INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
ONLINE
SEXUAL
EXPLOITATION
challenges and responses in Europe
14
February
2025
Strasbourg
France
The fight against online sexual exploitation is at a critical juncture. The revision of the European Directive on online child sexual abuse content is sparking intense debate, while an upcoming ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union could redefine age verification rules across member states. At the same time, the implementation of the Digital Services Act and Directive 2024/1385 on tackling violence against women marks a significant step forward in protecting everyone’s fundamental rights online.
The transnational nature of cybercrime demands a coordinated response, supported by regional and international cooperation mechanisms. This conference aims to provide a global overview of these issues and offer practical recommendations to safeguard everyone’s fundamental rights online.
In the face of these pressing challenges, it is crucial to bring together parliamentarians, government officials, European lawmakers, experts, lawyers, researchers, and civil society organisations. Acting together, here and now, is essential.
Organised by Osez le Féminisme (EN: Dare to be Feminist) and the French Coordination for the European Women’s Lobby, this symposium aims to create a space for reflection and action to promote policies that guarantee the protection of the fundamental rights of women and vulnerable groups in the digital space.
French Coordination for the European Women’s Lobby :
Osez le féminisme :
Who are we ?
Founded in 2009, Osez le Féminisme (EN: Dare to be Feminist) is a feminist organisation that champions women’s rights and challenges male violence. Osez le Féminisme advocates for progressive, intersectional, universalist, and abolitionist feminism. We fight against racism, lesbophobia, and biphobia. The association operates throughout France, carrying out training and awareness-raising initiatives, conducting sexuality education programmes in schools, engaging in advocacy work with parliamentarians and institutions, launching legal actions that set precedents in favour of equality between women and men, and supporting women who are victims of pornocriminal violence to help them claim their rights.
The CLEF is an advocacy NGO committed to women’s rights and equality between women and men in France, Europe, and internationally. As the head of a feminist network, the CLEF leads and coordinates nearly 80 French associations working towards equality between women and men and women’s rights. The organisation primarily engages with the French government and parliament, European institutions in close collaboration with the European Women’s Lobby (of which it is the French coordination), and on the international stage through its consultative status with the UN and its agencies (ECOSOC status).
Alarming data
250 000
people in prostitution in Germany compared to 40,000 in France
$6,63
billion
OnlyFans’ revenue has grown from $304 million (2019) to $6.63 billion (2023)
Early exposure to pornography
3,3 x
more harmful violent sexual behaviours carried out by boys who regularly watch pornography. (HCE, 2023)
10 years old
the average age of first exposure to pornography in 2020, compared to 14 years old in 2017 (IFOP / Région IDF, 2023)
51%
of boys aged 12–13 watch videos on pornographic websites every month (Arcom, 2023)
Violence in pornography
88%
of the most viewed videos on pornographic sites contain physical aggression (slapping, choking).
(HCE, 2023)
48%
of the most viewed videos on pornographic sites include sexist insults such as “bitch” or “whore.”
(HCE, 2023)
90%
of the most viewed videos on pornographic sites depict some form of physical or verbal violence, with an average of 12 acts per scene.
(HCE, 2023)
