The Day for the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse is celebrated on 18 November each year. Launched in 2015 as a follow-up to the Council of Europe ONE in FIVE campaign to stop sexual violence against children, the European Day aims to raise public awareness of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children, and the need to prevent this heinous crime. In 2022, as part of a global awareness-raising and advocacy effort, the United Nations made 18th of November also the World Day for the

prevention of, and healing from child sexual exploitation, abuse and violence.

The Day is organised in a flexible and decentralised manner while being guided by the Council of Europe.

Every year the Council of Europe invites a wide range of stakeholders, including member states, civil society organisations and national parliaments, to celebrate the Day by focusing on a specific topic.

This year the focus is on “Emerging Technologies: threats and opportunities for the protection of children from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse”.

This will be an opportunity to underscore the vital importance of raising awareness across all levels of society about the risks of child sexual abuse and exploitation posed by the misuse of emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and Extended Reality. Additionally, it will highlight the need to explore innovative ways to harness these technologies to combat child sexual abuse and exploitation effectively.

With your help, we hope to engage global communities and work together to END Child Sexual Abuse.

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