ECPAT
As the only organisation in Sweden, ECPAT runs ECPAT Hotline, a web page where people anonymously can report suspected sexual exploitation of children. ECPAT Hotline also takes down the exploitative images and videos of children from the Internet and works preventively to distribute knowledge to children, adolescents and parents.
The rapid increase of documented sexual assaults that ECPAT have seen in recent years continues. At the same time, new technology means that they can delete an increased amount of images and videos that display abuse from the internet, and thus contribute to reduced suffering for the victimized children.
The public can anonymously report all forms of sexual exploitation of children to the ECPAT Hotline. The purpose is to find the children who have been abused and ensure that they receive help. Another important task is to remove the exploitative material from the web, because as long as the pictures or videos are spread, the abuse continues. ECPAT analysts review all tips and report those that can be classified as sexual exploitation of children. In relevant cases, the material is sent to the Swedish police, a hotline in another country and/or to Interpol. Between October and December 2021, ECPAT received 1462 tips, of which 800 were classified as sexually exploitative material of children, and on Swedish servers.
The large amount of documented sexual abuse that is available online also requires ECPAT to actively search for pictures and videos. With the help of modern technology, ECPAT can detect and take down much larger quantities. In 2021, ECPAT made 916,541 assessments in Arachnid (a web crawler) on sexually exploited material of children.
ECPAT Hotline gives ECPAT unique knowledge, knowledge that they translate into reports, which in turn become important tools for, among others, police officers, decision-makers and adults in children’s everyday lives.
With the support of H.M. Queen Silvia’s Foundation – Care about the Children, ECPAT can expand the Hotline with more human resources. This means that they can take down a larger amount of material that reduces the suffering of each individual child.