European Day on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse
With the introduction of the European day on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse in 2015,the efforts of the “UN Convention on the Rights of the Child” in 1989 and the later formed “Lanzarote Convention” by the Council of European, ratified in 2010 have been rewarded.
The day, which is taking place on the 18th of November, is dedicated to both children and those who interact with them in the personal or professional sector.
The numbers of abuse cases are alarming. One in eight children worldwide and one out in five, when looking at the numbers in Europe, has experienced abuse or exploitation. The physical as well as psychological damage that the victims carry with them becomes a lifelong burden. Nevertheless, only about 10% of the abuse cases are reported to the authorities. This makes it only more important to look at the issue, since education is one of the most important means of prevention.
Looking at the issue today, it is more current than ever. Due to digitalization, we are experiencing a rapid increase; we are talking about several million images and videos circulating on the net. The Covid-19 pandemic contributed a great part to this, as on one hand children spent more time at home without other supervision and on the other hand even more people connected online
In fact, in 70-85% of cases, we are talking about people that are familiar to the child. A fact that is not only disturbing but is also making it more difficult for the victim to seek help.
With the European Council initiating this day, the further violation of Children’s rights is to be counteracted. In this interest the European Day for the Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse has set three objectives:
- raise public awareness on sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children, and the need to prevent such acts;
- facilitate open discussion on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse and help prevent and eliminate the stigmatisation of victims;
- promote the ratification and implementation of the Lanzarote Convention – a unique legally binding instrument that obliges Parties to criminalise all forms of sexual violence against children and spells out the ways to fight it.
The Council of Europe is presenting a different topic yearly, inviting member states, NGOs and national parliaments to participate and share the responsibility of organising events on that matter. Those can take place in different forms, such as discussions, school lectures, public statements, or media events on the topic.
This year’s attention is on “Getting it right: ensuring child-friendly justice through Barnahus structures in Europe”, which will especially concentrate on both child welfare as well as criminal investigations. Furthermore, it’s including some of the key aspects in the fight against child abuse: Building a safe space for children as well as for witnesses of violence, protecting the child of being re-victimized and taking actions against online content that’s showing sexual abuse.
Author: Lorena Raub, University of Passau, Germany
Photo by George Pagan III on Unsplash
