WeProtect Global Alliance stands behind Global Ministerial Conference on Violence Against Children

WeProtect Global Alliance is proud to be supporting a series of events to accelerate and deliver a transformative global shift on child protection over the next six months.

The inaugural Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children – which will take place 7-8 November 2024 in Bogotá, Colombia –  will bring together global leaders, policymakers and activists to address violence against children. The conference is hosted by the Governments of Colombia and Sweden in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the United Nations Special Representative to the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children (SRSG VAC).

As violence continues to threaten the futures of one billion boys and girls worldwide, WeProtect Global Alliance will be reinforcing the importance creating a safer digital world for children.  

Before the Bogotá conference, the Alliance will be hosting – together with Safe Online and other partners – a side event focussed on ‘Safe Digital Futures for Children’ to highlight the digital challenges children face, foster cross-sector dialogue and secure political commitments for change. This will include calls for more investment for child-centric, safety by design driven solutions and support for other responses to reduce online harms globally.

On 17 July 2024, to mark 100 days until the Bogotá conference, the Alliance is also co-hosting an event at UK Parliament with partners Together for Girls, Brave Movement and Safe Online to raise awareness among policymakers about the key issues and responses needed to protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse online.

As the Alliance’s latest Global Threat Assessment shows, the prevalence of online exploitation and abuse continues to grow each year and new threats emerge, WeProtect Global Alliance Executive Director Iain Drennan stressed the need to build ongoing momentum for coordinated global action.

We have the potential to fundamentally change the world’s response to violence against children. Sexual exploitation and abuse of children online is growing at an alarming rate. We are facing a tsunami of threats to children as perpetrators find new ways to use technology to exploit and abuse children.

Iain Drennan, WeProtect Global Alliance Executive Director

“The crimes being committed transcend borders and are occurring across countries. This is the new frontier in violence against children and we need urgent, global and coordinated action to tackle it.  We stand behind global efforts to ensure every child can learn, play and explore the world safely – including the digital world,” he said.