GENEVA, Switzerland – A Global Interagency Working Group has released the Terminology Guidelines for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, taking an important step in strengthening collaboration to address the sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children.
The Terminology Guidelines, also known as the Luxembourg Guidelines, offer guidance on how to navigate the complex lexicon of terms commonly used when addressing the exploitation and sexual abuse of children.
The Guidelines make precise recommendations on the terminology to use when it comes to terms such as 'child pornography', 'child sex tourism' and 'child prostitution'.
INTERPOL welcomes the development of harmonized and internationally-recognized terminology in this area, particularly in the context of law enforcement activity, including victim identification.
Its Vulnerable Communities Unit has always supported the use of appropriate terminology to avoid trivializing the sexual abuse and exploitation of children.
To ensure that police are 'speaking the same language' in the fight against child sexual exploitation, the Organization will implement these guidelines as best practice and recommend their use to law enforcement across its 190 member countries.
The Guidelines are being made available to all major child protection agencies and organizations around the world, as well as to law-makers and the media. They aim to build consensus on key concepts in order to strengthen data collection and cooperation across agencies, sectors and countries.
The Guidelines are available on www.LuxembourgGuidelines.org and will be made available in French and Spanish.