Council of Europe

We are strongly committed to fighting sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children online, through the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention), and bilateral and regional projects. The Committee of Parties to the Lanzarote Convention, the Lanzarote Committee, addressed the online dimension of child sexual abuse and exploitation in early years, by adopting in 2015 its Opinion on Article 23 of the Lanzarote Convention - Solicitation of children for sexual purposes through information and communication technologies (ICTs), an Interpretative Opinion adopted in 2017 on the applicability of the Lanzarote Convention to sexual offences against children facilitated by ICTs, and in 2019 its Opinion on child sexually suggestive or explicit images and/or videos generated, shared and received by children. In addition, the 2nd monitoring round of the Lanzarote Committee focused on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse facilitated by information and communication technologies (ICTs) – Addressing the challenges raised by child self-generated images and/or videos. The corresponding Implementation Report containing specific recommendations and promising practices was presented at the High-level Launching Conference “Beyond the Horizon: a New Era for the Rights of the Child” in Rome on 8 April 2022. In this framework, States Parties to the Lanzarote Convention commit to criminalise any type of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse against children, online and offline, and the fact of knowingly accessing online child sexual abuse material.

Following the European Commission’s proposal for a temporary derogation to provisions in the e-Privacy Directive to allow for the processing of personal and other data for the purpose of combating child sexual abuse online, the Lanzarote Committee commissioned the preparation of the Report “Respecting human rights and the rule of law when using automated technology to detect online child sexual exploitation and abuse”. This report, prepared by independent experts, provides in-depth expertise on appropriate solutions to reconcile the various human rights at stake while integrating safeguards in actions carried out in the public interest.

While the proposed EU Regulation laying down the rules to prevent and combat child sexual abuse was released in 2022, the Secretariat of the Lanzarote Committee was invited to participate in a series of multi-sectoral expert workshops to dive into specific issues raised by this instrument, the first of which was held in October 2022. 

The outcome of the expert workshop will be presented at the 37th plenary meeting of the Lanzarote Committee (31 January – 2 February 2023), and an exchange of views on the main elements of the proposal will take place with a representative of the European Commission. 

Parents and caregivers can find useful information in our 2020 manual Parenting in the digital age - positive parenting strategies for different scenarios which promotes the idea that positive parenting practices, based on open communication and trust, should be extended into the online world. The manual provides hands-on advice on how to react, as a parent or caregiver, to critical situations encountered by children. Likewise, parents and caregivers are called upon to closely watch their own behaviours as they share online (images for example) or regularly use digital technologies throughout the day. 

Our 2017 publication "Parenting in the Digital Age" (accompanied by six video tutorials) that targets five online risks of a sexual nature ("sextortion", "sexting", sex-chatting, grooming and sexualised images used in revenge - "revenge porn") remains particularly valuable source of useful information for parents and caregivers in current circumstances.

Our recent “Kiko and the Manymes” materials featuring children’s beloved character friend Kiko who embarks on new adventures discovering screens and the misuse of pictures in the online environment have proved to be particularly successful and useful. These awareness-raising materials developed in the framework of our regional Project End Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse@Europe (EndOCSEA@Europe) (which ended in June 2021), have been translated into 19 languages, including Japanese to reach a wide audience. The objective of the Kiko and the Manymes is twofold. Firstly, this campaign is addressed to adults, with a focus on parents and caregivers of children 4-7 years old, teaching them how to protect their children and avoid their exposure to phones with video and photo cameras or a webcam. Secondly, the experience of Kiko with screens in the book, which also presents “the golden rules of screens”, provide a basic set of rules to empower children to protect their privacy and their image in the online environment.

Through our country specific follow-up projects in Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, and new projects in Georgia and Finland on “Protecting Children against violence and sexual exploitation and abuse, including in the digital environment” and “Ensuring child-friendly justice through the effective operation of the Barnahus-units in Finland”, we are conducting a series of actions to raise awareness on the risks of online child sexual exploitation and abuse, and promoting digital literacy and safe use of internet for children in these countries. This includes inter alia raising awareness about Safer Internet Day on social media by disseminating relevant Council of Europe tools and materials and encouraging CSOs to join Safer Internet Day platform, as well as conducting training sessions for professionals working to combat online child sexual exploitation and abuse.