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Ending online child sexual exploitation: UK leads Global Summit in London #WeProtect Children Online
Delegations from across the world will come together to make an unprecedented statement of action to end online child sexual exploitation.
Representatives from more than 50 countries, 23 leading technology companies and nine non-governmental organisations will take part in the two day #WeProtect Children Online summit, in London on Wednesday and Thursday (10/11 December).
They will agree a coordinated global response to tackle the proliferation of child sexual abuse material in circulation since the dawn of the internet, with millions of appalling images and videos available.
The delegates will agree a range of actions and unveil ground-breaking technical innovations, which will make it much more difficult for criminals who seek to exploit the almost limitless potential of the digital age to abuse children for sexual purposes.
The Home Secretary, the Director General of the National Crime Agency (NCA) Keith Bristow, the PM’s Digital Economy Adviser Joanna Shields and the Secretary-General of INTERPOL, Jürgen Stock, are all due to address the summit.
Home Secretary Theresa May said:
This government is absolutely committed to ending child sexual abuse, in whatever form it takes.
We are all appalled by the continued use of the internet to abuse and exploit children for sexual gratification and profit.
It causes indescribable harm to children and young people, whose suffering is multiplied by the continued circulation of images of their abuse online.
Governments, law enforcement agencies, technology companies and non-governmental organisations need to act together to bring these terrible crimes to an end. Just as its perpetrators act across borders and increasingly use sophisticated technology to share and collaborate, so must we to disrupt and remove these criminal acts.
The #WeProtect Global Summit on Child Sexual Exploitation marks a watershed moment in this fight and will send a clear message throughout the world. Together, we will confront it head on.
We will do everything in our power to remove illegal images of children from the internet, to identify and protect victims, and to bring abusers to justice.
The summit builds on the event last year to lead international progress in countering the horrific crimes committed against the most vulnerable victims, and ending their suffering.
