7 February is Safer Internet Day, the day when organisations and people around the world campaign for a safer internet. Children and young people today spend a lot of time on the internet and more online time also means a higher risk of sexualised violence online. That is why the project Kinderrechte.digital, together with ecpat Germany, has developed an instrument as part of the work of the National Council against Sexual Violence to identify where sexualised violence begins and in which areas countermeasures are necessary. The tool is intended for providers and developers of services and applications as well as for people who work with children and young people or are responsible for them. The tool enables providers and developers to assess the risks potentially associated with their services. Thus they will be able to recognize where suitable countermeasures for risk minimization need to be implemented. The tool provides educators with information about the possible initiation and course of sexualized violence against children and adolescents. In this way, risks associated with the digital environment can also be taken into account in the classical protective concepts of educational institutions.

The Instrument for Risk Assessment of Sexualized Violence in the Digital Environment can be downloaded here.