
Grant timeline
July 2017 - December 2020
Funding amount
$531,647

Since July 2017, the Fund has supported ChildFund Australia’s Swipe Safe program in Vietnam, which aims to help young people navigate the Internet safely by educating them on potential risks, such as cyber scams, bullying or sexual abuse, and offering them strategies to protect themselves. ChildFund Australia designed, created and tested a training program to promote online safety – and ever since, the curriculum has been adapted by non-governmental organisations not just in Vietnam, but in Laos and Myanmar as well. Swipe Safe mobilizes parents, youth, schools and the private sector to play an active role in children’s online safety.

The program is providing training for parents and Internet café owners and managers to identify and address risks that might happen to children, from online to offline and vice versa. It also supports schools to develop child-friendly policies and guidance on online safety. Swipe Safe is active in advocating to the national government with lessons learned to inform national policy and response, and linking such legislation with the strengthening of existing structures. A key innovation of the program is that it engages young volunteers in local communities with extensive knowledge on technology to train young people and others, as these trainers can more directly relate to their peers’ experiences and help keep the curriculum up-to-date.

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Vietnam

World Vision International

Tackling Online Child Sexual Exploitation in Vietnam
Grant timeline
March 2018 - Ocotber 2021
Funding amount
$680,951

In Vietnam, World Vision Vietnam is bringing online violence prevention to schools, communities, social services, and the information, communications and technology sector. In schools, the organization is using support from the Fund to teach children how to protect themselves from online violence via the children’s groups, and design and implement child-led initiatives in target schools. In addition, World Vision is also training parents and teachers on how to protect children from online violence. These initiatives have reached thousands of children, parents and teachers since the project’s inception, using child-friendly activities such as plays, songs, quizzes and competitions to increase awareness of Internet safety.

With support from the Fund, World Vision is also training operators and counsellors of the Da Nang Center for Social Work, strengthening the child helpline and increasing social workers’ ability to deal with cases of online sexual exploitation and abuse. By holding seminars and workshops, World Vision is increasing awareness of such issues and urging information, communications and technology professionals to respond within their sectors. This includes working directly with Vietnam’s Department of Information and Communication and helping the government develop and implement recognized Internet safety standards for online child protection.

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Vietnam

Plan International Vietnam

Grant timeline
August 2022 - August 2025
Funding amount
$499,949

Plan International’s project will address gaps in the child protection system to respond to online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA), working with adolescents, schools, parents and service providers to set up an innovative community-based survivor support model to improve the reporting of OCSEA and strengthen the quality of services for survivors.

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UNICEF Viet Nam

Safer Internet - Safer Childhood
Grant timeline
September 2022 - September 2025
Funding amount
Funding amount: $1,000,000

UNICEF Vietnam will work on the Safer Internet – Safer Childhood  project will focus on strengthening the national legal infrastructure and capacity, improving early interventions and victim support, and increasing knowledge and engagement of caregivers, teachers and children to prevent and protect children from OCSEA.

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Zimbabwe

Childline Zimbabwe

Screen Online Project
Grant timeline
June 2022 - June 2024
Funding amount
$940,065

Childline Zimbabwe will work on the Screen Online Project which is designed to influence children, families and communities to adopt strategies that increase prevention of child abuse on online spaces and increase access to justice and social care where children have fallen victim of OCSEA.

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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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