A sample that raises concerns.

The amount of child abuse committed, shared and disseminated on both the open and encrypted parts of the internet has exploded in recent decades. Against this backdrop, we took a sample to see how accessible child abuse material is on the world’s largest social network – Facebook. What we quickly found is that it is very easy to find open groups with images, videos and comments that clearly sexualize children, both through undressed and challenging poses and sexualized comments from friend profiles held by older men.

We have only scratched the surface, but we quickly found that these groups are being used to share links to encrypted chats such as Telegram, WhatsApp and others where abusive material is available. All the groups we have looked at refer to closed chats or encrypted platforms that are described in more or less explicit terms as containing abusive material. These groups are not limited to a few members, but have a significant presence on the platform and are growing extremely fast.

One of the groups we found has around 80,000 members and is growing by several hundred per hour. We also see how the number of interactions with posts in these groups increases in relation to how sexualized the child is portrayed. It is seemingly ordinary people with open profiles and without fake accounts who interact. Some profiles are clearly open about their sexual interest in children and share posts and pages with similar content themselves. We also note that the fake profile we used, despite not interacting or “liking” these groups, is quickly recommended to similar groups by Facebook’s algorithms.

It is deeply concerning that social platforms such as Facebook, despite their active efforts to systematically detect and remove abusive material, can serve as billboards for the distribution of child sexual abuse. These groups and links risk normalizing the behaviour, lowering the threshold for people with sexual interests in children to act out and enabling contact between potential perpetrators and children.

Potential perpetrators exist where the children are.

It is important to emphasize that these activities do not take place on some dark, anonymous part of the internet, but on a platform used by billions of adults and children worldwide. In other words, no Darknet, VPN or similar tools are required to share or access the material. Potential perpetrators will always be on the open social platforms because this is where children are. They demonstrate time and time again their ability to use technology to their advantage by bypassing the filters and security systems designed to protect children. Therefore, it is crucial that the companies behind the social platforms take their responsibility. We have so far relied on their voluntary actions to detect and prevent abuse. This sample shows that this is not enough

Britta Holmberg, Deputy Secretary General and Program Manager, World Childhood Foundation

We have documented all steps during this sample and have shared it with Facebook, Internet Watch Foundation and the Swedish police. We do not want to share the information about group names and keywords in this text because we do not want to risk further dissemination of the material.

For more information please contact:
Charles Mingo Bennström, Press & PR Manager World Childhood Foundation
+46(0)734 22 04 42, charles.bennstrom@childhood.org

Inlägget Facebook – A hidden marketplace for sexual abuse dök först upp på World Childhood Foundation.

Another current new project in Ukraine is the development of a portal where suspicions of violence and sexual abuse – including war crimes – against children can be reported anonymously online. It is particularly important to make it easier to report and document abuses that occur in occupied territories where Ukrainian police cannot act today. In Thailand and Sweden, we are intensifying our work with particularly vulnerable groups through two projects for children with disabilities. We are also strengthening our work on online abuse, including a new project in Cambodia with a chatbot where children who are victims of online abuse can turn for support.

📸 Barnahus Moldova, opened in 2022. Read more about this and ongoing projects in our annual report.

For more information please contact:
Charles Mingo Bennström, Press & PR Manager World Childhood Foundation
+46(0)734 22 04 42, charles.bennstrom@childhood.org

Inlägget new projects after board decision dök först upp på World Childhood Foundation.

Institutional care is both expensive and ineffective, with high risks of violence and abuse. We also know that 80% of children placed in institutions globally have at least one living parent. Despite this, money continues to flow from Sweden to institutions around the world. What are the driving forces behind this and what is best for the children? How do we change this?

Within the framework of our dream project “Ur askan i elden”, financed by the Swedish Postcode Lottery, we invite you to a conversation in Almedalen where we tell you about our work to give children the chance to grow up with their relatives.

Participants:
Britta Holmberg, Program Manager and Deputy Secretary General of the World Childhood Foundation.
Daniel Grahn, Secretary General of Erikshjälpen
Anders Malmstigen, International Program Manager Erikshjälpen
Charlotte Rydh, Secretary General of Giva Sweden

🗓️ June 30, 2023
📍Barnrättstorget (Visby)
🕙10:00 – 10:45

For more information please contact:
Charles Mingo Bennström, Press & PR Manager World Childhood Foundation
+46(0)734 22 04 42, charles.bennstrom@childhood.org

Inlägget Millions of children grow up in institutions needlessly – what can we do to change this? dök först upp på World Childhood Foundation.

Read the full report here (in Swedish)

“We have known for decades that sexual abuse takes place in Swedish institutions. It is completely unacceptable that this continues and that in 2023 Sweden is unable to give society’s most vulnerable children the protection they are entitled to in places that are meant to be safe” – says Paula Guillet de Monthoux, Secretary General of the World Childhood Foundation.

“Many children in SiS have been exposed to violence, abuse and betrayal by the adult world even before they are locked up. That they then continue to be subjected to abuse under the care of the state is a bottomless betrayal of society” says Elin Wernquist, Secretary General of Barnrättsbyrån.

Who will believe me?

The report shows widespread sexual abuse and violations against children in Swedish state-run institutional care – places that are meant to be safe for young people with extensive psychosocial problems. It has long been known that children are subjected to sexual abuse at SiS. Just last year, reviews by the Swedish Health and Social Care Inspectorate (IVO), the Parliamentary Ombudsman (JO) and the Swedish Agency for Public Management (Statskontoret) all revealed major shortcomings, including violence and sexual abuse. Through the report “Who will believe in me?” a systematic mapping of sexual abuse of children in state compulsory care is carried out for the first time.

Documentation from SiS and IVO between 2019 and 2022 reveals five reports per month of sexual violations or abuse by staff. There is documentation of sexual abuse at all state-run institutional care facilities except one, which is almost exclusively about male staff abusing girls in care. The report also compiles legal cases from the last five years. On average, one SiS employee per year has been convicted of rape of a child in care. The report also describes a clear pattern in which the children’s own information about sexual abuse remains within SiS, despite the fact that by law it must be reported to the prosecutor and IVO.

The institutional environment is harmful to children

Previous research shows that long-term institutionalization can have negative consequences that affect children’s mental and physical health and can increase the risk of criminality and exploitation. It also highlights that institutional environments can also both enable and render invisible systematic violence, violations and sexual abuse. Given what we know about unreported cases and that children rarely tell adults about abuse, we can assume that the figures presented in the report are underestimated. Our experience of working with children in institutions also shows that they have limited opportunities to raise the alarm about abuse and are often not listened to when they try. This, together with a lack of transparency and a culture where children’s testimonies are not taken seriously, has enabled widespread abuse of children in Sweden and internationally.

The report is produced by Childhood and Barnrättsbyrån, based on Childhood’s overall goal of preventing sexual abuse of children and Barnrättsbyrån’s direct work for individual children’s rights. We hope that this report contributes new and important knowledge that can ultimately be used to improve the situation for a very vulnerable group of children and young people.

Launch event

The launch took place in Stockholm on 22/3 and included discussions with the experts who contributed comments, readings of testimonies, reflections from within social care and panel discussions with responsible authorities and politicians.

Read the full report here and the press release here (both in Swedish).

For more information please contact:
Charles Mingo Bennström, Press & PR Manager World Childhood Foundation
+46(0)734 22 04 42, charles.bennstrom@childhood.org

Inlägget Sexual abuse of children in state-run institutionalised care dök först upp på World Childhood Foundation.

A Childhood-Haus (Barnahus) provides support and protection for abused children under one roof. A multi-professional team consisting of doctors, law enforcement officers, psychologists, social workers and others work together in the best interests of the children.

Through Childhood, the Queen has been a driving force in spreading this model both in Sweden and throughout parts of Europe, and soon there will be ten Childhood Haus established in Germany. This is strong confirmation of our work in spreading proven models that reach vulnerable children and families.

📷: Axel Schelbert

For more information please contact:
Charles Mingo Bennström, Press & PR Manager World Childhood Foundation
+46(0)734 22 04 42, charles.bennstrom@childhood.org

Inlägget HRH Queen Silvia at the opening of a new Childhood-Haus in Münich dök först upp på World Childhood Foundation.

Child sexual abuse must be combatted

In recent weeks, a large number of Swedish commentators have noted that an important legislative proposal is being discussed in the EU. The proposal aims to prevent child sexual abuse online but contains elements that are perceived as too far-reaching. The debate is centered on the integrity of adults, while the integrity of children, and their right not to be sexually exploited online and have pictures and videos of the abuse shared on the internet, is barely mentioned. This is against the background of the fact that we live in a reality where we are losing the fight against sexual abuse of children online.

The integrity of both adults and children needs to be defended. The problem is highly complex and requires us to find a solution that also takes into account the consequences of not taking action. The bill is being presented due to the fact that current EU legislation expires in August 2024. If a new law is not in place before then, it will be illegal for tech companies to proactively search for sexual abuse on their platforms. The EU risks becoming a safe haven for sharing and committing child sexual abuse online.

Demand is both massive and elusive

Recently, the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) released its annual report. The IWF is a UK hotline, where members of the public and businesses report images and videos documenting child sexual abuse. Data from last year shows that a fifth of the material reported was classified as the most serious forms of child abuse including rape, torture and sexual assault. According to the IWF, the number of images depicting the most severe forms of abuse has doubled compared to 2021 and the youngest children are the ones suffering the worst abuse. More than 81% of the images of children under two years old were grossly abusive. The demand for child sexual abuse is both massive and elusive. An illustrative example is the chatbot on Pornhub developed by IWF, with the support of Childhood, which is activated when users search for abuse material. When activated for 30 days on Pornhub’s UK site alone, the chatbot interacted with users 174,000 times.

“The large number of children currently exposed to serious abuse deserves a fact-based discussion on ways forward that take into account the right to privacy of both children and adults,” said Britta Holmberg, Program Director and Deputy Secretary General of the World Childhood Foundation.

The prevalence of child abuse committed, shared and disseminated on both the open and encrypted parts of the internet has skyrocketed in recent decades. Technological developments over the same period have created entirely new opportunities for perpetrators to threaten and harass children, to commit rape and then disseminate images and videos of the abuse. A majority of abuse material globally is already stored on servers in EU countries.

“Let’s be clear. Without technological tools to track, analyze and detect abuse, there is no chance of stopping the perpetrators. Not having new EU legislation in place before August 2024 would be a betrayal of vulnerable children,” said Paula Guillet De Monthoux, Secretary General of the World Childhood Foundation.

Voluntary and non-transparent

Currently, established tech companies search for abuse material and suspected grooming on a voluntary basis. Children and adults interact on platforms like Snapchat and Instagram without regulation and accountability. So far, we have relied on tech companies to work voluntarily to reduce risks to children. They choose to take on this task in different ways and with different levels of ambition. There is also no democratic transparency on what technology is used, how identified abuse material is handled and what is reported to law enforcement.

