AT A GLANCE
- From 2019 to 2020, cases of online child sexual exploitation rose by more than 140 per cent across El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
- To respond to this increase, the vice presidents of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras have signed a groundbreaking tri-national agreement to protect children from online sexual exploitation and abuse.
- This agreement was facilitated by the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC), who will now work cooperatively with the anti-human trafficking units in all three countries to combat online child sexual exploitation and abuse.
El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras pledge to work together to protect children online
The vice presidents of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras have signed a groundbreaking tri-national agreement to protect children from online sexual exploitation and abuse. This agreement was facilitated by the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC), who will now work cooperatively with the anti-human trafficking units in all three countries to combat online child sexual exploitation and abuse.
“With this agreement, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras take a significant step forward together in the fight to protect children from online sexual exploitation and abuse,” said Robert Cunningham, CEO and President of ICMEC. “By working hand-in-hand with national leaders, criminal justice professionals, and industry, we can improve the safety and health of children in each country and throughout the entire region.”
With this agreement, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras take a significant step forward together.
From 2019 to 2020, cases of online child sexual exploitation rose by more than 140 per cent across El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, making international collaboration more important now than ever before. Through this agreement, ICMEC will boost the capacity of police, prosecutors and judiciary members in each country by providing trainings, holding workshops, and creating procedures to facilitate the adoption of new technology to detect and respond to online child sexual abuse material. The agreement also enables ICMEC to support the development of specialized online child sexual exploitation units in each country.
We hope other governments will follow suit, and actively ensure their country’s digital platforms, products and services are safe for children.
“The End Violence Partnership is thrilled to hear about this monumental agreement – and applauds the Governments of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras for prioritizing collaboration to protect children online,” said Marija Manojlovic, Director of the End Violence Partnership’s Safe Online initiative. “We hope other governments will follow suit, and actively ensure their country’s digital platforms, products and services are safe for children – and inhospitable to child sexual abuse material.”
More on ICMEC & the End Violence Partnership
ICMEC is a grantee of the End Violence Partnership. Through the Partnership’s support, ICMEC joined forces with Child Helpline International to promote enhanced, end-to-end support for children who have experienced online child sexual exploitation and abuse.
This joint project, which was implemented from March 2018 to December 2020, built the capacity of local partners in Jordan, Kenya, Peru, the Philippines and Tanzania to help improve children’s online safety in those countries. Since its inception, the End Violence Partnership has invested $47 million in 55 projects to prevent and eliminate online child sexual exploitation and abuse, the reach of which has now spread to over 70 countries.
Learn more about how we’re keeping children Safe Online with and through our partners.
Photo: UNICEF/UN017602/Ueslei Marcelino
