The Council of Europe Project to End Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse @ Europe (EndOCSEA@Europe Project) promotes, facilitates and supports member state actions to prevent and combat child sexual exploitation and abuse facilitated by information and communication technologies (OCSEA); with a focus on strengthening responses in: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine. Among these countries, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Ukraine have been endorsed to act as pilot countries.
In this context, a gap analysis of legislation, policy and practices will be undertaken in line with international and European standards: in particular the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention), the Council of Europe Convention against Cybercrime and 8 of the capabilities identified in the WePROTECT Model National Response.
The gap analysis will build on recent studies, and on-going research in this area to:
- review legislation, policies and practices relevant to OCSEA;
- strengthen multi-stakeholder co-operation to prevent and combat OCSEA;
- identify ways to develop or strengthen national policies, strategies or action plans to prevent and combat OCSEA.
A fact-finding visit will take place in Azerbaijan from 18-21 June 2019. During the visit, the Council of Europe delegation will meet with relevant ministries and agencies involved in the multi-sectorial response, including the State Committee on Family, Women and Children Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Social Affairs and relevant Parliamentary Committees. Discussions will focus on ways to strengthen current legislation, policies and practices to better prevent and combat OCSEA.
The preliminary findings of the gap analysis will be discussed with the authorities at a national workshop in October 2019.
Acknowledgements:
The Council of Europe gratefully acknowledges the financial support provided for this programme by the Fund to End Violence Against Children.
