Child sexual abuse (CSA) can take multiple forms which can occur both online (e.g. forcing a child to engage in sexual activities via live streaming or exchanging child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online) and offline (e.g. engaging in sexual activities with a child or causing a child to participate in child prostitution). When the abuse is also recorded and shared online, the harm is perpetuated. The EU Directive on combating child sexual abuse, sexual exploitation and child pornography (2011/93) is the main EU legal instrument to combat these crimes. The Directive sets out a comprehensive response, in particular: - It approximates definitions of criminal offences, sets minimum levels for criminal penalties and facilitates reporting, investigations and prosecution of such crimes - It sets out prevention measures, including awareness raising, and intervention programmes for offenders and persons who fear they might offend, - It reinforces provision of support to victims including prevention of additional trauma caused by participating in criminal proceedings.

On 24 July 2020, the Commission adopted the EU Strategy on a more effective fight against child sexual abuse, which proposes concrete actions to set up a comprehensive response to these crimes. One of the actions is to evaluate the EU Directive which has been in place since 2011 to identify best practices and any remaining legislative gaps. If necessary, new priority actions will be proposed to ensure that this legislation continues to reach the goals that it sets out to achieve.

The purpose of the present open public consultation is to inform the evaluation and possible revision of the EU Child Sexual Abuse Directive, and it is part of the data collection activities following the Inception Impact Assessment published in September - October 2021. This public consultation will inform the evaluation and revision of the EU Child Sexual Abuse Directive, and give citizens and stakeholders with the opportunity to provide their feedback on current and future challenges in combatting child sexual abuse, sexual exploitation and child sexual abuse material and possible ways to reinforce, develop and update the existing framework.

Taking part in the consultation is possible in the EU consultation system; To have your say you need to log into the Ecas system with your credentials or create a new account.

On 1 and 2 June 2022, the summit of the global WeProtect Alliance took place in Brussels, where a communiqué how to combat child sexual abuse online was adopted. Please find the communiqué on the WeProtect Global alliance website at https://www.weprotect.org/library/communique-summit-2022-turning-the-tide/

On May 11, the European Commission released a proposed Regulation laying down rules to prevent and combat child sexual abuse. It is timely and historic, not just for Europe but for the world. When passed, this legislation has the potential to make an impact far beyond the EU and help advance the global fight against child sexual abuse in both the offline and online worlds.

Focusing on the online dimension of child sexual abuse, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson emphasizes that there has been a 6000% increase in reports of child sexual abuse online in the EU in the last ten years alone. Most of the images and victims remain hidden, their abuse unseen and unreported. But even the tip of the iceberg is enormous: the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received close to 85 million files containing child sexual abuse material in 2021. In the previous year, that number was 65 million. Over 62% of online child sexual abuse material (CSAM) worldwide is hosted on servers based in the EU. It will take collaboration between citizens, institutions, policymakers, tech companies, and nonprofit organizations to tackle a problem at this scale.

We, as a collective of organisations that strive for children’s rights, safety, and security online and offline, support the European Commission’s proposal as a critical step toward better protection of children’s rights. The proposed Regulation presents a vision of a responsible internet where children are free to be curious and explore online spaces safely. It aims to ensure that technology is developed and used in conformity with European Union values and in accordance with fundamental rights, with particular attention paid to protecting children.

The full open letter, currently signed by more than 76 civil society organizations (updated 10.06.2022), can be downloaded here in English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and French.

For more information or to add your name and organisation to the list please contact emily.slifer@wearethorn.org