A total of 3,401 photo and video images of children in sexually explicit poses have been registered through the national mechanism for reporting child sexual abuse material during the first four months since its launch.
The results of the piloting of the national reporting and removal mechanism were presented during a press conference on September 12th. Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Moldova, Adrian Efros, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova, H.E. Kent D. Logsdon, Chief of the General Police Inspectorate, Viorel Cernauteanu and Executive Director of the International Centre ‘La Strada’, Elena Botezatu attended the event.
Adrian Efros, Minister of Internal Affairs stated that ‘There has been a dramatic increase in reported cases of online child sexual abuse in recent years. For this reason, this national mechanism for reporting has been created and made operational. The MIA is aligning with the international protection requirements in the online environment and aims to link various tools to ensure a safer internet for the most vulnerable part of the population, for children.’
With the operationalization of the national mechanism for reporting child sexual abuse material (CSAM), perpetrators are identified more quickly and sex offenders, whether producers or consumers of CSAM, are punished. At the same time, repeated victimisation of children through online circulation of illegal material is avoided by removing illegal material from the Internet.
Moldova became a member of the global INHOPE network in April 2023, which brings together 52 CSAM reporting services around the world. With this membership, the Republic of Moldova aims to align its national practices with European standards for the operation of sexual abuse reporting services. INHOPE provides access to a common platform for reporting, analysis, notification and removal of illegal material from the Internet. It operationalises authorities’ response and faster removal of abuse.