An important part of the new legislative proposal is the regulation of companies’ obligations to track, identify and report child abuse. The proposal includes the establishment of an EU center of expertise on online child abuse. It is also worth mentioning that there are clearly outlined measures to ensure that the tools used are appropriate and proportionate to the child’s risk of being abused and that decisions on more restrictive measures will be taken by the courts.

Who is responsible for protecting children?

We welcome a debate on whose responsibility it is to protect children online and how this should be regulated. We think it is reasonable that companies whose infrastructure enables child sexual abuse are also responsible for mitigating those risks. The regulatory framework for this needs to be transparent and democratically decided. It is unsustainable to leave it completely voluntary and without insight from our elected representatives.

Criticism of the bill has mainly focused on the risk of infringement of personal integrity. But if we choose not to include the children’s perspective in this, the price children pay will be too high. We need to carefully integrate different fundamental rights such as privacy and protection against abuse. In this context, it is important to remember that it is not a novelty that different freedoms and rights sometimes come into conflict and need to be reconciled. When we cross land borders, enter certain buildings or make certain payments, we are to some extent accepting restrictions on our privacy.

Similarly, we – and a large group of representatives from the police, the judiciary and civil society – believe that we need legislation that protects both the privacy of users and the privacy of children who are sexually exploited through technology.

For more information please contact:
Charles Mingo Bennström, Press & PR Manager World Childhood Foundation
+46(0)734 22 04 42, charles.bennstrom@childhood.org

Inlägget The European Union: Proposed legislation to combat sexual abuse of children dök först upp på World Childhood Foundation.

– We are very pleased to welcome Kim Olsson to our board and for our strong partnership with Stena. Kim’s competence and strong drive for social sustainability strengthens us in our work to prevent child sexual abuse. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank outgoing board member Jane Olsson Thorburn for her many years as chair of the board and other invaluable contributions ever since the Queen founded Childhood in 1999, says Kenneth Bengtsson, Chairman of the Board of Childhood.

Kim Olsson has a background in business administration from the Stockholm School of Economics and has worked in the real estate industry since 2011, first at Stena Fastigheter and then as CEO of Stena Sessan Fastighets AB since 2018. She is an active member of the board of the Brilliant Minds Foundation, where she helps to promote sustainable innovation, and through her involvement in the Jane and Dan Olsson Foundation for Social and Scientific Purposes, Kim works to counteract social vulnerability and contribute to research.

– Social sustainability is part of Stena’s DNA. One of the cornerstones of our work is to ensure that children in our areas grow up in a safe environment with bright future prospects. In my work with people’s living environment, I am always reminded that children are our future and I am passionate about their rights to a safe childhood. I very much look forward to contributing in any way I can to Childhood’s important and courageous work for children’s rights globally, says Kim Olsson.

No compensation is paid to the members of the board.

For more information please contact:
Charles Mingo Bennström, Press & PR Manager World Childhood Foundation
+46(0)734 22 04 42, charles.bennstrom@childhood.org

Inlägget New board member: Kim Olsson dök först upp på World Childhood Foundation.

“Our goal is to prevent the sexual abuse of children,” says principal investigator Christoffer Rahm, chief psychiatrist at Psychiatry South Stockholm and research group leader at the Centre for Psychiatry Research and the Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet. “Sadly, we’re seeing an increase in the spread of such material online and that current strategies to stem the trend are insufficient. Therefore, we wanted to test whether an anonymous internet-based therapy programme, which we call Prevent It, can make people to stop using child sexual abuse material.”

– There has long been a strong social discourse that the only acceptable thing to do is to punish those who commit abuse. Anything else is naive. As a children’s rights organization, it was not an easy decision to invest in Prevent It given the strong focus on perpetrators, but these results show that we did the right thing and that it can complement other efforts in the fight against child sexual abuse, says Britta Holmberg, Programme Director and Deputy Secretary General, World Childhood Foundation.

Scaling up from Stockholm to the rest of the world

We are proud that we dared to invest in the project from the concept stage all the way to the publication of the results. We have also engaged in an active dialogue on how to ensure a child rights perspective throughout the project and activated our network to further strengthen that investment, including by linking the research team with our global network of specialists, researchers, foundations, the European Parliament, and the End Violence Partnership. 

Prevent It has attracted considerable global attention and helped lay the foundations for several new international projects on perpetrator prevention. Updated versions of the therapy are now being tested, targeting all adults with concerns about sexual thoughts about children. The therapies will be offered in English internationally, and in other languages in a total of eight countries.

If you have sexual thoughts involving children and would like to participate in the new study you can find it here https://www.iterapi.se/sites/preventit/

Read Karolinska Institutets full press release
For more information please contact: 
Charles Mingo Bennström, pressansvarig World Childhood Foundation 
+46(0)734 22 04 42, charles.bennstrom@childhood.org

Inlägget Reduced use of documented child sexual abuse material after online CBT dök först upp på World Childhood Foundation.

Sweden is ranked third, but the index shows that fewer than half of the countries have a strategy to stop sexual exploitation and abuse of children. We also see that legislation to protect children from internet-related abuse lags and is weak in many countries.

Paula Guillet de Monthoux, Secretary General of the World Childhood Foundation:

“Preventing child sexual abuse is possible if we, the society as a whole, are held accountable. This is why Childhood initiated Out of the Shadows, which was first launched in 2019. It makes us happy and proud to see how it grows and lives on. The index is a tool to measure progress, to see trends but also to discern what is lacking. It shows that progress is too slow. For example, we see that far too few countries are working on perpetrator prevention and that boys remain invisible or de-prioritized.”

Read the full index, all the findings and how countries are ranked here: https://outoftheshadows.global/

For more information please contact: 
Charles Mingo Bennström, pressansvarig World Childhood Foundation 
+46(0)734 22 04 42, charles.bennstrom@childhood.org

Inlägget Out of the shadows index dök först upp på World Childhood Foundation.

Born and raised in Hawaii, Isaac is a celebrity trainer, choreographer, and Broadway dancer with a long list of credits to his name. While using his experience crafting routines on the main stages, Isaac created TORCH’D, a sustainable and highly effective workout routine. During the height of the pandemic, he raised significant funds for food insecure children via live streaming his TORCH’D workouts and looks forward to achieving the same results for the World Childhood Foundation.

“First the TORCH’D community helped feed vulnerable children, and now, we are going to help protect them”- Isaac Boots, Founder of TORCH’D

You can read more about and follow Isaac on Instagram here

About Childhood

World Childhood Foundation (Childhood) works to protect children from violence and sexual abuse. We provide support to local organizations that are developing new and innovative methods to help vulnerable children and families. We also work actively to strengthen the quality and dissemination of tested models that reach children and families who have not previously received the support they need. With relatively modest investments, combined with closed dialogue and support, Childhood can serve as an incubator and help new ideas and organizations to grow and become sustainable. Childhood was founded by H.M Queen Silvia of Sweden in 1999.

Inlägget Childhood Fundraiser by Isaac Boots dök först upp på World Childhood Foundation.

The JOOL Group is a family-owned group of companies with its roots in industry in Småland (Sweden), whose main areas of activity are the wood and paper industry and financial services.

” Childhood’s values and goals are in line with the JOOL group’s own values, where we see Childhood’s work as a very good way to ensure children’s right to a safe upbringing. For myself, with three children and ongoing exposure online, the topic has become particularly important for me as the owner of the group to actively support initiatives that enable our children to have a safe upbringing free from violence and sexual abuse” says Tom Olander, CEO and founder of JOOL Group.

Together with our partners, we invest and act to prevent violence and sexual abuse against children. Partnerships are key to everything we do at Childhood, enabling investment in local initiatives and innovative solutions that support vulnerable children and families, both in Sweden and around the world. Together with the JOOL Group and our other partners, we empower actors from grassroots to global level to keep children safe. We help new ideas and organisations grow and create sustainable impact.

JOOL Group includes: ESS-ENN Timber, Lessebo Paper, Tibro Sågverk, JOOL, JOOL Securities, JOOL Corporate Finance, Norra Finans, Pecunia Asset Management, Hubins, Proptech Farm, JOODIN, Grundingen Fastighets, MedicaNatumin.

Learn more about JOOL Group here:  joolgroup.com

For more information please contact: 
Charles Mingo Bennström, pressansvarig World Childhood Foundation 
+46(0)734 22 04 42, charles.bennstrom@childhood.org

Photo: Tom Olander, founder and CEO of JOOL Group

Inlägget JOOL Group new Childhood partner dök först upp på World Childhood Foundation.

Jessica is CEO of Volvo Car Sweden since January 2021 and has held various business roles within Volvo Cars since 2005. Prior to her current role, she was CEO of Volvo Bil AB between 2019-2020, Jessica is also Chairman of the Board of Swedish Hertz. Volvo Car Sweden has a long and strong partnership with the World Childhood Foundation (Childhood). 

“We are incredibly pleased that Jessica Span will be joining our board. In addition to Jessica’s inspiring leadership and sales experience, her tremendous drive to improve will be of great benefit to Childhood,” says Kenneth Bengtsson, Chairman of the World Childhood Foundation.

“Child safety has always been a priority at Volvo Cars and through our long-standing partnership with Childhood we are further strengthening their protection. I look forward to playing a greater role in Childhood’s important work to prevent violence and sexual abuse against children,” says Jessica Span, CEO of Volvo Car Sweden.

Read more about the partnership between Childhood and Volvo Car Sweden.

No fees are paid to the Board.

For more information please contact: 
Charles Mingo Bennström, pressansvarig World Childhood Foundation 
+46(0)734 22 04 42, charles.bennstrom@childhood.org

Photo: Volvo Car Sverige

Inlägget Jessica Span, Volvo Car Sweden, takes a seat on the World Childhood Foundations’s board of directors. dök först upp på World Childhood Foundation.

Message in Ukrainian:

Дітям України.

Партнерам нашої фундації “Всесвітній фонд дитинства” 

і всім дорослим, які роблять усе можливе, щоб захистити дітей відлиха в ці жахливі часи.

Ми можемо тільки уявити, через що вам доводиться пройти.

Кожен з вас цінний. Ваші дії цінні.

Ви не самотні.

Ви не забуті.

Ми стоїмо з вами і будемо на вашому боці.

я- з вами

Message in Russian

Детям Украины.

Нашим партнерам по программе “Всемирный фонд детства” 

и всем взрослым, которые делают все возможное, чтобы уберечь детей от беды в это страшное время.

Мы можем только представить, через что вы проходите.

Каждый из вас ценен. Ваши действия ценны.

Вы не одиноки.

Вы не забыты.

Мы поддерживаем вас и останемся на вашей стороне.

я – с вами

For more information please contact;
Charles Mingo Bennström, Press and PR, World Childhood Foundation 
+46(0)734 22 04 42, charles.bennstrom@childhood.org

Inlägget A message from H.M. Queen Silvia dök först upp på World Childhood Foundation.

