“Sexual exploitation and abuse of children cannot keep happening in today’s societies” said Congress Rapporteur Brigitte van den Berg (Netherlands, ILDG), on the occasion of the European Day on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, on 18 November 2021. She underlined that the recent increase in the number of reported cases of child sexual abuse and exploitation has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis, which has led to both under-reporting of child sexual abuse and increased sharing of child exploitation material on the internet.

“Child abuse is horrible crime with long term consequences. Civil society and governments at all levels have the power to take action to prevent sexual offences against children, prosecute perpetrators and protect child victims. On the one hand, they can use social media and existing networks to raise awareness and on the other they can implement international legal instruments such as Council of Europe’s Budapest Convention on Cybercrime and the Lanzarote Convention.”

“At the Congress, we are highly committed to uphold and protect children’s rights. Local and regional authorities, due to their proximity to the citizens, are especially well placed to see early warning signs and put a stop to child abuse from the very beginning”, she continued, reminding that the Congress has been promoting the “Pact of Towns and Regions to stop the sexual exploitation of children” for nearly a decade to increase awareness of the problem at the local level.

The European Day for the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse is marked on 18 November or around this date by member states of the Council of Europe and civil society organisations through various initiatives. The goal of the Day, established in 2015, is to raise public awareness of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children, and the need to prevent such acts. The theme of the 2021 edition is “Making the circle of trust truly safe for children”.