February 2023, ICMEC Report - Protecting children against sexual offences in ASEAN Member States An overview and analysis of the current legal framework for the protection of children against sexual exploitation and abuse in ASEAN Member States. Published by the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.Read More

Elieth Samara was abducted when she was just 19 days old. For 33 long hours, her mother Nayelly lived a nightmare until she was reunited with her daughter thanks to the tireless investigation of ICMEC and our allies around the globe. Watch this powerful story of heartbreak and hope. Once Elieth Samara was reported missing, ICMEC served as the on-the-ground advisor in the investigation. For 33 hours, ICMEC coordinated with dozens of partners from the U.S. Embassy, the Civil National Police, the Public Ministry in Guatemala, Alba-Keneth Alerts, and Facebook. These front-line child protection heroes acted swiftly and in coordination thanks to the training, technology and inter-agency collaboration that has been fostered for more than a decade.  While Elieth has been safely reunited with her mother, our work is not done. More than a million children like her are reported missing each year around the world – and many more are victims of abuse and exploitation. That’s why ICMEC remains dedicated to continuing our work, because one child missing, abused, or exploited is one too many.Read More

This toolkit is designed to assist medical and mental health professionals, health administrators, government officials, shelter staff, and other care providers in assessing and improving health care services available to trafficked children and adults, either on-site at their own organization, or at one or more local facilities (‘referral network’). The kit contains four sections: (1) an overview of human trafficking, (2) a service-assessment tool for determining strengths and challenges in a given facility’s medical and/or mental health care delivery, (3) guidelines for developing or improving medical and mental health services for trafficked persons, and (4) a template for organizing the names of key local and national partners and their contact information. This list will help ensure comprehensive care for trafficked persons.Read More

This groundbreaking report, often referred to as ICMEC's Rule of Law project, analyzes child sexual abuse material (CSAM) legislation in 196 countries around the world, and offers a “menu” of concepts to be considered when drafting anti-CSAM legislation. First released in April 2006, the report is currently in its 9^th edition. The latest edition's findings show that since inception 150 countries have refined or implemented new anti-CSAM legislation, 140 countries criminalize simple CSAM possession, 125 countries define CSAM, and only 32 countries require ISP reporting of suspected CSAM. For a brief overview of the 9^th edition click here.Read More

(ICMEC) The purpose of this paper is to define and analyze sexual extortion and nonconsensual pornography as they impact children, as well as to better understand obstacles to prevention, policy intervention, and prosecution. This paper, framed with a global perspective, also presents effective, model legislative responses and highlights global efforts that are readily adaptable by individual countries to combat the growing number of cases of children who are exploited via sexual extortion and the nonconsensual sharing of intimate images.Read More

(ICMEC, HCCH) This is the fourth research study to look into the operation of the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. This study concerns all applications received by Central Authorities in 2015 and will use the findings of previous studies of 1999, 2003 and 2008 to provide an analysis of statistical trends over a 16-year period.Read More

(ICMEC, HCCH) This is the fourth research study to look into the operation of the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. This study concerns all applications received by Central Authorities in 2015 and will use the findings of previous studies of 1999, 2003 and 2008 to provide an analysis of statistical trends over a 16-year period.Read More

(ICMEC, HCCH) This is the fourth research study to look into the operation of the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. This study concerns all applications received by Central Authorities in 2015 and will use the findings of previous studies of 1999, 2003 and 2008 to provide an analysis of statistical trends over a 16-year period. (This is a provisional edition, pending the completion of the French version.)Read More

(World Health Organization) These clinical guidelines are aimed at helping frontline health workers, primarily from low resource settings, in providing evidence-based, quality, trauma-informed care to survivors. The guidelines emphasize the importance of promoting safety, offering choices and respecting the wishes and autonomy of children and adolescents. They cover recommendations for post-rape care and mental health; and approaches to minimizing distress in the process of taking medical history, conducting examination and documenting findings.Read More

(ICMEC) Prompted by the increasing number of cases of online grooming of children and relative lack of awareness of the growing issue, this original report analyzes legislation related to the online grooming of children for sexual purposes in 196 countries around the world. The report includes sections regarding definitions; offenses; and sanctions and sentencing, followed by an overview of related regional and international law, a discussion of implementation and good initiatives, and a global review of country-specific legislation that evaluates national legislation against 5 core criteria.Read More

(ECPAT International) The Terminology Guidelines for the protection of children from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse ("Luxembourg Guidelines") are a tool guiding child protection professionals all over the world in their choice of words. Adopted by large consensus by the Interagency Working Group (IWG), composed of major international child protection agencies, they contribute to a more coherent, but also a more adequate and child-centered terminology in the work against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. To respond to the needs expressed by child protection professionals, and make sure that the Luxembourg Guidelines can be a useful tool for professionals at all levels, ECPAT International developed this Handbook to facilitate the translation and adaptation of the Luxembourg Guidelines into other languages.

