A new report on data collection mechanisms regarding the sexual abuse and exploitation of children in 36 States from Europe and beyond was published today by the Committee of Parties to the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (the Lanzarote Committee). The report marks the first comprehensive effort to compile good practices and to identify existing gaps in data collection.
“With the new school year starting, it is important to draw attention to one of the ugliest crimes - sexual exploitation and abuse of children,” said Maria José Castello-Branco (Portugal), Chairperson of the Lanzarote Committee. “To protect children from this crime, we need to understand where and how it happens. At a kindergarten, school or in another educational setting children will encounter people who may potentially harm them. Only with reliable data from diverse sources in different sectors, including education, can we analyse the patterns and design more effective strategies to combat this crime.”
The report provides an overview of the situation in 36 Lanzarote State Parties with regard to who collects data, what type of data is collected, how it is used, and whether the effectiveness of data collection mechanisms or focal points is evaluated.
The Lanzarote Committee found that while all Parties collect some data, only a few Parties have mechanisms specialising in collecting data on child sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, with most of them collecting basic criminal statistical data via the police and public prosecutors’ offices or the ministries of justice and of the interior. If relevant data is collected by other sectors, it is rarely fed into a single focal point for systematisation or analysis. Very few Parties report collaborating with civil society organisations on data collection. Very few also confirm using the data collected to analyse the phenomenon of child sexual exploitation and sexual abuse and, in turn, to inform the development of policies and measures, rather than just to prepare statistical reports.
To address the identified shortcomings, the report offers targeted recommendations to State Parties. The Lanzarote Committee notably requires all Parties to involve different agencies dealing with child sexual exploitation and abuse and to engage with civil society in the data collection. It also invites Parties to streamline their data entry and to diversify their sources by including data from helplines, surveys, etc. Parties are equally recommended to use the available data on child sexual exploitation and sexual abuse to inform the development of policies and measures and to monitor progress in their implementation.
Evidence-based policy making is also the theme of this year’s Day for the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse marked annually on 18 November. The Day, launched by the Council of Europe in 2015, serves to raise awareness of this phenomenon with the help of national authorities, NGOs, and other stakeholders.
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