New global thinking on child online safety

Earlier this month, WeProtect Global Alliance Executive Director Iain Drennan spoke at the 2026 Children and Youth Online Safety Forum co-hosted by Kakao, the Teenage Women Human Rights Centre, and the Jeju Women and Family Research Institute in Jeju, Korea.

The event was sponsored by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Kering Foundation and was attended by about 70 people, including representatives from the government, academia, civic groups and platforms.

Iain shares his thoughts on his eventful and inspiring first visit to Korea:

“During the trip I met with representatives from Stand Against Child Sexual Exploitation, the Korean Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Kakao Corp, the Jeju Women and Family Research Institute, and Soyoung Park from the Korean Communications Standards Commission in Seoul, continuing conversations about how we can strengthen collective action to prevent child sexual exploitation and abuse. I was honoured to meet and discuss the issue with Minister of Gender Equality and Family Won Min-Kyong.

“What impressed me most was the depth of engagement and the empathy, with great efforts made to understand and integrate survivor and youth perspectives. Across government, civil society and the technology sector, there was a striking commitment to listening to victims and survivors and understanding what effective support looks like in practice. That is not easy: it requires trust, resources and resilience.

“This is central to the WeProtect Global Alliance Model National Response. Victim and survivor support is not an optional addition to a national response – it is a core capability. Prevention, law enforcement and prosecution are essential, but a response cannot be truly effective if it does not have the capacity to support children and adults who have experienced abuse, respond to their needs and help them recover.

“I was therefore particularly pleased to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Minister of Gender Equality and Family, deepening collaboration between the Korean government and WeProtect Global Alliance.

“Our conversations with all these key stakeholders have given me a much richer understanding of the work happening in Korea and the opportunities to collaborate. We can all learn a great deal from Korean experience and progress.

“I’m encouraged by the expertise and commitment I’ve encountered, but particularly by the humanity at the heart of these conversations. That is an essential foundation for building stronger national responses and, ultimately, a safer environment for children.

“Thank you to all the wonderful partners I met at the event for their welcome, wisdom and deep commitment to our shared mission to tackle technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and abuse.”

Click here to learn more about the event: Digital Today.