Online dangers are on the rise, and so is our ability to stop them—through dedicated (in)formation for professionals and joint action.

100 police specialists – including investigative officers and criminal prosecution officers from various districts across the country – are participating between June 3–17, 2025, in Chișinău, in a series of four specialized training workshops focused on the effective investigation of child sexual abuse and exploitation cases, with an emphasis on the use of information and communication technologies.

The agenda of the workshops was designed to encourage active participation and hands-on learning, inviting officers to collaborate, exchange ideas, and directly explore tools, scenarios, and trends from real-life cases of online child abuse and exploitation. The workshop facilitators covered a range of topics, including global and national trends in online child sexual abuse and exploitation, its various forms, risky online behaviors, and the psychological and emotional dimensions of the trauma experienced by child victims.

The practical component of the workshops brought participants face-to-face with several key professional topics such as: investigative methods and tactics in online child sexual abuse and exploitation cases; the particularities of collecting digital evidence during criminal proceedings in such cases; and the importance of conducting victim interviews with empathy and accuracy, in conditions that minimize the risk of retraumatization. All of these efforts aim to strengthen the professional capacity of specialists to investigate digital child sexual abuse cases more effectively.

“Workshops dedicated to law enforcement professionals in the country are consistently among our most anticipated activities. We are always pleased to see conscientious, engaged officers who are eager to deeply understand this extremely complex phenomenon. We are seeing that online child sexual exploitation and abuse is manifesting in increasingly sophisticated ways, which explains the growing interest among participants in identifying trends behind these crimes. Unfortunately, offenders are becoming more inventive, continuously evolving their tactics and strategies in line with technological developments. That’s precisely why we organize these training sessions—to enhance specialists’ ability to recognize, prevent, and respond effectively, always with the child’s best interest at heart” stated Veronica Maevschi, Program Director for Children at the International Center “La Strada.”

According to data recorded by the INHOPE global network, of which the International Center “La Strada” is a member, in 2024, the Republic of Moldova ranked 15th globally in terms of hosted materials, with 19,593 items found on servers based in the country. Between January and December 2024 alone, the SigurOnline Hotline, operated by “La Strada” for reporting child sexual abuse materials, received 11,894 reports.

The International Center “La Strada” has also made sustained efforts to identify and raise awareness of legislative gaps that currently allow for the hosting of a significant volume of child sexual abuse materials on servers located within Moldova. We express our hope that the competent authorities will respond promptly and responsibly, thereby contributing to the development of an effective legal framework to eliminate these vulnerabilities nationwide.

These workshops are organized by the International Center “La Strada”, in partnership with the General Police Inspectorate and the “Ștefan cel Mare” Academy, as part of the project:
“National Center for Online Child Safety in the Republic of Moldova – Establishing a Structured and Coordinated Framework to Respond to Online Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation,” implemented with the support of the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children.