Protection of children against crime

In combating childrens victimization, one should never forget that despite the rapid growth of the digital sphere, still the vast majority of cases of childrens victimization still occur within the childs circle of trust and mostly in the childs own household. Therefore, there is a necessity for enhancing the framework of provisions targeting at preventing childrens victimization inside and around its family.

AMBER Alert Europe Foundation, European Centre for Missing Children, welcomes the European Commission's initiative to strengthen the protection of children against crime. Drawing on over a decade of expertise, the Foundation is glad to submit the following three practical recommendations. 1. Prioritize prevention and early detection.

As Europe's largest centre dedicated to finding, assessing and securing the removal of online child sexual abuse material (CSAM), the Internet Watch Foundation sees first-hand the scale and evolution of CSA online. In 2025, IWF analysts actioned more than 311,000 reports confirmed to contain or lead to CSAM. 63% of the URLs actioned were hosted in the EU. The nature of online CSA is changing.

CYCJ welcomes the recognition that children may be harmed by crime, recruited into crime, exploited through crime, or come into contact with justice systems due to behaviour shaped by coercion, grooming, control, fear, unmet need, exclusion or constrained choice.

INTERPOL Crimes Against Children (CAC) Unit's mandate is to support Member Countries Law Enforcement efforts to detect, investigate and combat Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (CSEA). In line with the findings and lessons-learned through the implementation of our programme, we are submitting the following insights: Coordination and cooperation to prevent and combat crime against children: 1.

The Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME) represents national medical associations across Europe. We are committed to contributing the medical professions point of view to EU and European policy-making through pro-active cooperation on a wide range of health and healthcare related issues. Children across the EU face a serious risk of falling victim to crime or being recruited into crime, online and offline.

The European Forum for Restorative Justice (EFRJ) welcomes the European Commissions initiative to develop an EU Action Plan on the Protection of Children against Crime. We support the Action Plans focus on prevention, protection and support for child victims, responses to child perpetrators, and child-centred multidisciplinary cooperation.

Terre des Hommes Netherlands works to protect children by combating child exploitation. We believe it is crucial for the EU Internal Security Strategy to be child centered and to adequately tackle evolving threats, including child sexual abuse online.

UNICEF welcomes the EU Action Plan and recommends that it be firmly grounded in a child rights-based, child protection systems-strengthening approach, recognizing children first and foremost as rights holders, whether they are victims, witnesses, or in conflict with the law.

Save the Children - the worlds first and leading independent child rights organisation, running in more than 100 countries across the globe- works to support all children to realise their rights in all contexts. Save the Children members and offices in Europe have years of experience in programming and advocacy on child rights in the digital environment.

Please find attached the contribution of the General Secretariat for Vulnerable Persons and Institutional Protection of the Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum to the Call for Evidence on the forthcoming Action Plan on the Protection of Children against Crime.

Contribution to the Call for Evidence Action Plan on the Protection of Children Against Crime Point de Contact welcomes the European Commissions initiative to develop an Action Plan on the Protection of Children Against Crime and wishes to contribute evidence gathered through its operational and research activities.

As the EU agency for gender equality, we welcome the Commissions initiative to develop an Action Plan on the Protection of Children against Crime. The Action Plan responds to the need for a more coherent and coordinated EU-level approach to improve the protection of children from crime in the EU, encompassing both online and offline dimensions.

Child Helpline International (CHI) is the global network of over 150 child helplines in more than 130 countries, including all 27 EU Member States. We echo other experts' observation of a rise in the use of social media and gaming platforms to recruit children into criminal activities accelerated by AI expansion, weakened content moderation, and end-to-end encryption.

The attached submission was prepared by the Office of the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (OSR/CTHB) in response to the European Commissions consultation on the EU Action Plan on the Protection of Children against Crime, encompassing both online and offline spaces.

Victim Support Europe (VSE), representing its members, argues that the protection of children from crime should be approached through a child-centred, victims rights and risk reduction framework. It highlights the need to address both online and offline victimisation, including sexual abuse and exploitation, grooming, cybercrime, hate crime, trafficking, recruitment into criminal activity and emerging AI-enabled…

An anti-crime strategy against children should take into account the multifaceted nature of the phenomenon, as well as the growing wave of peer violence, which is also taking place (albeit not only) in the online environment, and its escalation may even lead to the child committing a criminal act against the child.

Filed in Polish · English published by the European Commission

The European Down Syndrome Association (EDSA) welcomes the EU Action plan on the protection of children against crime, believing that children need to be protected from being victim and being recruited to crime. This applies, especially, to vulnerable groups, including those who have a disability, like people with down syndrome.

