Evaluation of the programme to prevent and respond to Online Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation

Highlights

As Southeast Asia’s largest economy and the world’s fourth most populous country, Indonesia is home to more than 275 million people and over 80 million children. With around one in three Indonesians under age 18, the country’s youthful population underscores the urgency of protecting children in digital spaces. Most Indonesian children (99.4%) engage with the internet, spending an average of 5.4 hours daily online. The Disrupting Harm in Indonesia report found that 2% of internet-using children experienced online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA) in the prior 12 months—equivalent to over half a million young people annually.

In response to these identified challenges, UNICEF Indonesia and the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (MOWECP) developed the 2020-2022 Strengthening Safe and Friendly Environments for Children (SAFE4C) project. Following the April 2022 passage of the Law on Sexual Violence Crimes (UU TPKS), which recognised online and digital forms of sexual abuse and exploitation, MOWECP and UNICEF Indonesia, with support from Safe Online, commissioned the three-year Prevent and Respond to Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PR-OCSEA) programme (August 2022-May 2025) to build on SAFE4C’s momentum and the new legal framework. The overall goal of this programme is to contribute to an online environment that is safe for children in Indonesia.

The primary purpose of the endline evaluation was to generate knowledge to improve the strategies to protect children online. The evaluation identifies successes and challenges and offers recommendations for future strategies to protect children based on the findings. The findings of the evaluation would be the basis for evidence-led advocacy, planning and response to OCSEA by UNICEF Indonesia and the Indonesian government and development partners.