Outcome of the third meeting of the Steering Committee of the Council of Europe Project to EndOCSEA@Europe

The third Steering Committee of the Council of Europe Project to End Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse@Europe ((EndOCSEA@Europe) was held online to discuss the impact of COVID-19. It was organised by Council of Europe Children’s Rights Division, the Cybercrime Office in Bucharest (C-PROC) and the Fund to End Violence Against Children 

The meeting discussed and acknowledged the challenges faced by national bodies to prevent  and prosecute Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (OCSEA) during the lockdown; adequacy of information available on the rise and risk of OCSEA cases during the lockdown ; the measures taken to support vulnerable children such as children with disabilities; the best practices, reporting mechanisms and measures taken to mitigate OCSEA and increase capacity of the cyber police.

During the meeting it was discussed to engage with the  the Executive Secretary to Committee to the Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (the Lanzarote Convention),  who have sent out a questionnaire to their members on the impact of COVID-19 on the protection of OCSEA.