Legal professionals in West and East Georgia strengthened their capacity to address online child sexual abuse and exploitation (OCSEA) through targeted two-days trainings focussed European standards, relevant national legislation, as well as available tools and good practices. The trainings enabled prosecutors, investigators and lawyers to effectively prevent, investigate and respond to OCSEA adopting a victim’s centered and multi-agency approaches.

The 60 participants who attended the two trainings in Tbilisi (8–9 December 2025) and Batumi (11–12 December 2025), significantly enhanced their understanding of substantive and procedural criminal law under the Lanzarote Convention and the Budapest Convention, as well as their practical skills in conducting proactive and reactive investigations, handling digital evidence, protecting child victims during criminal proceedings and ensuring effective interagency collaboration. Interactive case studies and practical exercises enabled participants to apply international standards and good practices to complex, real-life investigative scenarios, including cross-border cases.

Evaluation results demonstrated substantial knowledge gains across all competency areas, particularly in international legal frameworks, child digital safety and digital evidence collection. A high proportion of participants committed to delivering cascade training within their institutions and professional networks, confirming the trainings’ strong potential for sustainable capacity-building and improved criminal justice responses to online child sexual exploitation and abuse in Georgia.

These events were organised within the Council of Europe Project “Combating Violence against Children in Georgia” implemented in the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Georgia 2024–2027.