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EUCPN webinar: reducing recidivism

A significant portion of all crime is committed by recidivists. Punishments, in particular prison sentences, are not always effective at preventing re-offending. This webinar and related toolbox focuses on programmes during and following incarceration, and identifies risks for re-offending and factors for a successful rehabilitation and desistance.

The webinar takes place on Friday 21 February 2025 between 10:30 - 11:30 CET. Participation is free, but registration is mandatory. The webinar will be hosted via Teams. After registration, an automatic confirmation email will be sent to you from @ibzfgovbe.

website ››
registration ››

AIC publication: New data on sexual offending in Australia released

Link to: Sexual offending in Australia 2022–23

New data from the Australian Sexual Offence Statistical (ASOS) collection shows:

There were 9,101 unique alleged sexual offenders proceeded against by police in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory in 2022–23.
The sexual offender rate was 42.61 per 100,000 relevant population, compared with 40.11 in 2021–22. The male sexual offender rate was 80.04 and the female sexual offender rate was 5.89.
Almost half of the offenders (excluding the Australian Capital Territory) were proceeded against for one or more child sexual offences on their first or only police proceeding for a sexual offence (49%, n=4,378).

New WHO online course empowers health professionals to support children who have experienced violence

Violence against children is a pervasive, often hidden issue affecting an estimated 1 billion children globally. Nearly a quarter of adults report physical abuse during childhood; over a third, emotional abuse; and around one in six, neglect. Disturbingly, 18% of girls and 8% of boys report they have suffered sexual abuse. Each year, one child under 14 is murdered for every 100 000 children, often linked to prior maltreatment.

The repercussions of experiencing violence in childhood are severe and far-reaching. Beyond deaths and injuries, these include disabilities, anxiety, depression and sexually transmitted infections. Maltreatment also impairs cognitive development and is strongly associated with substance abuse and smoking, increasing the risk of serious diseases later in life.

“Only a fraction of children who suffer maltreatment ever receive support from health professionals, partly because these professionals have never been adequately equipped to identify and address it,” says Dr Etienne Krug, Director of the WHO Department of Social Determinants of Health. “To reach as many health professionals as possible, we developed a new online course that provides essential guidance on recognizing child maltreatment and the crucial first steps to take when encountering suspected abuse or neglect.”

The online course, Caring for children who have experienced violence, developed under the auspices of the WHO Academy, helps doctors, nurses and other health professionals identify child maltreatment in their daily practice. It provides essential skills for safely communicating with children and caregivers about abuse and for responding appropriately to instances of maltreatment. The course distills key recommendations from WHO guidelines into practical, actionable steps.

The course consists of three modules, each focusing on a different aspect of child maltreatment: 1) basic knowledge about child maltreatment; 2) signs and symptoms associated with child maltreatment; and 3) first-line response to child maltreatment. The modules are self-paced and designed to be completed in approximately one hour each. They include practical exercises and scenarios to help practice and apply the skills and knowledge gained. The course is accessible on mobile phones, tablets and personal computers. Currently, it is available in English, with translations into other languages planned in the coming months.

By equipping health professionals with the necessary knowledge and skills, WHO aims to ensure that more children receive the support and protection they need to heal and thrive. This initiative complements WHO's comprehensive efforts in preventing violence against children, promoting positive parenting practices, and advocating for more attention to the issue and is an integral part of promoting the uptake of the INSPIRE technical package to prevent violence against children and improving the lives of children around the world.

RELATED LINKS

WHO Academy online course: Caring for children who have experienced violence: Training for health professionals.

https://whoacademy.org/coursewares/course-v1:WHOA+0013_CM_EN+2024

Responding to child maltreatment: a clinical handbook for health professionals

https://smex-ctp.trendmicro.com:443/wis/clicktime/v1/query?url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.who.int%2fpublications%2fi%2fitem%2f9789240048737&umid=78b2d589-49ea-4046-81d7-04efd99dfe14&auth=4beb160022ff5facb9b327fe659a3c3c185541d8-db444e448d1bc83579caa71b421606d9710ee64d

WHO fact sheet on child maltreatment

Child maltreatment (who.int)

INSPIRE: Seven strategies for Ending Violence Against Children

https://smex-ctp.trendmicro.com:443/wis/clicktime/v1/query?url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.who.int%2fpublications%2fi%2fitem%2f9789241565356&umid=78b2d589-49ea-4046-81d7-04efd99dfe14&auth=4beb160022ff5facb9b327fe659a3c3c185541d8-88930c91407df20e677b3ba2b8accf9c0056487c

AIC: research examines referrals to restorative justice for domestic, family and sexual violence

Link to: Safety and accountability: Stakeholder referrals to restorative justice for domestic, family and sexual violence

The Australian Institute of Criminology has released new research examining stakeholder referrals to restorative justice for domestic, family and sexual violence.