The Fundación Márgenes y Vínculos has more than 25 years of experience in preventing violence and providing specialized child protection in Spain, based on a rights-based approach and a focus on the best interests of the child.

To protect children, more prevention should be done in schools, educational films should be made and campaigns should be organized to talk about these crimes. The state / here I am referring to Bulgaria / should allocate more resources to protect vulnerable groups such as children. I believe that not enough work is being done in this direction and funds are not being allocated for this.

MCE strongly welcomes and fully supports the European Commissions initiative to develop an Action Plan on the protection of children against crime. This initiative reflects an important and timely recognition that childrens safety requires a comprehensive, multidisciplinary and cross-border response, one that addresses both online and offline threats within a coherent EU policy framework.

World Vision Romania welcomes the European Commission's initiative to develop an EU Action Plan on the Protection of Children against Crime. As an organisation working with vulnerable children, families and communities in Romania, we support a child-centred, prevention-oriented and rights-based approach addressing both online and offline risks.

The Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the European Commissions call for evidence for an action plan on the protection of children against crime. The attached submission argues that the action plan must explicitly apply to all children regardless of residence status.

In 2025, although overall levels of child trafficking victims were low, cases of recruitment by criminal groups/organisations of vulnerable young people in juvenile centres were detected. An example of interest this year is the use of minors to bring drugs from Morocco to Spain using the ‘turning over’ method, launching drug packages above the land border perimeter between the two countries in the north of the…

Filed in Spanish · English published by the European Commission

Christian Council International welcomes this opportunity to provide input for this call for evidence related to the Action Plan on the protection of children against crime. In the attached document, we address the role of pornography in relation to child-centred action, the inclusivity of these actions in relation to the family, and the diversity of the Plan in relation to the different Member States.

We welcome the European Commissions initiative to develop an EU Action Plan on Protecting Children Against Crime. As a Safer Internet Centre (SIC), we observe that criminal actors increasingly exploit digital environments to target, groom, manipulate, and recruit children into criminal activities.

The International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network (IPPF EN) welcomes the EU Action Plan to better protect children against crime in the physical and digital worlds, and urges the European Commission to place comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) at its heart as a primary prevention measure.

The future EU Action Plan on the protection of children against crime can complement existing EU policies and instruments by addressing practical gaps in crime prevention, early risk identification, inter-agency response, childrens access to justice and support.

In Hungary, children are increasingly exposed to various forms of crime and exploitation, both online and offline. While digital technologies provide valuable opportunities for learning and social connection, they also expose children to risks such as online grooming, cyberbullying, sexual exploitation, fraud, and recruitment into criminal activities.

Payoke vzw is a Belgian specialised centre for victims of trafficking and aggravated smuggling. We support victims, including minors and unaccompanied minors. This input focuses on one urgent gap: the lack of specialised, safe and trauma-informed accommodation for minor victims and presumed victims of trafficking.

Children affected by crime must be treated first and foremost as children and rights-holders. The Action Plan should recognise that children may come into contact with crime in different ways: as victims, witnesses, alleged offenders, perpetrators, or often as both victims and perpetrators.

Part 4 of the Children Act 2001 provides the statutory basis for the Garda Youth Diversion Programme which intends to divert children, aged 12-17 years old, who have engaged in criminal or anti-social behaviour away from the Criminal Justice system and towards more positive pro-social behaviour and life choices.

The German Digital Opportunities Foundation welcomes the European Commissions initiative on protecting children and to develop an action plan to better protect children against crime in the physical and digital worlds.

The Swedish Civil Society Platform against Human Trafficking, albeit small in its employees, consists of 25 different NGO's all concerned with combatting human trafficking and supporting victms, ranging from small local organisations providing shelter and support to victims of trafficking in local areas, to large, often international organisations, such as The Salvation Army, and Caritas, as well as organisations…

Across the EU, children are at high risk of being victims of crime or of being recruited to commit crimes, online and offline. As announced in ProtectEU, the European Internal Security Strategy, the EU will develop an action plan to better protect children from crime in the physical and digital world.

Filed in Italian · English published by the European Commission

ACT is a policy trade association for the small business technology developer community. Our members are entrepreneurs, innovators, and independent developers within the global app ecosystem that engage with verticals across every industry.

As the largest child rights organisation in Denmark and as member of the Commissions Network for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse, we are pleased to contribute to this call for evidence. Drawing on insights from our frontline service TalkToUs, this submission focuses on preventing sexual abuse committed by children and young people against their peers. We are part of the Save the Children global movement.

