WeProtect Global Alliance Newsletter 21/11/23

Posted on 22 November 2023

WeProtect Global Alliance Newsletter Last month, our flagship Global Threat Assessment was published, highlighting how child sexual abuse online is escalating worldwide, in both scale and methods. The report has attracted worldwide media coverage on the increase in reports, emerging threats around AI and ‘sextortion’, as well as supporting our calls for Safety by Design, child-centred approaches and a greater focus on prevention. At the same time, we also published the #MyVoiceMySafety report on children’s perceptions of online harm and a report on Parents’ perceptions of their children’s exposure to sexual harms online. In this newsletter, you’ll also find updates on some great initiatives led by our members, including a new signal sharing platform launched by the Tech Coalition, and we welcome the Council of Europe as the latest member of WeProtect Global Alliance. Scroll down to read more. OPPORTUNITIES Have your say and shape your membership experience If you haven’t already had your say, we’d love to hear your views on being an Alliance member and your priorities for the future. Our last survey in 2021 was crucial in shaping our work and making sure we continue to best meet your needs. Our 2023 membership survey is now open and will close on 30 November. We look forward to your responses and further tailoring our efforts to your needs over the next two years Take the survey Updating terminology in the Luxembourg Guidelines – Childlight Global Child Safety Institute, ECPAT International, WeProtect Global Alliance and Safe Online are conducting a global survey to help guide our efforts in identifying and updating terminology about the sexual violence, abuse and exploitation of children, including online.   We are seeking the input of those working in the field including child protection professionals, researchers, legal professionals, law enforcement, health and justice professionals, policymakers, non-governmental organisations and others with views on the use of terms to describe sexual violence, abuse and exploitation of children including online.   The survey takes 15-20 minutes and closes on 8 December.   If you have already received this email from another source please only complete the survey once. Survey responses will remain anonymous.   If you have any questions about the survey, please contact James Stevenson at Childlight at [email protected]. KEY SPEAKING EVENTS Highlighting child safety risks globally We’ve had a busy few weeks highlighting child safety risks in global forums as we work to highlight emerging threats and opportunities to join together to tackle increasing reports. Our Executive Director Iain recently spoke at the Paris Peace Forum, taking part in a panel discussion ‘Stepping up Child Safety Online’, sharing key insights from our recent  Global Threat Assessment report and how we can protect children from emerging threats. He also joined the Global Cybersecurity Forum in Riyadh where he took part in a session ‘Safe Surfing: Understanding Child Online Activity’, sharing insights on the latest trends and issues on child sexual abuse online. Our Head of Policy, Advocacy and Research Shailey Hingorani took part in the #Data4Change event in Paris to build a comprehensive data ecosystem to prevent online exploitation and abuse. The event was hosted together with partner Safe Online and The French Laboratory to Protect Children Online   In October, Shailey spoke about the dangers of AI-generated child sexual abuse imagery at an event organised by the UK Home Office and Internet Watch Foundation in the run-up to the UK Government’s AI Safety Summit. The Summit also saw the Alliance sign a joint statement as part of wider international cooperation, resolving to sustain the dialogue and technical innovation around tackling child sexual abuse in the age of AI.   Our Chief Operating Officer Eleanor Munif travelled to Nauru to represent WeProtect Global Alliance at the Pacific Islands Law Officers’ Network and talk about the Alliance opportunities to work with Pacific nations. OUR LATEST RESOURCES Global Threat Assessment 2023 – Our latest report highlighting new and emerging risks to online child sexual exploitation and abuse was published last month. It calls for governments, online service providers, civil society organisations, and all responders to urgently: adopt a public health approach to prevent child sexual abuse onlinecentre children’s rights and perspectives in the responsealign legislation globally to keep children safe online. #MyVoiceMySafety report – This report draws on a global poll to better understand children’s perceptions of online safety and explore whether these match their experiences. The report highlights real gaps in how safe children feel online. The report was produced together with the UN Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children. Parents’ perceptions of their children’s exposure to online sexual harms – Together with Economist Impact, we recently surveyed more than 1,000 parents/guardians of children under the age of 18 across eight countries in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. The results show how children are engaging with their parents to stay safer online and the changes that parents believe need to occur to protect children against child sexual exploitation and abuse online. Amongst the findings, parents felt the biggest obstacle in supporting their children when they experience online sexual harm was children not recognising that their experience is harmful. One in two parents did not think social media and gaming platforms are doing enough to keep children safe online. MEMBER SPOTLIGHT The Council of Europe joins WeProtect Global Alliance – We recently welcomed the Council of Europe as our latest member of WeProtect Global Alliance. Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić said: “It is crucial to join forces globally to ensure children’s protection against sexual violence worldwide. I am glad to announce that our organisation has joined WeProtect Global Alliance“. The Council joins over 250 existing Alliance members from governments, intergovernmental organisations, the private sector and civil society.   COUNCIL OF EUROPE Strengthening the fight against online child exploitation: a call for action – In this opinion piece, John Tanagho, Executive Director at the International Justice Mission’s Center to End Online Sexual Exploitation of Children, presents some of the main findings and recommendations from the latest Scale of Harm study.   INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE MISSION Mojang Studios and GamerSafer launch the official Minecraft server list – With hundreds of thousands of servers to choose from, this new official Minecraft server list site – FindMCServer.com – helps parents find communities where their kids will have positive Minecraft experiences through a hub promoting servers committed to safety, security and enjoyable gaming experiences.   GAMERSAFER, MICROSOFT New Lantern initiative launched – Recently launched by the Tech Coalition, Lantern is the first cross-platform programme to help companies securely and responsibly share signals about activity and accounts that violate their policies against child sexual exploitation and abuse.   TECH COALITION OFCOM consultation: Protecting people from illegal harms online – As the regulator of the new UK online safety legislation, Ofcom has set out plans for implementation of the new legislation including rules for services, and guides for online safety risk assessments and online safety codes of practice. The first of four major consultations was also launched, focussed on proposals for how internet services that enable the sharing of user-generated content (‘user-to-user services’) and search services should approach their new duties relating to illegal content.   OFCOM US call for proposals – digital harm symposium –  Next year, USAID will host its second symposium in February 2024 to highlight global voices and local solutions for reducing online harms to young people. Proposals for sessions are now open.