The research is based on in-depth interviews with almost 50 stakeholders across government, law enforcement, the legal profession, support services and academia.
Stakeholder decisions around which family and domestic violence and sexual violence matters to refer to restorative justice centre on their assessments of victim-survivors’ safety and offender accountability.

Many stakeholders are understandably risk averse when deciding whether to make a referral, which may inadvertently reduce opportunities for victim-survivors to benefit from restorative justice and achieve their justice goals.

AIC Conference 2025: Reducing online harms

The conference will be held on 11 – 12 March 2025 in Canberra. Confirmed sessions include:

Scams and fraud
Online sexual violence
Online radicalisation / Conspiracy theories
Victim / Survivor recovery
Ransomware and cybercrime impacting businesses
Internet and misogyny
Prevention of online harm
Sextortion
Artificial Intelligence
Online enablement of human trafficking, modern slavery and sexual exploitation
Image-based abuse
Harms from pornography

AIC 2025 Conference booking page.

Draft program: AIC 2025 Conference: Reducing online harms

AIC: New research measures cybercrime-related harm

Link to: Developing a harm index for individual victims of cybercrime

The Australian Institute of Criminology has released a Trends & issues paper that uses data from the Australian Cybercrime Survey to develop a harm index for individual victims of cybercrime.

A harm score was developed and validated using a 34-item measure of practical, health, social, financial and legal impacts from cybercrime. The index comprises harm scores for 17 common cybercrimes and provides a measure of the relative severity of different types of online crime.
Cybercrime harm is concentrated among certain victims, with 10.9 percent of victims accounting for 57.7 percent of the harm to all victims who completed the survey. Repeat victims who experienced multiple types of cybercrime were disproportionately impacted and should be prioritised for intervention.

The cybercrime harm index can help guide prevention and response efforts, monitor the impact of cybercrime over time, and measure the impact of prevention efforts on harm to victims.

AIC: New research finds one in 10 Australian adolescents surveyed had experienced sexual extortion

Link to: Sexual extortion of Australian adolescents: Results from a national survey

New research from the Australian Institute of Criminology examined sexual extortion victimisation by conducting a survey of 1,953 adolescents aged 16 to 18 years residing in Australia, finding that:

Over one in 10 of the adolescents surveyed had been sexually extorted in their lifetime (11.3%), most of whom (88.2%) were under the age of 18 when victimised.
Boys and girls were equally likely to be sexually extorted, but male victims were more likely to receive financial demands and to be targeted by someone they had only met online.
Preventing children from being sexually extorted should be a priority for social media and messaging platforms, and should be a collaborative effort across multiple sectors.

Read the AIC media release

CEP conference: Public Perception of Probation

5-7 May 2025, Antalya, Turkey

This conference aims to highlight that the probation system is not just an alternative sanction mechanism but a vital tool for offender rehabilitation, public safety, and social cohesion. It also seeks to enhance the system through international cooperation and knowledge sharing.

>>Registration is now open!

Bringing together experts, academics, and policymakers from around the world, the conference will explore ways to make probation more transparent, accessible, and understandable to the public. Key objectives include raising public awareness, building trust in the system, and strengthening collaboration with professional stakeholders.

AIC 2025 Conference: Reducing online harms

Due to high demand we are pleased to announce additional tickets are now available for AIC 2025: Reducing online harms, to be held in Canberra on 11-12 March 2025.

Featuring Australian and international experts, sessions will showcase the latest research on the changing nature of online harms and approaches to preventing, disrupting and mitigating those harms, as well as approaches to support victim / survivor recovery.

Confirmed sessions include:

Online scams and fraud
Online sexual violence
Online hate and fringe and radical content and links with violence
Victim-survivor recovery and reducing risk of ongoing harms
Ransomware and cybercrime impacting businesses
Internet and misogyny
Prevention of online harm
Sextortion
Responding to online crime
Online enablement of human trafficking, modern slavery and sexual exploitation
Image-based abuse
Harms from pornography

To book your place please visit AIC 2025 Conference: Reducing online harms booking page.
Updated draft program: AIC 2025 Conference: Reducing online harms