WePROTECT Global Alliance Membership,

I am writing to formally mark the relaunch of the WePROTECT Global Alliance, which will tomorrow transition out from the UK Government to become a self-sufficient international institution.

I am extremely proud of all that the Alliance has achieved in its mission to tackle the horrific crime of online child sexual exploitation, supported by funding through the UK Home Office and its dedicated and expansive membership. Among its many accomplishments, the Alliance has:

• Hosted four international summits to unite senior figures and global experts from across governments, technology companies and civil society organisations. These monumental events took place in: London (2014), Abu Dhabi (2015; co-hosted with the Government of the United Arab Emirates), Sweden (2018; co-hosted with the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children and the Government of Sweden) and Addis Ababa (2019; co-hosted with the African Union and the UK Government);
• Produced a Model National Response to serve as a blueprint for delivering a coordinated national response to end online child sexual exploitation;
• Launched two Global Threat Assessments (2018 and 2019) to provide expert insight into the nature and scale of the threat and help bring this crime out of the shadows;
• Developed a Global Strategic Response framework to guide a coordinated global response across governments, industry and civil society organisations; and
• Delivered a Hackathon in 2018, with support from Microsoft, to develop a new tool to tackle online grooming.

These activities could not have been achieved without the wholehearted commitment of the Alliance’s membership to take robust action against online child sexual exploitation. For that, I thank you.

The Alliance’s membership currently consists of 97 countries, 27 global technology companies, 30 leading non-governmental organisations and eight regional organisations. This is greatly encouraging, and I am confident this strength and breadth will help ensure the Alliance’s future success.

More broadly, the Alliance will continue to ensure senior decision-makers take action, including through empowering children and survivors; it will work with you to become the definitive source of knowledge on the threat and response to this crime; and it will forge new networks and drive collaboration to deliver a global response. These strategic aims will be supported by a refreshed set of membership commitments, which I urge you to endorse to support our collective effort to tackle online child sexual exploitation.

I have no doubt that the Alliance will continue to move from strength to strength in these pursuits, and it has the full support of the UK Government in all its future endeavours. I am pleased that the UK will continue to play a strong in the Alliance through its role on the WePROTECT Global Alliance Board.

Once again, I would like to thank you, the WePROTECT Global Alliance membership, for your ongoing commitment to this truly global initiative that works so hard to keep our children safe in the digital world.

I look forward to our continued collaboration. 

Victoria Atkins MP

Minister for Safeguarding