Many children were particularly vulnerable even before the war began, not least the 98,000 children who lived in orphanages before the invasion and who now risk facing the war on their own as staff flee or is relocated. It is with great concern that we see how this makes children easy victims of abuse, exploitation and trafficking. In the current emergency, the focus is on evacuation and emergency relief. The safety and protection of children must be part of this from the very beginning. To ensure that relief efforts do not contribute to further trauma and risk, we need to start from three fundamental questions:

Who is the child?
Ensure identification and registration of children who flee. Without registration, there is no trace if a child goes missing or is separated from his or her relatives. All assistance needs to be coordinated with the responsible authorities.

Who is the child safe with?
The most important thing for children is to be with their siblings and parents. If they are separated, every effort should be made to reunite the family. Placement in orphanages and adoption in a disaster situation risks losing children forever. Children who flee and have experienced traumatic events need close, lasting relationships with adults with whom they feel safe. This is best provided by relatives and others who know the children and speak the same language. When parents and other relatives are themselves in crisis, they need to be supported. For many, a stable and normalised everyday life with space for play and closeness is enough to begin to heal. Those children who need it must be given professional trauma support.

What does the child want?
Children need to understand what is happening and to be able to influence their own situation as much as possible. It is the responsibility of adults to listen to the child and make sense of what is happening. 

World Childhood Foundation, SOS Barnbyar och Erikshjälpen.

For more information, please contact:

Charles Mingo Bennström, Press and PR , World Childhood Foundation   
+46 (0) 73-422 04 42, charles.bennstrom@childhood.org  

Inlägget Child protection cannot wait dök först upp på World Childhood Foundation.

LIBRA is a program that searches the internet to find child sexual abuse material so that it can be blocked and deleted. It finds previously known illegal images and videos as well as identifies new likely illegal material by scanning from different angles, without human interaction. As the material itself is illegal to handle this allows for more actors to apply LIBRA’s technology and thus strengthens existing efforts in fighting child sexual abuse. 

The extent of sexual abuse of children is massive and elusive. The US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children processes on average 60,000 reports of child sexual abuse online every day. Furthermore, Interpol reports that images of child sexual abuse in their database are getting more and more severe and that more than 60% of the children are between 2 – 12 years old. The younger the victims, the more severe the documented abuse. 

” Every minute we wait, thousands of children will suffer, knowing that images of their abuse are still circulated online, children will continue being at risk of grooming or exposed to abuse on demand.”  said H.M. Queen Silvia when stressing the importance of doing more and acting now, during an AI roundtable meeting at the Royal Castle, November 20th, 2019

“At Childhood we have a history of developing impactful online solutions to keep children safe. Our commitment in LIBRA means that we are adding technology to the toolbox needed to prevent child sexual abuse. Together with Web-IQ, The Dutch government, and other partners we want expand the use of the technology within the EU” says Paula Guillet de Monthoux, Secretary General, World Childhood Foundation. 

Following a successful proof of concept LIBRA is being launched on a larger scale in 2022 to combat child sexual abuse. During the pilot phase 2020-2021 LIBRA identified and removed tens of thousands of unknown child sexual abuse images, found new server hosts and documented the movement of how the material is hosted. The program also found millions of images of child sexual abuse on the servers of Dutch participating ICT companies and detected tens of thousands of url’s containing child sexual abuse material.   

“We all have a responsibility to protect kids and fight Child Sexual Exploitation. It is in Web-IQ’s DNA to support this fight internationally. Sparked by Her Majesty in 2019, LIBRA already provides new and objective insights. Although just a “Proof of Concept” LIBRA detected new hotspots with un-known CSAM including new victims (90% boys), LIBRA initiated the take down of tens of thousands of images and showed this can be done within GDPR and without extra resources from hotlines or LEA’s. Now together with Childhood, EOKM, Dutch Government and many others supporting LIBRA, we strive to take the next steps to make LIBRA actionable by embedding it in the international ecosystem that fights this horrific crime.” says Eldert van Wijngaarden, CEO and founder of Web-IQ. 

“The LIBRA initiative, which we have supported with knowledge and expertise in the past year, is potentially very interesting for the National Police because it offers insights on an objective and international level and also in near real time. This allows us to utilize our resources in a better and more targeted way. We are now able to see the results of our interventions much faster. In addition, in the right legal context, the acquired intelligence might be applied in ongoing investigations. The latter will be explored further with the Public Prosecution’s Office in the coming years.” says Ben van Mierlo, National Coordinator Online Child Sexual Exploitation, Netherlands National Police 

The initiative for LIBRA emerged after Web-IQ’s founder and CEO, Eldert van Wijngaarden, participated in an AI Roundtable on how artificial intelligence can help combat online child sexual abuse. The event was hosted by Childhood and Global Child Forum at the Royal Palace in Stockholm in 2019. At the meeting, the challenges of the inherent radioactivity of child sexual abuse material were discussed: since the material itself is illegal, very few stakeholders are allowed to handle it.  

Research shows that online abuse can be just as traumatic as abuse that takes place offline. Knowing that images and videos are spread and shared online creates immense suffering and re-traumatization for the children who have been abused. To stop this and to identify the perpetrators, better technical tools are required. In LIBRA, Web-IQ has provided a way to scan for child sexual abuse material without having to download or view the illegal material thus permitting more stakeholders to be proactive in the combat against child sexual abuse. 

At Childhood we know that child sexual abuse can be prevented. This why we invest in technology and urge others to support impactful online solutions to keep children safe both offline and online.

For more information, please contact:

Charles Mingo Bennström, pressansvarig, World Childhood Foundation   
+46 (0) 73-422 04 42, charles.bennstrom@childhood.org  

Saskia de Jong , Chief Social Impact Officer, Web-IQ
+31 6 12476262, saskia@web-iq.nl  

World Childhood Foundation
World Childhood Foundation works to protect children from violence and sexual abuse by providing support to local organizations that are developing new and innovative methods to help vulnerable children and families. With relatively modest investments, combined with close dialogue and support, Childhood can serve as an incubator and help new ideas and organizations to grow and become sustainable. Childhood was founded by H.M. Queen Silvia in 1999.

