The Hague 2025

Young Visions of Peace and Security

FEMM II

Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality II

Stamp it out: In a research by Eurostat it showed that in 2023 alone, there were 1.3 million reports of child sexual abuse, and the EU continues to rank highest in the world for hosting images and videos of child sexual abuse. With technological advances enabling the monetisation of child abuse and increasing the difficulty/decreasing the chance of prosecution/discovery, how can the EU respond to end child sexual abuse and protect children affected?
Bilge Çilingir (TR)

WARNING: This topic will mention child sexual abuse. This topic can be upsetting to some people. We advise you to think critically if this would be upsetting to engage with deeply. Note that your wellbeing during the event matters more to us than where you can contribute the most, so let that lead you.

Executive Summary

Sexual abuse of a child, as acknowledged in the Convention of the Rights of the Child1, is a violation of their most basic human rights. Regardless, an estimated amount of 18 million children2 have suffered from sexual abuse before turning 18. The cycle of abuse continues, and despite existing preventative measures, is even on the rise3; revealing the need for a different course of action to take. In 2023, research by Eurostat found there were 1.3 million reports of child sexual abuse in Europe.highlighting the urgence of the matter. 

Once occurred, this abuse also has ranging lifelong effects on victims of the abuse, from post-traumatic stress disorder to anxiety, depression and sexual behaviour4 in some cases and the sexual abuse accounts for 15% to 45% of this variance.5 The abuse can possibly change and distort their perception of the world and create feelings of mistrust, fear and betrayal.6 The long term effects also depend on the experience and frequency of exposure.

Online child sexual abuse and exploitation is increasingly prevalent, both in terms of scale and severity, data from the Internet Watch Foundation found that online Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) have increased by 83% since 2014, when records began.7 In 2020, 86% of CSAM found online was traced back to Europe.8 These materials are content; photographs, videos or computer-generated images depicting a minor in a sexually explicit manner. The distribution has advanced with technology as well. Once distributed through direct exchanges among networks, illegal storefronts or mail services,9 this content can be easily accessed online; one study10 found that CSAM can be accessed in just three clicks. Behind every case, is a child who is being subjected to abuse, the EU must do more to protect and safeguard children both online and offline. 

Table Of Contents
  1. Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality II
  2. Executive Summary
  3. Introduction
  4. Fundamental Challenges
  5. Key Stakeholders
  6. Measures in place
  7. Outlook 

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Introduction

Child sexual abuse is defined as any sexual act between an adult and a minor, or between two minors when one exerts power the other; forcing, coercing or persuading a child to engage in any type of sexual act. Therefore, it also includes non-contact acts such as exhibitionism, exposure to pornography, voyeurism and communication in a sexual manner through any medium. Consent shall11 be clearly and freely communicated by parties that are free, conscious and legally above the age of consent. As we can tell from the description we now have, children can not give consent and therefore any sexual engagement with any minor is an act of exploitation and abuse.

Article 34 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child12 states that ‘‘Parties undertake to protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse.’’. As clear as this appears to be, it is not always possible to track the sexual exploitation of children or the material produced by it. 

Most cases of child sexual abuse begin through a phase called ‘‘grooming’’. During this time, the perpetrator builds the ground for the abuse; gains trust and compliance while establishing secrecy and silence to avoid disclosure.13 It can occur both in person or online. Children being groomed may believe a special relationship exists between themselves and the groomer, experiencing confusion over the nature of the relationship. This sexual exploitation also could happen under circumstances where the child is given something in return for the action,14 like a gift or could be a result of blackmailing the victim, also known as sextortion.15

Despite measures taken, the EU still hosts the most CSAM in the world, with 59% of the16 child sexual abuse reports being traced to hosting services in the EU. Online sexual abuse of children is increasing in terms of scale17 while simultaneously targeting younger children,18 more obscure and severe.19

There are three main ways that abusers interact with CSAM: production, seeking or viewing, and finally sharing and storing. While there are legal measures to prevent the production and distribution of CSAM, the rising number of CSA cases demonstrates the insufficiency of current measures.

The creation and distribution of CSAM relies on the demand for it. As the world wide web brought us an easy way to access any content we wish, it has facilitated the access to CSAM as well. What was once distributed discreetly,20 through direct engagements is now within reach of three clicks.21 This has also increased the ability of abusers to monetise and profit from CSAM,22 making it a lucrative industry 

Three-quarters of online CSAM falls under the category of ‘self-generated’ content. This is any content created by and featuring children, and is often shared by children themselves, often a result of online grooming and sextortion; and is rarely intentionally created by minors.23 Children’s rights groups have critiqued this terminology as being misleading, as abused children are not responsible for the abuse they go through.24 However, there is no alternative to this term yet. 

There is widespread public support25 to mandate online service providers to proactively detect and remove CSAM online. According to the Eurobarometer, 87% of Europeans26 indicate clear support for the detection of online child sexual abuse in messages such as e-mails and chat and 83% in end-to-end encrypted messages in case of significant risk of child sexual abuse. This public support toward ending CSA alongside the existing measures brings us to the question: Why does it remain such an urgent problem still? 

