The Child Sexual Abuse Crisis is escalating: Leaders must act now to protect children

We are witnessing an unprecedented Child Sexual Abuse Crisis and we can't afford to delay action. Members of the European Parliament have a chance to end this crisis by supporting effective EU legislation to combat child sexual abuse.

While the European Parliament paused for summer recess, there was no respite for children as the Child Sexual Abuse Crisis continued to escalate. Horrendous stories of children being sexually abused online persisted, including a trial in the Netherlands of two men accused of watching the sexual abuse of Filipino children via livestream. As EU decision makers now return, we call on the new leadership to urgently pass regulation to save children from sexual violence online. 

Ongoing delays in the passing of EU legislation mean that children remain vulnerable to violence, exploitation, coercion and abuse from predators online. Not only is this abuse becoming more widespread, but it is also more violent and affects very young children and babies: 98% of the children featured in child sexual abuse imagery are under 13. The horror of these abuses is also escalating: there has been a 22% increase in the most violent child sexual abuse content since 2022. 

This escalating crisis is enabled by social media platforms and the emergence of new technologies. Research published over the summer found that the use of AI to generate child sexual abuse images is increasing and becoming more realistic and violent. One third of images fall into the most severe and violent category of child sexual abuse material. The first AI generated videos of child sexual abuse are now in circulation. 

Children are being left to fend for themselves against these increasingly complex forms of child sexual abuse online, and report feeling left alone in ensuring their safety online. The EU is failing to hold companies accountable for tackling child sexual abuse on their platforms. In the past 2 years, while EU leaders have deliberated on the details of legislation to combat child sexual abuse online, 200 MILLION images or videos which feature a child being sexually abused have been reported. This delay has enabled perpetrators to engage unrestricted in the sexual abuse of children online. 

The ECLAG coalition of over 60 NGOs across Europe is urging EU leaders to take decisive action and pass a robust Child Sexual Abuse Regulation that protects children online. As part of these efforts ECLAG is hosting a roundtable with MEPs in Strasbourg on September 17th to highlight the scale of the Child Sexual Abuse Crisis and call for action.