Web-IQ
Web-IQ is one of the world’s leading open source intelligence companies. Its origin and “driving force” is related to the fight against Online Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). Web-IQ provides open source intelligence technology, tools and data to Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) in 34 countries.

Inlägget Advancing technology to stop child sexual abuse.  dök först upp på World Childhood Foundation.

Today, we are actively working to raise awareness and prevent child sexual abuse, and to strengthen safety nets around LGBTQ youth and children and young people with disabilities – two groups that were already living in great vulnerability before the war broke out.

As a result of the grave situation that has now arisen, we have intensified our work and are in close dialogue with both current and former project partners, all of whom are under extreme stress.

Our project partners are grassroots organizations working locally with wide networks of contacts. They express great concern that sexual abuse of children will increase as a result of the war, as well as hate crimes against children who identify as LGBTQ. In addition, while our project partners continue their important work to protect children, they are currently organizing humanitarian relief efforts in their local area.

“We are in close contact and keep a line open to them around the clock. In times of crisis, you don’t know from one day to the next what things will look like. It’s incredibly important that they feel they have our full support, that we are flexible and proactive. Our commitment goes beyond the professional. It’s about being a fellow human being and giving hope,” says Susanne Drakborg, responsible for Childhood’s projects in Ukraine since 2007.

Our initial support

Our initial priority was to support our project partners on a broad front. In addition to ongoing dialogue and advice, we scaled up our financial support in two ways:

1. Crisis support to our local partners in Ukraine to ensure they can continue their important work and provide security for staff.

2. Emergency relief through our large network of grassroots organizations working locally. This can involve buying baby food, milk substitutes or blankets for local children.

Intensifying our work in Ukraine

On April 4th, Childhood’s Board of Directors decided to intensify our efforts to protect children affected by the war in Ukraine. These efforts are being implemented in Ukraine as well as in neighbouring Moldova and Poland, where we have well-established programme activities.

Our efforts are carried out with the help of our strong network of local actors that we have built up over two decades. This ensures relevance and sustainability, these people know the local needs and conditions – and they remain even if or when international interest does not. As the needs are both urgent and long-term, our financial support will be provided over time to ensure the quality and sustainability of the response.

Below, we describe how we contribute to the safety and security of children affected by war through various interventions and specialized partners:

1. Preventing the separation of children from their families
   Children who are forced to flee without their parents or are separated during their flight may end up in the hands of traffickers and trafficked or placed in orphanages. We contribute to safe places with safe adults where children can be children while their parents sort out their lives.
   
   
2. Safe family home placements for unaccompanied children
   Children who were already living in orphanages before the war broke out, as well as children who have lost their parents because of the war, need safe placements with adults who are there for them. We support the controlled placement of children, in particular by tracing relatives, keeping sibling groups together and ensuring that their rights are respected.
   
   
3. Psychological support and trauma treatment for children affected by the war
   Through chat support, support lines, support groups, mobile teams or in the Barnahus that Childhood helped establish in Poland and Moldova, children are provided with various forms of professional psychological support and treatment in their own language.
   
   
4. Providing support to refugee parents
   Traumatized parents may “lose” the ability to protect their children from other risks, such as abuse, especially in a chaotic refugee camp. Methods such as trauma-informed care help parents deal with their own trauma while supporting them to help and be safe for their children.
   
   
5. Emergency relief and protection for children and families in Ukraine – survive and stay together!
   Humanitarian aid such as food, water and diapers channelled through our network of local actors reaches children and families in the midst of war and can help them survive, stay together and evacuate. In the main, these efforts target groups that were already most vulnerable before the war, such as children in orphanages, children with disabilities and children from marginalized groups.
   
   
6. Use tech to find children and track perpetrators
   We are exploring how technological tools, developed partly by Childhood, can be used to help identify children who have been separated from their families and also to track sexual abuse material on the internet in order to raise the alarm about any increase or development.
   
   
7. Training for those who meet children
   Through training and collaboration, we can help raise awareness and knowledge among the various actors who encounter children along the entire refugee route, such as border guards, translators, social workers, volunteers or staff in emergency shelters. With care and attention to risks, such as trafficking, they know where to turn if something is not right and where the child can get help.
   
   
   

Child protection cannot wait

It is with great concern that we see how the war in Ukraine makes children easy victims of abuse, exploitation and trafficking. To ensure that aid efforts do not contribute to further trauma and risk, we need to build on three fundamental questions put together by us, SOS Children’s Villages and Erikshjälpen.
Questions to ensure the safety and protection of children 

All efforts are needed to protect children and children’s rights

Wars and disasters make children vulnerable. Families are torn apart, children are separated from their parents and the risk of abuse, exploitation and trafficking increases. Below, our founder H.M. Queen Silvia, with a message that every effort is needed to protect children and children’s rights.

Ukrainian and Russian translations are available below the greeting on YouTube or here

Our current projects in Ukraine

Since before the war broke out, we have five active projects in Ukraine focusing on:

Preventing sexual abuse of children with disabilities
Our partner Healthy Society in Odessa, works to prevent violence and sexual abuse against children with intellectual disabilities. They work directly with families through psychological and social support and education, as well as training government officials, teachers and psychologists to strengthen children’s rights to a safe upbringing.

