Save the Children Finland’s (SCF) hotline, the Finnish Hotline Nettivihje organised a one-day seminar for professionals with the Regional State Administrative Agency for Southern Finland in November. The hybrid seminar had 40 in-person participants and 563 views online.


The speakers covered various topics around child sexual abuse (CSA). The morning included presentations on the risk factors of CSA, the work the police do to identify the victims in CSAM, the criminal process from the child’s perspective, and the upcoming changes to the Finnish criminal code.

In the afternoon, the focus was on ways children can receive psychosocial support, the consequences of experiencing CSA and why intervening at an early stage is essential. The Seri Support Centers for Victims of Sexual Assault, sexual offences against children from the offender’s perspective, young people as sexual offenders, and the new publication by Save the Children Denmark and SCF “Preventing Child Sexual Abuse: Support for Adolescents Sexually Attracted to Children – An Introductory Guidebook”.

The event received excellent feedback. Some participants were happy with the short presentations and some wished for longer, more in-depth ones. In the future, SCF will consider including a mixture of shorter and longer presentations to accommodate these preferences. As the relatively small number of in-person participants shows, including an online option for an event is crucial to reach the busy professionals working around the topic of CSA. As a result of the online option, many professionals from outside the seminar city could participate.


Access the Guidebook "Preventing Child Sexual Abuse: Support for Adolescents Sexually Attracted to Children" here.