Rezultate și priorități în protecția copiilor online, discutate la nivel național
The progress made in developing an effective national mechanism for preventing and combating the online sexual abuse and exploitation of children was reviewed during the second meeting of the members of the Coordination Committee of the project “National Center for Online Child Safety in the Republic of Moldova – ensuring a structured and coordinated framework for responding to the online sexual abuse and exploitation of children.”
The event, organized by the International Center “La Strada,” brought together representatives of the Ministry of Education and Research, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as the General Police Inspectorate, along with experts and partners involved in child protection.
Discussions focused on analyzing both achievements and existing challenges, emphasizing the need to strengthen interinstitutional cooperation.
Cristina Deliu, Program Director at the International Center “La Strada,” highlighted the existence of an effective partnership ensuring the proper functioning of the Digital Safety Center in the Republic of Moldova. “Throughout 2025, the Digital Safety Center strengthened partnerships at both national and international levels. The main areas of implementation focused on providing support to children through existing services, building the capacity of specialists, and developing and implementing prevention programs. As a result, 47 children benefited from direct legal assistance, 89 children received psychological support, and 54 parents and caregivers received counseling and support,” stated the Program Director.
At the same time, the National Service for Reporting Online Child Sexual Abuse Material recorded 11,843 reports in 2025, and over 8,000 materials were removed. A total of 21 cases of online sexual abuse were reported via www.siguronline.md. A total of 250 specialists from multidisciplinary teams, 79 prosecutors and judges, 101 investigation and criminal prosecution officers, as well as 5,178 teachers and representatives of Education Departments strengthened their professional capacities in the field of preventing online sexual abuse of children.
Angela Prisăcaru, Deputy Head of Division at the Ministry of Education and Research, appreciated the sustainable collaboration with the International Center “La Strada” in educating students, teachers, and parents, and highlighted the relevance of the online safety topics addressed within this partnership.
Ina Scaticailov, Chief Consultant at the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, stated that the collaboration process with “La Strada” is effective and should be continued through further training of personnel in the field of child and family social protection. She also welcomed the connection with the “Child Helpline” service.
Andrei Cușca, Head of Division at the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization, appreciated the high-level organization of the study visit to Ireland, which provided an opportunity to adopt best practices in drafting the digital services law, currently at the finalization stage.
Tatiana Vasiucov, representative of the Cybercrime Combating Center within the General Police Inspectorate, expressed gratitude for the collaboration and support, and reiterated the institution’s openness to continued joint activities.
Members of the Project Coordination Committee also reviewed the strategic directions and the action plan for 2026, contributing suggestions and recommendations to improve future interventions. The project “National Center for Online Child Safety in the Republic of Moldova – ensuring a structured and coordinated framework for responding to the online sexual abuse and exploitation of children” is implemented in collaboration with stakeholders at both international and national levels responsible for protecting children online.
At the international level, the “La Strada” Center continues its collaboration with INHOPE, the BIK+ platform, will initiate communication with European Schoolnet, and will refer to the resources and tools developed by the WeProtect Global Alliance as a reference framework for guiding the national response. These partnerships will advance the implementation of all planned activities, serving as platforms for learning and the exchange of best practices. At the national level, the “La Strada” Center continues its collaboration with public authorities, academia, civil society organizations, Youth Councils, international organizations, and others. Through its implementation, the project aims to develop a coordinated and efficient system for responding to cases of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children, thereby contributing to the protection of every child in the Republic of Moldova.
The initiative is supported by the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children Fund – Safe Online and is implemented with the active involvement of national authorities and development partners.
It is worth noting that since 2020, the International Center “La Strada” has become a member organization of the European Safer Internet Centre programme (Safer Internet Centre plus). Funded by the European Commission, the programme brings together organizations with similar missions to promote the protection of children online through awareness-raising and information activities, the management of support services for children and parents regarding online risks, child participation, as well as hotline services for reporting child sexual abuse material. All these services in the Republic of Moldova are provided through the platform www.siguronline.md, which, since April 2023, also integrates the option to report child sexual abuse material, internationally accredited by the global INHOPE network.
