EU Online Child Safety: What does the literature say?

The purpose of this review is to introduce both the research and political context of the European Commission’s ISEC Illegal Use of the Internet work programme and the EU Online Child Safety investigation. This includes examining the social, psychological and legal contexts of online crimes perpetrated against children, inclusive of a holistic engagement with the relevant policy, legislation and law enforcement procedures within the European Union. The primary aim of this study is to explore the prevalence of online childhood sexual abuse (online CSA) including the production, distribution and collection of childhood indecent images, online grooming and elements of ‘sexting’ from the perspective of law enforcement and industry. The study covers four European countries and their associated practices: UK, Netherlands, Italy and Ireland, all of which will provide a comparative perspective of cross-cultural procedures and processes in law enforcement, industry practice and victimisation. This paper will address a summary of the key findings from the scoping phase covering all elements of the criminal justice process. Specifically, key summaries and themes emerging from the literature consulted are presented and recommendations are made for progress and as indicators for the project as it develops.