On October 10-11, 2024, at the National Institute of Justice was organized the thematic school on "Preventing and combating online sexual exploitation and abuse of children". The training sessions were attended by judges, prosecutors, criminal investigation officers and representatives of the General Directorate for the Protection of Children's Rights of the Chisinau municipality.
In their greetings, the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau, Falk Lange, the Head of the training and research Department of the National Institute of Justice, Ecaterina Popa, and the State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Daniella Misail-Nichitin, emphasized the responsibility of the legal system in protecting the most vulnerable members of society and the necessity to provide professionals with the knowledge and tools to combat this phenomenon efficiently.
The training program, delivered by experts Victoria Baines and Arina Turcan, covered a wide range of key topics, including criminal and procedural law issues, criminal investigation and prosecution, as well as the protection, in criminal proceedings, of the child witness or victim of online sexual exploitation and abuse. Particular attention was given to inter-institutional cooperation and reference mechanisms to ensure an integrated and efficient approach to case management, with full support to victims, including to avoid re-victimization.
The autumn school was organized by the National Institute of Justice in partnership with the Council of Europe project "End Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse @Europe Plus (EndOCSEA@Europe+)".
