Protect Children

🗨️ “I have met some extremely strong parents. We have given each other an incredible amount of support.” 🫂 Protect Children has piloted the You are Enough™ peer support groups for parents and caregivers of victims of #OCSEA in Finland and Ireland. 💚 Thank you participating parents for sharing your experiences and wisdom and thank you CARI (Children At Risk in Ireland) & Barnahus West/Tusla - Child and Family Agency for taking part in the pilot! 🙌 The evaluation demonstrated that parental peer support improved the wellbeing of both parents and their children. It also revealed: 🔔 The child victim’s symptoms closely mirror the parent's own symptoms of trauma which highlights the importance of support being offered to the whole family. 🔗 Link to the evaluation summary in the comments below. #2KNOW project is funded by the European Commission.

🌍 Working together to address some of the biggest challenges in tackling child sexual abuse (#CSA). 🔒 Our Executive Director Nina Vaaranen-Valkonen joined the Virtual Global Taskforce group meeting that works to deliver innovative, global strategies to tackle all crimes of sexual violence against children. 📗 In the meeting, Nina Vaaranen-Valkonen shared invaluable for law enforcement insights from our #EUFunded #2KNOW project research, including: 🚧 Motivations, facilitators, situational factors, and barriers to online child sexual abuse offending. 🔔 Severe trauma symptoms related to #OCSEA and aligning between the child & parent symptoms. #Collaboration is crucial when responding to a growing global threat of child sexual abuse. 💚 Thank you to Ofcom for kindly hosting this important event! Let's #ProtectChilden together!

📣 #WordsMatter! When discussing child sexual abuse and exploitation (#CSA), the vocabulary must be respectful of victims and survivors, and should not diminish the severity of the crime. 📖 Inaccurate or inappropriate terms can harm victims and survivors by reinforcing stigma, leading to inadequate legal responses, and discouraging help-seeking. ❗ Terms, such as ‘pornography’, imply consent, while ‘child sexual abuse material’ (#CSAM) highlights the abusive nature of the depicted content. 💚 Protect Children advocates for clear consistency in the use of terminology that describes sexual violence against children to meet the best interests of the child. 📝 Read more about the importance of the correct terminology in our new blog post! Link in the comments.

📣 #WordsMatter! When discussing child sexual abuse and exploitation (#CSA), the vocabulary must be respectful of victims and survivors, and should not diminish the severity of the crime. 📖 Inaccurate or inappropriate terms can harm victims and survivors by reinforcing stigma, leading to inadequate legal responses, and discouraging help-seeking. ❗ Terms, such as ‘pornography’, imply consent, while ‘child sexual abuse material’ (#CSAM) highlights the abusive nature of the depicted content. 💚 Protect Children advocates for clear consistency in the use of terminology that describes sexual violence against children to meet the best interests of the child. 📝 Read more about the importance of the correct terminology in our new blog post! Link in the comments.

💬 “My expectations for the group and its impact on my wellbeing were hopeful, but as a form of support, the group turned out to be even more important than the other therapies I have had. Peer support and the facilitators’ knowledge were invaluable help that couldn't be found elsewhere." - A parent participating in a #YouAreEnough peer-support group for parents and caregivers whose child has fallen victim to #OCSEA. We are working to provide the care and support that families need when experiencing child sexual abuse and exploitation 💚 👉 Read more about the peer-support groups and valuable insights from parents: https://lnkd.in/dMq2DVkF Project #2KNOW is funded by the European Commission.

🙋♀️ Are you fluent in Arabic and interested in contributing to our work to protect children from all forms of sexual violence? Join us on our mission to create safer environments for all children! 🌍 📚 Protect Children is calling for a volunteer to translate our educational materials into Arabic. We produce materials for children, young people, families, and professionals to teach digital safety, emotional regulation, and other crucial skills for keeping children safe in their everyday activities. By contributing to our work, You can help protect children and promote the rights of the child. 📝 For more information, please contact us through our Protect Children Volunteer Inquiry which can be found from our website: 🔗 link in the comments. 💚 Let’s work together to #ProtectChildren!

🚧 What do child sexual abuse material offenders say about barriers to offending? 🔎 In order to #protectchildren before the harm is done, we need to learn more about the offenders and ways to prevent crimes they commit. 📗 Our recent research presents analysis of the invaluable data collected directly from anonymous #CSAM offenders in the #darkweb. It provides insights into motivations, facilitators situational factors, and barriers to #OCSAE, including interventions and deterrence messaging and illegality and security. 🙌 Learn more in our latest article on the 2PS Project website: https://lnkd.in/dpybtrTg

🔔 Are you interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the experiences of families who have been affected by sexual violence against their child? Join us on the 14th of November, for the #2KNOW training session “Using trauma-informed approach when working with parents and caregivers of children who have fallen victims to online sexual violence”. In this session, specialist from Protect Children will present insights into what they have learnt from the You Are Enough™ peer support groups that have been facilitated in Finland and Ireland. 📅 Thursday 14 November 2024 ⏰ 9:30 am - 12:30 pm CET 👉 Register here: https://lnkd.in/dNHynE8A This training is part of the #2KNOW project, funded by the EU, which aims to improve data collection and support for child victims of sexual abuse. Project partners include Protect Children, University of Eastern Finland, and the Council of the Baltic Sea States.

📢 To Share or Not to Share? - Let’s break the silence around child sexual abuse (#CSA). 🍃 Talking about child sexual abuse is not comfortable but absolutely necessary. 🗣 When disseminating the Global ‘#OurVoice’ Survivor Survey, we noticed that religious communities and other value-based organisations were unwilling or reluctant to share it. ❓ Ask yourself; who benefits from the silence? 🙌 Child sexual abuse can occur anywhere. It is time for organisations to step up, break the silence, and stand with victims and survivors! 🤝Some organisations, like Scouting America, have taken that step. Make the right choice - Share! Read the blog post ‘To Share or Not to Share’ on our website. U.S. Center for SafeSport Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport / Centre canadien pour l’éthique dans le sport World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) Asociación Scout de Colombia Scouts de España (ASDE) The Global Our Voice Survivor Survey is supported by the #JusticeInitiative.

🚀 Are you interested in gaining insights into the behaviour and patterns of online child sexual abuse offenders? Join us tomorrow, 23 October, for the #2KNOW training session “Understanding Online Child Sexual Abuse Offenders”, where we will present detailed findings and practical applications to enhance understanding and prevention of online child sexual abuse. 📅 Wednesday 23 October 2024 ⏰ 9:30 am - 12:30 pm CEST 📍 Zoom Online Meeting 👉 Register here: https://lnkd.in/dyJRhrJn 🔵 This training is part of the 2KNOW project, funded by the European Commission, and led by Protect Children in partnership with Council of the Baltic Sea States & University of Eastern Finland. #ProtectChildren #ChildProtection #EndCSAE #EndCSAM