The European Commission has formally adopted the Decision to launch the Network for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse. This new expert group will bring together policymakers, experts, and practitioners to address the prevention of sexualized violence against children and young people, both online and offline. Its creation marks an important milestone in child protection in the EU, and with the establishment of the network, the Commission is implementing a key initiative of the EU Strategy for a more effective fight against child sexual abuse, which identifies prevention as one of its main objectives.
Goals and tasks of the network
The newly founded network aims to provide the EU Commission with technical advice and expertise based on an interdisciplinary, integrated and comprehensive prevention approach. The strategy has two main focuses.
- Safeguarding children and their surroundings in order to reduce the risk of victimization.
- The aim is to target individuals who may be at risk of offending, or who are repeat offenders, in order to prevent them from harming children further.
The Network’s activities will include research support, data collection, sharing of best practices and policy recommendations, assisting in monitoring intervention programmes in the Union, facilitating multidisciplinary training for professionals, as well as conducting awareness raising and education campaigns for children, families, educators, but also for potential perpetrators.
Call for Applications
With the official establishment of the network, the Commission has also launched a call for membership. Applications are open to:
- Highly qualified individuals and specialised individuals with proven expertise
- Organizations active in the field of preventing child sexual abuse (online and offline)