Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
The Duchess of Edinburgh arrived in Brussels on Wednesday for a two-day visit to highlight the importance of preventing child sexual exploitation and abuse online and in person.
Warning that the world is already “far behind the curve” in preventing online exploitation, Sophie didn’t mince words in an impassioned keynote speech calling for those gathered at an event co-hosted by the European Parliament Intergroup on Children’s Rights to “redouble your efforts in prioritising [children’s] safety and well-being so that they are empowered to learn, to play, to grow and to thrive in our world.”
At the event, Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse: Global Action to Combat a Global Crime, Sophie spoke to European officials, technology leaders, and policymakers about how Generative-AI is being used to exploit children online while the internet is exposing them to harmful images, groomers, and other sensitive materials that can harm them.
“The Global Child Safety Institute…estimates that over 300 million children have been affected by online child sexual exploitation and abuse in the last year,” Sophie said. “I am going to say that again–300 million children.”
She added that while child sexual exploitation is also happening offline, the unique ways of the online world mean that greater regulations and care are needed to protect children and that the tech industry is in a “uniquely powerful position to promote positive change” but “as I just mentioned, it will take a collective effort by all, including Governments, technology companies, regulators and legislators, civil society and law enforcement to make it happen.”
Sophie was accompanied by Jess Phillips, the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Girls and Women at the event, and attended in her capacity as patron of both the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and Plan International UK.
Following the event, Sophie attended a panel discussion on the global response to online child sexual exploitation and later attended a reception for guests.
On Thursday, Buckingham Palace shared that Sophie will take part in a roundtable discussion on how to protect young people online as technology changes, how to incorporate the voices and knowledge of victims and survivors when tackling the issue, and the shared responsibility across society to find solutions to this issue.