Child photos on the net: working together to prevent sexual abuse
On the occasion of the European Day on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse ("European Day Against the Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Children") on November 18, the complaint bodies of the Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle Multimedia-Diensteanbieter (FSM), eco - Verband Internetwirtschaft (the operators of the portal internet-beschwerdestelle.de) and jugendschutz.net point out a responsible handling of photos of children and an awareness of possible risks.
While depictions of sexual acts by, on or in front of children - so-called child pornography - are internationally outlawed, depictions within the so-called gray zone, such as erotic posing or everyday depictions in sexualizing contexts, are only prohibited in a few countries. For an effective fight against all forms of sexual exploitation of children, a reflective approach to photos of children and an awareness of possible risks are therefore indispensable. Even if parents, friends and relatives are primarily responsible for this, it is important that service providers are also sensitized.
To raise awareness, the complaints offices and jugendschutz.net are involved in various information activities in social networks as part of the day of action and provide expert advice on the topic, for example in aFAQwhich answers key questions for educators and pedagogical staff on the topic of everyday photos of children on the Internet.
The "European Day Against the Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Children" was initiated by the Council of Europe in 2015 and calls on people and institutions in European member states to take action online and offline against the sexual abuse of children. Interested parties who would like to support the day with their own web activities can find all the information they need at a glancehere.
The participating Internet hotlines internet-beschwerdestelle.de (run by eco and FSM) and jugendschutz.net are partners of the German Safer Internet Center (saferinternet.de), which is financially supported by the European Union under the Connecting Europe Facility. The German Safer Internet Center also includes the klicksafe initiative and the advice helpline Nummer gegen Kummer.