A recently published report delves into a critical topic focused on combating sexual exploitation of children and young people. ‘Understanding and Combating Grooming: Danish and Baltic Cooperation‘ is a detailed summary of the grooming process, where perpetrators build emotional connections with young victims to later exploit them for sexual purposes.
It is a valuable resource for all professionals working with young people or in child protection. It covers all important aspects, such as how to recognise grooming, its short and long-term effects, the role of bystanders in dealing with cases involving minors, how to act responsibly and the root causes of grooming, which can help us understand how to tackle the problem.
The publication also gives an overview of grooming reality in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Denmark, describing the legislation and policy environment, the challenges, the existing resources and support and the most urgent actions regarding each country.
It concludes with three exciting case studies reflecting on a study tour to Copenhagen in April 2024, where several NGOs working on violence prevention and intervention shared their strategies, best practices and challenges in the fight against grooming.
‘Understanding and Combating Grooming: Danish and Baltic Cooperation’ was created as a result of an international cooperation of experts and organizations, Madara Mazjane and Justine Leitarte from 35 Above (Latvia), Rugile Butkeviciute and Reda Jureliaviciute from Ribologija (Lithuania), Kelly Grossthal from Estonian Human Rights Center (Estonia) and Helle Cleo Borrowman from Landsforeningen Spor (Denmark). The publication has been produced with the financial support from the Nordic Council of Ministers.
Read the full report and share it: Understanding and Combating Grooming: Danish and Baltic Cooperation