QUEBEC / 2021-2023 Voices of Youth on preventing and combating child sexual exploitation

// A project conducted with children and for children //

The COVID-19 pandemic is gradually fading, but one of its lasting effects is the ubiquitous use of digital technologies in our everyday lives, including those of children. More time spent online, along with certain negative consequences of the pandemic on daily life, has made children more vulnerable to various forms of sexual exploitation.

In Quebec, there have been numerous campaigns to make children and adolescents more aware of sexual exploitation. However, few were developed with input from youth to ensure the campaigns truly reflected their experiences and the realities they face. Consequently, the campaigns often fail to resonate with their target audience and therefore end up being less effective.

Recognising the problem and how it relates to its strategic objectives and commitment to increasing child participation in the defence and promotion of their rights, the IBCR launched the "Voices of Youth" project in 2021.

Developed with support from the Quebec Ministry of Justice and the City of Montreal, the project aims to give the province's adolescents (ages 14 to 17) a chance to have their views heard on issues related to preventing and combating sexual exploitation.

Children participating in the project will receive training and materials on topics related to this issue, to be able to analyse various campaigns that ran in Quebec on sexual exploitation and prevention and to make recommendations on how new campaigns might be more effective in getting messages across to their peers.

Two participants of the Voices of Youth project during a gathering of the different groups involved in the project, Québec, June 2022

As the target audience, children and teenagers are are best positioned to know whether the messages will be impactful, which is why they need to be involved and provide input on any tools, campaigns and strategies developed for them.

It's part of our reality, and it's a bit of a taboo subject, so I think it's really important to talk about it.

The Project

To improve strategies to prevent the sexual exploitation of children and to enable greater participation of children in societal issues that affect them, the Bureau is working to:

• Promote child participation in the development of strategies and policies that affect them, with a view to making these tools more effective and aligned with the realities that children face.

• Provide youth participants with guidance so that they can become actors in their own protection and that of their peers, while also becoming key contributors to the development of measures aimed at combating sexual exploitation.

*It is important to note that the children involved in the project are not victims of sexual exploitation.

HOW?

J Providing young people in Quebec with a better understanding of the concepts related to the sexual exploitation of children

J Empowering them to speak out on prevention strategies aiming at them

J Strengthening their ability to protect themselves and their peers from the risks associated with sexual exploitation