Fundamental Challenges

Empowering children to recognise and speak up against abuse

There are several challenges to combatting child sexual abuse and material produced by it. Firstly, it all begins with the abuser. In between 70% and 85% of the cases, the abuser is known to the child. Children can have trouble recognising abuse, especially younger children. For example, they may believe the abuser is also a child, or may have developed trust with the abuser. One-third of children never tell anyone, either due to a fear of consequences -such as this incident’s impact on their lives or future- or not being believed.27 They may also not know who to contact, or who they can safely speak to.28 This enables abusers to continue acting with impunity. Finding ways to improve children’s awareness of the dangers of online child sexual abuse, alongside improving the reporting and victim support mechanics to foster trust are significant to combat these challenges.

Ever-changing technological environments

Another major challenge regarding child sexual abuse is the monetisation of CSAM which has been enabled by the internet. Today’s advanced technology enables perpetrators to make profit out of CSAM, selling the materials they produce by abusing children, often through harder to track channels such as anonymous transactions or via the dark web. The increased accessibility of CSAM also fuels the demand for it, contributing to the cycle of abuse and content production. This does not only end with the material created with actual minors. With new advancements in Artificial Intelligence, AI-generated CSAM have become rife, again fuelling demand for CSAM, whilst deepfake videos are also being produced simply through a few pictures posted online.29 At the same time, AI can also be used to help detect CSAM, demonstrating both the opportunities and threats created by technological advancements.30

Detection and removal of CSAM

A further challenge lies within the lack of effective detection and removal mechanisms. Despite the existing legal measures, the rapid evolution of technology and encryption makes it more difficult for the authorities to monitor and remove illegal content. Abusers often benefit from modern encryption systems such as end-to-end encryption.31 Whilst this is often praised for providing safe and private communication channels, it makes CSAM harder to track and report in internal communication channels of technological companies, making it harder to detect and take action. Balancing privacy concerns and the detection of CSAM deepens this conflict too. 

Given the internet does not have borders, to ensure the detection and removal of CSAM, it is integral for countries to collaborate and communicate to form a global response to CSAM, in order to protect children across the globe.32

Key Stakeholders

The European Commission is guided by the principles set out in the UN Convention on the rights of the child, ratified by all EU Member States. All EU policies that have an impact on children must be designed in line with the best interests of the child. Through measures such as the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child, the commission seeks to prevent and combat all forms of violence against children. 

The Council of Europe calls on member states to develop comprehensive policies to fulfil the rights of all children without any discrimination, to increase efforts to prevent and combat all forms of violence against children, to strengthen justice systems so that they are compliant with the rights of children, and to increase opportunities for children to be responsible and resilient members of the digital society.

Europol works to combat and prevent all forms of serious international and organised crime, cybercrime and terrorism. Their European Cybercrime centre provides assistance and expertise to combat distribution of CSAM through any online environment while tackling behaviour such as grooming, self-generated indecent material, sexual extortion and live-streaming on the web.

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) was set up in 1996 by the internet industry, the IWF works in partnership with the internet and tech industries, global law enforcement, governments, the education sector, charities, non-profit organisations and the public around the world. This organisation seeks to minimise, disrupt and stop availability of the child sexual abuse images hosted anywhere in the world.

 World Health Organisation (WHO) is a specialised agency of the United Nations for promoting and coordinating international health. This organisation plays a crucial role in prevention of CSA, addressing the issue within the broader context of child protection and public health. It works in different ways to promote prevention such as raising awareness or promoting novel policies.

Inter-governmental organisations such as End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT), WeProtect, and The International Association of Internet Hotlines (INHOPE) seek to bring together international governments and charities to combat online child sexual abuse. 

Measures in place

Article 3(3) of the Treaty on European Union33 establishes the objective for the EU to promote the protection of the rights of the child. This is reinforced by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU,34 which guarantees the protection of the rights of the child by the EU institutions and by EU countries. This is supported by the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child establishes the right of the child to be protected from all forms of violence EU Strategy on the rights of the child, which commits the EU to the strengthening of child participation, prevention and combating of CSA and the enhancement of global child protection efforts.

The Lanzarote Convention,35 also known as The Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse requires criminalisation of any sexual offence against children. It urges the states in Europe and beyond to adopt specific legislation and take preventative measures toward sexual violence, protect child victims and prosecute perpetrators.

The EU Network for Children’s Rights36 is a network aiming to reinforce the dialogue and mutual learning between the EU and Member States on children’s rights. The commission committed to establishing the network following the adoption of EU Strategy on the rights of the child and was launched in 2022.

In 2022, the Commission proposed a Regulation on preventing and combatting the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children to require online services providers to detect and report child sexual abuse material and grooming.37 This new legislation aims to help EU countries detect and report child sexual abuse online, prevent it from taking place and support victims of child sexual abuse. 

In 2024, the European Commission introduced a proposal to strengthen child sexual abuse laws by broadening definitions of offence; including AI-generated material, enhancing prosecution and victim support while also extending reporting periods, ensuring financial compensation, and mandating preventive measures and assistance programmes.38 The regulation is currently being negotiated by the Council and the European Parliament. 

