Ahead of the Day for the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse marked on 18 November, Council of Europe Secretary General, Alain Berset, emphasised the importance of gathering data from diverse sources - including education and healthcare sectors, helplines, child protection services, civil society organisations, and children themselves. This data is crucial to shape better policies, hold perpetrators accountable and prevent sexual abuse.
"To be effective, our actions to protect children and stop offenders must be based on evidence," the Secretary General stressed. "Many States still collect only basic criminal justice data or fail to use it adequately. Facts and figures must not sit idle in reports, they must reach policy makers and inform their work to make children safe. Data collection is a good first step, and a worthy investment".
Findings from a recent report by the Lanzarote Committee on data collection mechanisms highlight the importance of drawing on data sources beyond criminal statistics. Many sexual offences against children go unreported. Addressing this information gathering gap requires input from many actors. Child protection services, multidisciplinary structures for child victims and witnesses (such as Barnahus), educators, and health professionals can collect valuable information to help better understand the nature and causes of child sexual abuse and exploitation and identify effective responses.
Children are the end beneficiaries of policies designed to protect them, and they can provide crucial insights into the risks they face, realities on the ground, and what approaches work or fail. Collaborating with civil society organisations engaged in child protection can greatly enhance the quality of the data collected. Putting in place a hub for data gathered by national and local actors can further improve coordination. To make this a reality, all the data collection points should agree on standardised methods for classifying their data, to avoid duplication and inconsistencies.
Strengthening data collection mechanisms in Lanzarote Convention State Parties is the key theme of the capacity-building conference in Chișinău organised on 18 November to mark the Day. This is the first large-scale event organised under the Moldovan Presidency of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers.
The objectives of the Day for the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse launched by the Council of Europe in 2015 are to raise awareness, and to facilitate open discussion about child sexual exploitation and abuse to put an end to the stigmatisation of victims and survivors.
Data collection mechanisms on child sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (3 July 2025)
Day for the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse
Moldovan Presidency of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers
