On 14 – 15 October 2025, 31 national trainers and frontline professionals from five partner institutions working for and with children (teachers, social workers, healthcare professionals) in Azerbaijan gathered in Baku to participate in a training of trainers on safeguarding children from online child sexual exploitation and abuse, organised by the Council of Europe project. The two-day, in-person training enhanced the participants’ understanding of the current online safety landscape, including new information technologies, associated risks and opportunities, and provided them with practical strategies and tools to implement effective online safety measures to better prevent, identify, report and refer cases of online child sexual exploitation and abuse.
The training, which was delivered based on the materials developed by the Council of Europe project “End Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse@Europe Plus” and adapted to the legal context of Azerbaijan, allowed participants to both benefit from established international expertise and practices, whilst also taking part in facilitated discussions on how it relates to the reality in which they work. Key themes of the training included current and emerging technologies, online safety for educators and parents, and reviews of international practice, research, legislation, and relevant international standards, including the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (the Lanzarote Convention).
To ensure sustainability, it is expected that national trainers will further disseminate the knowledge and skills acquired during the training among their peers-frontline professionals working for and with children in Azerbaijan. The project will continue until the end of 2026 and will deliver a number of further activities focused on capacity building, awareness raising, and strengthening legal frameworks for improved protection of children from violence, sexual exploitation and abuse, including in the digital environment.
This training was organised within the framework of the project on “Protection of children from violence and sexual exploitation and abuse, including in the digital environment, in Azerbaijan” under the Council of Europe Action Plan for the Azerbaijan (2022-2025).