Protecting children and young people who identify as LGBT
The LGBT Association Liga in Nikolayev, Odessa and Kiev offers various support services for children and young people who identify as LGBTQ, a particularly vulnerable group. The project also trains school staff in non-discriminatory treatment of LGBTQ youth. This project is implemented in cooperation with the Rainbow Fund.

Keeping children safe online
The International Leadership and Development Center in Kiev, runs an evidence-based project to educate school children and educators about online safety.

Safe environments and relationships for Roma children
We have been working for many years with the grassroots organization Blaho in Uzhgorod to empower and support Roma children and their families – also a particularly at-risk group due to the discrimination they face – including through school preparation activities. The project also trains other non-profit organizations working with Roma children on how to prevent violence and sexual abuse.

National work to prevent violence and sexual abuse
Our partner NGO Resouce Center in Kiev, trains civil society organizations across the country on issues related to violence and sexual abuse against children. In this way, we can detect abuse earlier and ensure that more children across Ukraine receive good care and support and dare to speak out about what they have been subjected to. Just evacuated the office from Kiev to Ternopil.

Contribute to our work in Ukraine

There are several ways to support us and our partners.

DESCRIPTION OF THE HEADER IMAGE: Children’s rights patch in Swedish. Blue: Be fair to me. Yellow: No one must hurt me

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Together, we can make a difference during these difficult times.

FOR ADULTS. Keep an extra eye on your own children and other children around you who might lack a stable family situation. Show them that you care. If you are worrried – trust your gut feeling and do not hesitate to contact the social services, school or police.

FOR CHILDREN. If you or your friends feel worried, try to talk to an adult you trust. If somebody´s hurting you, call that adult or the police straight away. And always remember: Adults are responsible for keeping children safe. Nobody is allowed to upset you und make you feel bad – at home, online or anywhere else. You are not alone and it´s never your fault.

illustration: King

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At Childhood, we are convinced that many cases of sexual abuse of children can be prevented. But what do we actually mean when we say this? Naturally, there is no 100-percent protection or simple solution for preventing the sexual abuse of children, but there is a lot we can do to reduce the risks and mitigate the consequences of abuse, such as:

Working to ensure that every child has at least one secure and loving relationship with an adult while growing up

Children who lack adult supervision, or whose caregivers are incapable of providing the comfort, security and recognition that a child needs, are at an increased risk being subjected to violence and abuse. There is also a greater risk that they might expose others to abuse or end up in violent relationships. You can be this dependable adult for your children and those of others.

Adults demonstrating in every day life that they respect children’s boundaries and integrity

If you learn at an early stage that you are worth listening to and that your boundaries are respected, there is a greater likelihood that you will be able to and have the courage to speak out and protect yourself if someone violates your physical integrity. This also increases the likelihood that a child will have the confidence to tell someone if something has happened or if someone tries to get them to do something that is against their will.

Teaching and talking to children at an early stage about integrity, about good and bad secrets, about what is acceptable for others to do to you, and what you can and cannot do to others

If children are to understand and put into words what happens to them, they need to be able to talk about the body at an early age, about which parts are private, where the boundary is for what others can do to them and what they themselves cannot do to others.

Creating safe spaces for children where they can seek support and help on their own terms

Preschools, schools, after-school care facilities, churches, etc., can be incredibly important to children as places where they can develop trusting relationships with adults other than their parents and in whom they can confide if something is not right. Online platforms that offer children the possibility to talk directly and anonymously if they feel unsafe or have ended up in a situation they are ashamed of or cannot get out of by themselves, also make a key contribution in helping children to break their silence as early as possible.

Working to counteract violence in intimate relationships or abuse in families where children are growing up

Witnessing or being subjected to violence as a child, or growing up in an environment where the adults are incapable of putting the children’s needs ahead of their own increases the risk of violence and abuse. It also gives rise to the risk that the child will contribute to a continued spiral of violence in later years.

Presenting a nuanced imaged of typical victims and perpetrators

If we hold fast to the image of the dirty old man that subjects small children to abuse using violence, we risk missing the situations that do not fit into our idea of “real abuse” (which are the majority). And if we have a too stereotypical image of who the victims might be and how they are expected to react, we risk completely missing or misinterpreting signals from children who have been abused.

Providing early and qualified support for children who are victims of violence and abuse

The risk of being sexually abused is greater for children who have already been abused once. By providing early and qualified support to the child and its relatives, this risk can be reduced. The way in which those in the child’s immediate vicinity react and act following the abuse is very important for how the child feels and develops afterwards.

Thinking about how we talk about sexual abuse in everyday life

If a child hears that rape is worse than death and that lives are destroyed forever, it can be difficult for the child to admit to themselves what has happened and even more difficult to tell others about it.

If perpetrators are described as monsters who deserve the death penalty, it can be difficult for a child to understand that what has been done by a boyfriend, stepfather or trainer, who the child has also liked, is actually sexual abuse.

If accusations of abuse are excused in the media by saying that the person abused behaved in a certain way or if too much responsibility is put on young girls not to expose themselves to risky situations, the result could be that the feelings of shame and guilt are strengthened and it becomes difficult for children to speak out.

Reacting early and intervening if children and young people commit sexual abuse against other children or display sexual behavior problems

One third of all sexual abuse of children is committed by minors. Half of all adult perpetrators committed their first abuse of a child before the age of 18 – when they themselves were children. All too often, actions are trivialized and excused when a minor has abused another child. There may be many reasons for abuse by and sexual behavior problems among children, but it is always important to react and intervene to ensure that the right support and treatment can be provided and the risk of other children being abused is reduced.of other children being abused is reduced.