In the interim, temporary regulation has been extended until 2026, that allows for the voluntary detection, by internet platforms, of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online, through an exemption to EU privacy rules. The voluntary nature of this regulation, and the absence of a permanent legal framework means that tech companies’ approaches to detection have been inconsistent, making it difficult to assess the impact of the current law.39

Member States have different approaches to preventing and detecting CSA. For example, several member states, such as Latvia and Czechia, have set up new departments for investigating crimes related to child sexual abuse online, and creating central reporting for child sexual abuse online.40 

Outlook 

The world is changing constantly, so do the methods of online children sexual abuse. Whilst the EU is in the process of responding to the current dangers facing children, CSAM production and distribution is continuing to rise, leaving more and more children at harm. Urgent action is needed to ensure the safety and rights of children in Europe and across the world. 

  • What could be done to ensure legislation keeps up with the ever-changing technological advancements?
  • What is missing in the existing legislation regarding the protection of children from online sexual abuse, how could loopholes be pointed out?
  • How can we empower children to use the internet safely and speak up against abuse
  • How could such material be detected and removed by authorities while balancing the right to privacy and the need to protect children from abuse?

FOOTNOTES

  1. United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (1989). Convention on the Rights of the Child. Link ↩︎
  2. World Health Organisation (2006). Preventing Child Maltreatment: A guide to taking action and generating evidence. Link ↩︎
  3. Eurochild (2024). The Child Sexual Abuse Crisis is Escalating: Leaders Must Act Now to Protect Children. Link ↩︎
  4. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (2017). Effects of Child Sexual Abuse ↩︎
  5. American Psychology Association (1993). Impact of Sexual Abuse on Children: A review and synthesis of recent empirical studies. Link ↩︎
  6. Bravehearts (2022). What Is Grooming? Link ↩︎
  7. Internet Watch Foundation (2025). Call for Prime Minister to Intervene as IWF Uncovers Record Levels of Online Child Sexual Abuse. Link ↩︎
  8. Euractive (2022). Europe is the world’s largest host of child pornography, advocacy group says. Link ↩︎
  9. WeProtect (2024) Child sexual abuse material. Link ↩︎
  10. WeProtect (2024) Child sexual abuse material. Link ↩︎
  11. RAINN (2017). What Consent Looks Like? Link ↩︎
  12. United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (1989). Convention on the Rights of the Child. Link ↩︎
  13. Bravehearts (2023). What is grooming? Link ↩︎
  14. Surrey Police (2024). Child sexual exploitation. Link ↩︎
  15. MissingKids accessed in January 2025. Sextortion. Link ↩︎
  16. Internet Watch Foundation (2023). EU still hosts the most child sexual abuse material in the world. Link ↩︎
  17. Internet Watch Foundation (2023). Analysis by severity. Link ↩︎
  18. Internet Watch Foundation (2023) Annual report. Link ↩︎
  19. Internet Watch Foundation (2023). Analysis by severity. Link ↩︎
  20. WeProtect (2024). Child sexual abuse material. Link ↩︎
  21. WeProtect (2024). Child sexual abuse material. Link ↩︎
  22. European Commission (2024.) Protecting children from sexual abuse. Link ↩︎
  23. INHOPE (2022). What is self-generated CSAM? Link ↩︎
  24. Internet Watch Foundation (2024). ‘Self-generated’ child sexual abuse. Link ↩︎
  25. ECPAT (2023). Breaking: EU Citizens Show Overwhelming Support for Child Safety Online. Link ↩︎
  26. Eurobarometer (2022). Protection of children against online sexual abuse. Link ↩︎
  27. Council of Europe (2021). Stop child sexual abuse in sport. Link ↩︎
  28. Council of Europe (2021). Stop child sexual abuse in sport. Link ↩︎
  29. Internet Watch Foundation (2023). How AI is being abused to create child sexual abuse imagery. Link ↩︎
  30. UK Government (2023). Joint Statement: Tackling child sexual abuse in the age of Artificial Intelligence. Link ↩︎
  31. RUSI (2024). Child Sexual Abuse: Shining Light on a Growing Online Threat. Link ↩︎
  32. Internet Watch Foundation (2024). UK & US Unite to Tackle Online Child Sexual Abuse & Exploitation. Link ↩︎
  33. European Commission (2021). EU Action on the Rights of the Child. Link ↩︎
  34. European Commission (2021). EU Action on the Rights of the Child. Link ↩︎
  35. Council of Europe (2010). Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse. Link ↩︎
  36. European Commission (2023). The EU Network for Children’s Rights. Link ↩︎
  37. European Council (2022). Prevention of online child sexual abuse. Link ↩︎
  38. Eucrim (2024). Enhanced Criminal Law Rules to Combat Child Sexual Abuse. Link ↩︎
  39. European Interest (2024) Child sexual abuse online: current rules extended until April 2026. Link ↩︎
  40. European Commission (2023) Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and
    the Council on the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2021/1232 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 July 2021 on a temporary derogation from certain provisions of Directive 2002/58/EC as regards the use of technologies by providers of number-independent interpersonal communications services for the processing of personal and other data for the purpose of combating online child sexual abuse. Link ↩︎