(United Nations) This glossary aims at compiling existing terminology and nomenclature related to sexual exploitation and abuse to provide conceptual clarity and a common understanding of key terms used by different United Nations entities in the discourse on this topic.Read More

(ICMEC) This paper examines several cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, and the Blockchain architecture that supports them.  It provides a summary of the underground and illicit uses of the currencies, as well as ramifications for law enforcement and industry.  Read More

(Children’s Charities’ Coalition on Internet Safety, ICMEC) This report describes the impact of the Internet on the production and distribution of child pornography. It makes a number of suggestions about how states can join in the global fight against this vile misuse of cyber-space. In particular, the report presents a range of legal measures which Commonwealth Member States might consider adopting and it sets them in the context of wider initiatives designed to make the Internet a safer place for children and young people the world over. The primary audience for the toolkit is the Commonwealth but it is hoped that it might be of interest to a wider range of countries and professionals with an interest in child protection. This is the third edition of the toolkit. It updates the second edition, published in 2012.Read More

(UNODC) This Case Digest arose from a need the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) identified among practitioners who fight trafficking, to be given tools to address typical evidential problems which arise in trafficking cases. Therefore, the Case Digest aims first and foremost to assist criminal justice practitioners worldwide in addressing the evidential issues typical to trafficking cases, under the assumption that there are particular issues which recur and are central to the success or failure of cases. It aims to equip these practitioners with an arsenal of possible creative solutions that have been tried and tested elsewhere in actual cases before courts. It is hoped that by using these tools, practitioners will be inspired to think “outside the box” when encountering problems related to evidential issues in human trafficking cases.Read More

(ICMEC) Developed as a supplement to Child Pornography: Model Legislation & Global Review, this unique review looks at whether the 161 countries having anti-child pornography legislation in place as of the release of the 8^th Edition of the Model Legislation report are taking steps to support their national legislation. ICMEC assessed implementation efforts using a menu of concepts – 7 benchmarks – that represent well-rounded national responses. The report contains a detailed explanation of the benchmarks along with country-specific information.Read More

(ICMEC) The purpose of the Photo Distribution Framework is to explain the role a photo distribution strategy plays in engaging stakeholders, including media and the public, in the search for a missing child, and to clarify the difference between a photo distribution system and a rapid emergency child alert system. Distributing a missing child's photo along with key information about him or her can significantly increase the chances of a child's safe recovery.Read More

(AMBER Alert Europe) This document is intended to guide an investigators thought process to enable them to reach a reasonable judgement about the risk of harm present in any missing person case.Read More

(ICMEC, UNICEF) The primary objective of these guidelines is to determine whether laws and policies exist in Latin America that address prevention, reporting mechanisms, tools, and specialized units for the investigation and prosecution of crimes related to online child sexual abuse and exploitation through the review of the regulatory frameworks in each country. The guidelines are intended to be used by relevant stakeholders including law enforcement, investigators, prosecutors, judges, and governmental and non-governmental organizations seeking to promote reform in legislation and in their fields of action, as well as to advocate for the development and reform of policies concerning prevention, victim assistance, and investigation of production, sale, distribution, and possession of child sexual abuse material.Read More

(ICMEC) This report was undertaken within the scope of a grant from the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Embassy in Moscow, with a focus on the issues of missing and exploited children. This report reviews current legislation, policies, and best practices related to missing children in six countries: Belarus, Canada, Finland, Kazakhstan, Russia, and the United States. While not representative of a single region, ICMEC reviewed legislation, policies, and practices in Russia and the United States (per the terms of the grant) along with a sampling of countries nearby to each, including post-Soviet countries and others, in an effort to review a variety of approaches and possible scenarios. The report contains country-specific information – including legislation, policies, and practices – along with a gap analysis and recommendations for developing and strengthening existing mechanisms in each of these countries.Read More

(ICMEC, AMBER Alert Europe) This 14-point framework for implementing rapid emergency child alert systems is to be used in conjunction with other protocols and procedures designed to support the rapid recovery of missing children.Read More

(ROCIT) This brochure aims to share information on how Internet resources can help lost children to find their way home, and how the adults who are searching for them can use digital tools to help recover the lost child quickly.Read More

(ROCIT) Basic recommendations for what to do in case a child goes missing, and tips to help prevent children from going missing, are useful to any parent – even those who do not believe that their child could ever be affected.Read More

(Allen & Overy) This report was prepared in connection with the proposed establishment of the Asia-Pacific Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography.Read More

(ROCIT) In recent years, the theme of digital safety for children has become more urgent, and has led to the active organization of outreach activities to raise awareness regarding dangerous Internet content and to promote prevention of Internet-based threats. Secondary educational institutions, clubs for children and teenagers, cultural institutions, as well as the Internet, and in some cases, can all be utilized to this end and may provide a more systematic approach/framework/structure to the activities. Often organizers are hindered by a lack of information and a clear understanding of what should be discussed at such events. This guide is designed specifically for those cases in which professionals, who wish to engage in outreach/awareness work focused on digital content safety for children and adolescents, must first obtain a basic understanding of the problem and its characteristics in order to determine the further selection of specific materials and literature. The guide addresses the primary types of Internet content that pose threats to children along with basic steps to stop the circulation of these types of content.Read More

(ICMEC) This report, the second in the series, reviews current legislation, policies, and best practices related to missing children in ten Southeast Asian countries, as determined by their membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (also referred to as Lao PDR or Laos), Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. This report contains a regional review and country-specific information – including legislation, policies, and practices – along with a gap analysis and regional recommendations for developing and strengthening existing mechanisms concerning missing and abducted children in Southeast Asia.Read More

(UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office) This report provides a benchmark of Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Member States’ current efforts to effectively and comprehensively address child sexual abuse and exploitation, both online and offline.Read More

(ECPAT, Terminology and Semantics Interagency Working Group on Sexual Exploitation of Children) The purpose of this document is to provide all individuals and agencies working for the prevention and elimination of all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children with guidance for the understanding and use of the different terms and concepts they may encounter in their work.  Read More

(Missing Children Europe) Safeguarding Unaccompanied Migrant Minors from Going Missing by Identifying Best Practices and Training Actors on Interagency Cooperation (SUMMIT) launched in October 2014 within the European Union. The objective of the SUMMIT project is to reduce the number of unaccompanied children who go missing. The project addresses how disappearances of  unaccompanied children are addressed in different EU Member States, and promotes successful strategies and behaviors related to prevention and response.Read More

(ICMEC, ROCIT) Learn more about how smartphones can help when a child is lost.Read More