Online outreach wins ChildX Award

We could not be more proud! The Online Outreach Program for victims of human trafficking has won the 2024 ChildX award. This year’s theme was “The unidentified child victims. Removing the barriers.” The award was presented to Sebastiaan Landers and Johannes Dijkstra of Spine by ChildX’s Director of Policy and Programs Elise Thoen on 12 November 2024 in Stockholm, Sweden.

Finding unknown victims of human trafficking

While we know that there are many victims of human trafficking, it is incredibly challenging to identify them. Victims rarely come forward and reach out to aid workers or the police, for example out of fear for their traffickers, fear of the police, shame about what has happened or a feeling that it was their own fault. Sometimes, victims are not even aware that they are being exploited. This is why care workers and law enforcement need to actively search for victims of human trafficking, as they usually do not come forward for help.

Exploiting a victim is easier than ever

Over the past decade, human trafficking has increasingly moved online. Technology has made it easier than ever for exploiters to find and control victims. For example, traffickers find and groom their victims on social media or other platforms. They use communication apps and GPS to monitor and control their victims. Additionally, they post ads on websites and other channels to reach sex buyers willing to pay for sex with the victim.

Searching online too

Although technology poses risks by providing tools that facilitate exploitation, it also offers an opportunity to find and reach victims online, and to offer them protection. The Online Outreach Program does just that: locating victims of human trafficking online, establishing contact, and helping them exit the exploitative situation. The Centre Against Child and Human Trafficking launched the programme in 2019. The tech team of Spine has developed the programme and is operating it on a daily basis.

Finding victims before they find us

The proactive outreach has proven to be a succesful and necessary addition to the online chat line of Fier, which has been operating for years. The chat line of Fier offers support to victims of all kinds of violence, including forms of human trafficking like sexual exploitation (forced prostitution and criminal exploitation (forced criminality). That support however is reactive: we help victims after they reach out to us. Usually, they do so after they have been through terrible ordeals. Through the proactive outreach however, we can reach victims before they reach out to us, and offer them a helping hand, preventing further violence and exploitation.

ChildX Award

Under the theme “The unidentified child victims. Removing the barriers,” ChildX this year highlighted methods for finding these unseen victims of human trafficking. This could include the development of more effective indicators, more child-friendly procedures, effective and systematic training of first responders, methods for in person or online outreach, the creation of safe spaces for child victims and children at risk, effective standard operating procedures, referral mechanisms or other systems that have led to improving the identification of child victims or children at risk.

Impressed by the innovative approach of the online outreach program, they awarded the ChildX Award 2024 to Spine. Represetatives Sebastiaan Landers and Johannes Dijkstra received the award during the ChildX annual conference on fighting child sexual exploitation in Stockholm, Sweden.

“Spine receives this award for its innovative and compassionate approach to combating sexual exploitation. In a world where online platforms have become both tools of exploitation and potential lifelines for victims, Spine is leading the way by actively seeking to protect vulnerable individuals before they are harmed. This proactive digital outreach program is a groundbreaking effort that leverages technology, social services, and OSINT (Open-Source Intelligence) expertise to provide immediate, discreet support to victims and those at risk.

What sets Spine apart is the organization’s holistic team and its unwavering commitment to protecting victims in the online space. By utilizing cutting-edge digital tools, Spine’s outreach team is able to detect, connect with, and offer assistance to victims, establishing a line of defense against exploiters. In doing so, Spine provides a model of how technology and human compassion can be combined to address a critical, underreported issue with speed and efficacy.

This award does not only recognize Spine’s impactful work but also raises awareness of the digital exploitation crisis, encouraging further innovation in this field. By honoring Spine’s method, we acknowledge the importance of proactive intervention and inspire continued efforts to safeguard the most vulnerable in society.”

Collaboration

The Online Outreach Program is an initiative by the Centre against Child and Human Trafficking and Spine. In a time when recruiting and exploiting victims increasingly takes place online, we believed years ago that we therefore also needed to be present online. Additionally, we knew that we should not wait for victims to reach out to us, but instead actively search for them. Only then we can stop the violence at the earliest stage possible – or even prevent it entirely.

We could not have established the Online Outreach Program without our team of social workers, forensic IT experts, software developers and other experts of Spine. But it is not just them. In order for victims of trafficking to receive face-to-face support and care once they are ready for this, we have established a network of over 60 organizations in all of the Netherlands who offer support, care and treatment to victims of sexual exploitation.

Supporters

The Online Outreach Program has been made possible through the crucial support of the Dutch Postcode Lottery, Achmea Slachtoffer en Samenleving, SIDN Fonds, and the Netherlands Ministry of Justice and Security.

More information

More information about can be found on the website of Spine. More information about the ChildX Award (in Swedish).

Stay informed

Follow the Centre Against Child and Human Trafficking on LinkedIn.