Working to change social norms that say that children must always obey adults, that boys and girls are expected to behave in a certain way, or that normalize sexual harassment.  

Ensuring that professionals who meet children have the right knowledge and guidelines to be able to prevent, identify early, act and cooperate in relation to children who have been abused or risk being subjected to violence and sexual abuse.

Photo: private

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The Childhood bracelets are made of plastic beads on an elastic thread. They are manufactured in Sweden by the social enterprise Samhall. Read more about the production here.

Do you want to order a Childhood bracelet? Please contact your local Childhood office: Childhood Germany, Childhood Sweden (serves Sweden and all other countries except Germany and USA) and Childhood USA.

The colors of the Childhood beads 

Each color represent a paragraph of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

White – Article 12: Every child shall be protected from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury, abuse or exploitation.

Green –  Article 36
Every child has the right to rest, leisure and play.

Pink –  Article 36: 
Traffic in children for any purpose or in any form must be prevented.

Dark blue – Article 2: 
In all actions concerning children, the best interest of the child shall be of primary consideration.

Light rose – Article 34: 
Every child shall have the right to protection from all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse.

Red –  Article 39: 
A child victim of neglect, exploitation, abuse has the right to recovery and social reimntegration.

Yellow – Article 19: 
Every child has the right to be protected from all forms of violence and abuse.

Light blue – Article 3: 
In all actions concerning children, the best interest of the child shall be the primary consideration. 

Purple – Article 6: 
Every child has the right to life and development.

Photo: Sofia Nilsson

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Posted price lists

In their presentations on the site, they write that they don’t really know why they have posted their images here. “I was a bit curious” or “This is exciting”. Others say that they long for experience. Or that they like luxury. Many of them have posted price lists. 5-minute video with personal greeting, SEK 750. Meeting in person for one hour SEK 2,500; SEK 1,000 for every subsequent hour.

All of the images I look at are of persons claiming to be 18 – you need to be of age to register for this type of site. Many look younger and certainly are. Some of them don’t seem much older than my 11-year-old, who, right now, is playing with our kitten at home in our terraced house.

Outreach programs for young people selling sex online

My colleague Ulrikah and I are on a project visit to Alltid Sedd (EN: Always Seen), a newly formed grassroots organization that we at Childhood came into contact with at the end of last year. Alltid Sedd conducts outreach programs aimed at young people between 12 and 20 who sell sex online. Just like us, they are convinced that prostitution and sexual exploitation are often not the basic problem in their young lives, but a symptom of their suffering and/or that they are in an vulnerable life situation. But there is help available for this.

After a small investment from us at Childhood, Ulrika, the founder of the organization and its operational manager, is able to take a day off each week from her regular job to work with this. At Childhood, we hope that our investment will help the organization to develop its work and methods. The need for Alltid Sedd’s efforts is enormous and we can see this, not least this evening.

Ulrika has ten volunteers at her side. They have completed a training course on prostitution and sexual exploitation, basic techniques in Motivational Conversations, the methodology that is always the base for Alltid Sedd’s work, and knowledge of society’s support activities.

Online vulnerability increases during the autumn mid-term break

This particular week is the autumn mid-term break and staffing at Alltid Sedd is higher than usual. Online vulnerability often increases during holidays, making the presence of adults extra important.  Every evening from Monday to Friday, the volunteers move around online, ready to interact with young people at risk of sexual exploitation. They access the most popular sugar dating and prostitution sites and scan them for members who look young. They contact them, explain who they are and what they can do to help. By building up a relationship with the young people, the volunteers want to support and, as far as possible, guide them onward to appropriate support.

Trustworthy adults in forums where the exploitation of young people occurs

“This is a difficult target group to reach, but being there as trustworthy adults in the forums where sexual exploitation of young people takes place demonstrates that the adult world knows what is happening and that we are willing to listen if they want to talk. And for those who are not ready to accept support and help, it could sow a seed that may lead to them getting in touch at a later date,” says my colleague Ulrikah, who is one of Childhood’s program manager and also participating in the volunteer effort on this evening. 

“Alltid Sedd’s vision is that all young people who come into contact with them should feel seen, listened to and strengthened. At Childhood, we know how important adults are, both in preventing abuse from happening at all, but also in identifying and being there when something has already happened. By investing in Alltid Sedd’s work, we can give the organization the possibility to systematically test and document outreach work aimed at this target group.

Glorification of sugar dating attracts young people to prostitution

When the volunteering session is over, I bike home through the autumn darkness of Stockholm. My head is spinning. I feel depressed that there so many young people who appear on sugar dating sites; it felt like the images I saw this evening would never end, no matter how much I scrolled. I am also furious at the glorification of sugar dating that attracts young people to prostitution and at all of these people who apparently have no problem exploiting young people. Nonetheless, it still appears that society does not understand how widespread this exploitation is. “Imagine that there are so many young people who have price lists for their bodies and society doesn’t react,” said Ulrika at our meeting this evening. You could really give up when you think about it. Or do the opposite: Focus on the volunteers’ incredible commitment as I saw clearly this evening. And that we at Childhood, with a relatively small contribution, can hopefully make a difference to the lives of young people. This means there is actually hope.  

SUGAR DATING. The phenomenon of “sugar dating”, in which primarily older men enter into agreements with young women, exchanging money and gifts in return for companionship and, in most cases, sex, is becoming increasingly widespread. Online, sugar dating is often marketed as a gilt-edged lifestyle and a chance for a young person to meet an older person who is willing to pay for their shared vacation trips and restaurant visits. In reality, this is often prostitution in disguise.

Text: Åsa Andreasson Åkerström, photo: private

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