In 2014, an inter-institutional working group of 18 international organisations was established to develop a common terminology guide for terms related to child sexual abuse. The working group is led by ECPAT International and includes organisations such as Child Rights Connect, Europol, Interpol, UNICEF and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. The aim of this document is to provide all individuals and institutions involved in preventing and combating all forms of child sexual exploitation and abuse with a guide to understanding and using the various terms and concepts they encounter in their work. The first terminology guide was published in 2016 and has since been translated into 9 languages. The second was published in May 2025, partly due to the strong development of sexualised child abuse in the digital world.
The second edition Terminology Guidelines for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse can be downloaded here.