Disrupting Harm Conversations with Young Survivors About Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

Disrupting Harm is a large-scale research project generating unique insights on how online child sexual exploitation and abuse is manifesting in 13 countries and providing tailored roadmaps for countries to strengthen their prevention and response systems. The findings from the first phase of Disrupting Harm are out now and provide crucial insights on online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA), the gaps in existing systems at country level and highlight key recommendations for governments and other stakeholders on tackling online CSEA. In early 2019, the Safe Online Initiative at End Violence Partnership invested $7 million to develop Disrupting Harm, a ground-breaking and innovative research project that aims to better understand how digital technology facilitates the sexual exploitation and abuse of children. The Partnership brought together and funded three global organisations – ECPAT International, INTERPOL and the UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti – to undertake new research in 13 countries across Eastern and Southern Africa and Southeast Asia. This type of high-quality research and assessment is new and unique in that it uses a multi-sector approach and the specific expertise of these three global agencies and their local partners. Additionally, the scalable methodology of DH enables countries to compare results, identify national differences and global similarities, to help policymakers and practitioners understand how this problem needs to be tackled in-country and internationally. The success of the first phase of the project has led to a renewed $7 million commitment in 2022 and expansion in 11 countries across 3 new regions.