The Norwegian Directorate of Health welcomes the European Commissions initiative to develop an EU Action Plan on protecting children against crime. We support the recognition that children may be both victims and perpetrators, frequently affected by overlapping vulnerabilities linked to health, social conditions and exposure to violence.

The LDH alerts the Commission to: — the development of trafficking in minors for the purpose of committing an offence and particularly in the field of drug trafficking; repeated failure to comply with the principle of non-punishment for trafficking in minors; — the inadequacy of the protective framework applicable to minor victims.

Filed in French · English published by the European Commission

The Centre against Child and Human Trafficking (CKM), Spine and Keerpunt (Turning Point) from the Netherlands would like to stress the relevance of addressing child criminal exploitation, a form of trafficking in human beings. If victimhood of criminal exploitation is not recognized, they are likely to be prosecuted as perpetrators of the crimes they were forced to commit.

The Spanish Ministry of Equality is developing a major comprehensive legislative project against trafficking and exploitation of human beings. Taking into account the particularities of this crime when committed against minors, it has made it necessary to introduce additional safeguards both in raising awareness and preventing the crime, and in the processes of detecting, identifying and assisting victims, which…

Filed in Spanish · English published by the European Commission

Given the latest discussions at trilogues level,EuroISPA would like to reiterate its key positions on the proposed Regulation laying down rules to prevent and combat child sexual abuse (CSAM Regulation) that could be extrapolated to other points to the Action Plan on protecting children against crime.

Foreningen Custorian is an independent, non-commercial Danish non-profit neither platform nor vendor, with no commercial dependency on the platforms this plan will regulate. We maintain an open, auditable child-safety-by-design standard already on the CEN/CENELEC pathway, run a daily registry of online harms to children, and build the detection-and-intervention research behind it.

Key Considerations for Prevention and Response to Protecting children against crime Enhanced cooperation and intelligence-sharing among national and international stakeholders, including Safer Internet Centres, helplines, hotlines, child protection organisations, researchers, law enforcement agencies, educational institutions, and industry partners; More systematic and proactive monitoring of emerging trends…

Submission to the European Commission's Action Plan on the Protection of Children Against Crime Respondent: Stiftelsen 1000 Möjligheter (NGO, Sweden). Operating the national support line ungarelationer.se and the specialized center Ellencentret. Note: Please see our attached PDF document for the comprehensive report, supporting national data, and detailed policy frameworks. 1.

Submission to the European Commission's Call for Evidence Action plan on the protection of children against crime Ref. Ares(2026)5537780 Submitted by: Innocence in Danger international network for the protection of children against sexual violence, exploitation and trafficking Addressed to: DG Migration and Home Affairs, Unit D.4 Innocence in Danger has worked to protect children from sexual violence, exploitation…

The development of digital technologies offers children important opportunities for learning and communication, but also exposes them to increased risks. Children from disadvantaged families or vulnerable backgrounds are exposed to even greater risks due to limited access to digital education, reduced supervision and lack of support resources.

Giving Users Control Over AI Content. To reduce digital stress from AI-generated misinformation and deepfakes, the European Commission should, building on AI Act Article 50 labelling obligations entering into force in August 2026, require Very Large Online Platforms and Search Engines to offer a prominent "AI authenticity control", for example as a simple on/off toggle in their recommender settings by mid-2027.

Thank you very much for your message and for your encouragement regarding the submission to the European Commission call for evidence. I would highly appreciate your support in the process of creating the account required for submission. As this is my first time engaging with this platform, your guidance would be extremely helpful to ensure that everything is completed correctly.

I welcome the European Commission’s initiative to develop an action plan for the protection of children against crime. In my view, the added value of the European Union lies not only in strengthening prevention or awareness-raising, but also in improving legal and operational coherence between Member States. Crime against children has become increasingly hybrid.

Filed in French · English published by the European Commission

The Heated Community Hub Community for Damage Reduction (HCH) welcomes the European Commission’s call for an EU Action Plan on protecting children from crime. HCH is an independent, non-profit Italian association focused on public health, consumer protection, youth protection, legality and evidence-based policies. Protecting children requires an integrated reading of online and offline risks.

Filed in Italian · English published by the European Commission

In order to effectively address crime prevention and child protection, it is imperative to confront the following critical systemic issues: Deficiencies in Social Protection: The widespread lack of adequate social safety nets for vulnerable children. Socio-Economic Deprivation: Severe poverty impacting millions of families across Europe.

Eftychia G Maniaki Juvenile Probation Officer Head of Probation Service of Agrinio- Ministry of Justice Greece Although most European countries, through existing legislation, have promoted child-friendly justice, the juvenile delinquency is increasing rapidly. This should concern legislators and political leaders. What is not being done right. What is going wrong.