At a glance

• The End Violence Partnership has commissioned two new projects for a total of $3 million to tackle online child sexual abuse in Cambodia and Colombia.
• Through these new investments, we will support UNICEF Cambodia and Red PaPaz in Colombia to strengthen Safe Online National Centres, nationally owned and operated spaces for countries to prevent, detect and respond to online child sexual abuse.

The End Violence Partnership invests $3 million in two new projects to protect children online in Cambodia and Colombia

The End Violence Partnership has commissioned two new projects for a total of $3 million to tackle online child sexual abuse in Cambodia and Colombia. Through these new investments, we will support UNICEF Cambodia and Red PaPaz in Colombia to strengthen Safe Online National Centres, nationally owned and operated spaces for countries to prevent, detect and respond to online child sexual abuse.

“We have found that one of the biggest barriers to tackling online child sexual exploitation and abuse is an imbalance in country-level capacity, ability to adopt technology solutions, and a lack of international and cross-sector collaboration,” said Marija Manojlovic, Director of the Safe Online initiative at the End Violence Partnership. “These two projects aim to close that gap in Cambodia and Colombia by increasing those countries’ capacity to respond and prevent online child sexual exploitation.”

The two new projects will build on existing good practices and test new approaches, tools and strategies to strengthen capacity at the country level. To do so, each project will strengthen national capacity to:

• Support victims by detecting, reporting and removing child sexual abuse material, locating perpetrators, and identifying and rescuing child victims;
• Prevent grooming by detecting warning signs on digital platforms and teaching children to recognize potential threats, as well as detect and disrupt live streaming through advanced technology tools; and
• Identify actual and potential sex offenders – and provide referral and support services – to prevent child abuse before it happens.

“Red PaPaz is very proud to be able to develop the first Spanish-speaking Safer Internet Centre in Latin America,” said Carolina Piñeros, the CEO of Red PaPaz. “With the adaptation of new technological tools, we will be able to empower Colombian authorities to prevent child exploitation and abuse in digital environments and ensure children’s protection across the country.”

With these two new projects, the End Violence Partnership has now invested $47 million in 55 initiatives to keep children safe online, reaching over 70 countries across the world since 2017. After reflecting on four years of investments in projects across the world, the Safe Online initiative undertook a series of consultations with key informants – including grantees, partners and donors in the space – to propose a tailored investment specifically targeted to build on the learnings to date.

Cambodia and Colombia were selected based on previous successful investments from the End Violence Partnership and other key players in the safe online space, along with their status as Pathfinding Countries, membership of the WeProtect Global Alliance, and potential for regional leadership on the issue. Red PaPaz in Colombia is also a former Safe Online grantee.

“With children spending more time than ever before online during the COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF remains firmly committed to supporting the Government of Cambodia to ensure children can enjoy all of the social and educational benefits of the internet while being protected from the increasing risk of online exploitation and abuse,” said Foroogh Foyouzat, the Country Representative of UNICEF Cambodia.

Click the links to learn more about these projects in Cambodia and Colombia, and explore our work to end online child sexual exploitation and abuse across the world through our Safe Online initiative.

Photo: UNICEF/UNI358638/Cristofoletti