Down to Zero: SUFASEC SUMMARY:
Sexual exploitation of children (SEC) is a grave violation of children’s rights and annually affects millions of children and youths worldwide. Starting in March 2023, the Down to Zero alliance will run a three year programme in 12 countries across Asia and Latin America called Step Up the Fight Against Sexual Exploitation of Children (SUFASEC). Plan International will work with alliance partners in Brazil, the Dominican Republic and the Philippines to ensure that children are better protected against sexual exploitation. Three interlinking pathways of change are key: 1. Children, youth and their communities successfully challenge social norms and harmful practices related to SEC; 2. Children and youth have access to and are supported by strengthened assets and protective environments; 3. Children and civil society meaningfully participate in holding duty bearers, including government and local authorities, accountable for their obligations towards improved (implementation of) laws. Step Up the Fight Against Sexual Exploitation of Children (SUFASEC) is a new programme by the Down to Zero Alliance. The programme aims for children in all of their diversity to live free of sexual exploitation. The programme uses a multi-sector, multi-actor and systemic approach, recognising the complexity of SEC and specific contexts in which it takes place. The Down to Zero Alliance (Terre des Hommes Netherlands, Plan International Netherlands, Defence for Children- ECPAT, Free a Girl, CRC Asia and Conexión) will work with civil society organisations (CSOs) in the Philippines, Thailand, Laos, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Brasil, Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic. With a total budget of 15 million, this three year programme which started March 1st 2023, will reach more than 21,000 children. 

Social norms play a role in enabling SEC and in keeping it invisible. A culture of tolerance, violence and adult-centrism normalises SEC, and means that those in responsible caregiving roles (parents, families, community leaders, etc.) may tolerate or even facilitate or perpetrate SEC. The environment at home can increase or decrease a child’s vulnerability to SEC. An environment characterised by high levels of domestic violence, poverty and instability creates supportive conditions for abuse and exploitation. Legal environments are often inadequate, loosely enforced and characterised by impunity. Legal gaps inhibit the protection from and response to SEC. Issues continue to exist with registering cases and aggregating, sharing and disclosing data at national levels. Lack of data conceals the magnitude and complexity of the problem and keeps SEC off the priority list. The programme will work towards the following long-term impact: “Children in all of their diversity are better protected from sexual exploitation.” 

This will be reached through three interlinking objectives: 
1.	Children, youth and their communities successfully challenge social norms and harmful practices related to SEC 
2.	Children and youth have access to and are supported by strengthened assets and protective environments 
3.	Children and civil society meaningfully participate in holding duty bearers, including government and local authorities, accountable to their obligations towards improved (implementation of) laws, policies, and systems.

Social norms and harmful practices are key drivers of SEC. Social norm change begins at home, and for children, youth and their communities to challenge these norms, they must exercise high levels of agency and autonomy over their own bodies and lives. To the extent that children and adolescents recognize themselves as subjects of rights, they can also better understand SRHR as fundamental, and both children and youth in general, as well as victims of SEC, can aspire to exercise a healthy sexuality that includes respect for their personal integrity and decisions about their bodies. To the extent that they are recognized as subjects of rights, all children and youth are also able to demand access to inclusive protection services that both duty bearers and co-responsible parties can provide. This agency can be supported through positive parenting, strong family ties and supportive community members. Acting together, children, their caregivers and communities, can achieve meaningful change in how all children engage with and are valued by society. 

SEC can be reduced, and its impact appropriately mitigated through access to appropriate assets and through provision of protective environments for children. Economic resilience is a key means of mitigating against monetary drivers of SEC. Children need access to child-centered, inclusive and locally available protection and SRHR information and services, delivered and received without stigma. With so many varied actors involved in protection and referral mechanisms it is important that such services are delivered in a holistic and coordinated manner. By supporting the specialized care and reintegration services that CSOs provide to SEC victims, it is possible to strengthen the restitution of their rights and integrity, especially in contexts where the role of the government in child-friendly and inclusive service provision is still weak. 

Laws, policies and systems can help in the prevention and response to SEC by setting standards for and detailing obligations of duty bearers. This includes the development and adoption, but also effective implementation in day-to-day-practice, including adequate staffing and resourcing. Improved data collection and analysis informs advocacy efforts as well as duty bearers about the scope, pervasiveness and complexity of SEC, as well as on solutions. The Alliance informs stakeholders from public sector, private sector and civil society on the existing (inter-)national obligations and frameworks, provides practical tools and training on how to best fulfil their obligations, and facilitates multi-stakeholder collaboration. The SUFASEC programme builds on the Alliance’s collective achievements to date, scaling up the 2016- 2020 Down to Zero (DtZ), 2020-2021 Voice for Change (VfC), and 2021 – 2022 Building Back Better (BBB) programme. This allows the Alliance to effectively address SEC in the continuously evolving context. In all selected countries, Alliance members (or network members) have a strong combined track record. In ten countries and at regional/international level, the programme builds on previously mentioned programmes. Guatemala and Laos were added as a results of needs analysis and opportunities identified with their geographic locations along key migration pathways. In all countries respective alliance members have individual and joint experience working on improved prevention and response to SEC. Alliance members have worked together on this issue in different formations as well. CRC Asia is a new member to the alliance bringing a very welcome additional expertise working for and with children on protection from violence and SRHR issues. The key target group (and final beneficiaries) of the programme are girls and boys up to 18 years old, who are victims and survivors and those at risk of SEC. We will mostly work with them through children and youth groups. Under the 3 outcome areas the following intermediate outcomes will be achieved:

1.Parents and caregivers exercise positive parenting and strengthen family ties 
•	Conducting awareness-raising activities, workshops and counselling for positive parenting (and SEC and SRHR) 

2.More children exercise higher levels of agency and autonomy over their bodies and lives
•	Conduct training to children on SEC, SRHR, online safety, CPS and CSE taking into account gender and intersectional dimensions 

3.Communities contribute to changed social norms and practices
•	Awareness-raising to communities on SEC and tak action to address harmful social norms Support children/youth to become advocates/ agents of change or peer-to-peer educators

4.Increased agency of families and communities in the protection of children from SEC and their response to reported cases
•	Conduct training to CSOs, families and communities (including schools) on SEC, SRHR and child protection adapted to their needs 
•	Strengthen community-based child protection committees/networks to take action against SEC

5.Strengthened economic resilience
•	Provision of vocational training and entrepreneurship skills 

6.Greater and safer access to quality child protection and local SRHR information and services
•	Provision of comprehensive care and support (social, psychological, and legal)
•	Capacity building of teachers, CPS actors and LEAs on SEC, SRHR and child protection

7.Increased access to life skills and education for children and youth
•	Provision of life skills, and specialised education
•	Strengthening youth centres and educational institutes for providing life skills training and/or incl. CSE, and SEC related information

8.Improved coordination of child-friendly service delivery (between sectors and across levels)
•	Facilitate coordination between relevant agencies and duty bearers to ensure adequate assistance and appropriate service provision 
•	Training to CPS actors and LEAs for coordinated child friendly and inclusive services
9. Increased recognition among duty bearers on their role in SEC prevention and response, including streamlined data collection and analysis
•	Multi-stakeholder meetings on their role in combatting SEC in collaboration with each other
•	L&A actions and training for collection and analysis of data related to SEC and for a comprehensive SEC response 

10. Better recognition in private sector of required and potential roles in SEC prevention & response based on (inter)national commitments to business and human rights
•	Awareness raising and training to private sector on SEC, child protection. 
•	L&A to hold these actors accountable to their obligations 
11.Adoption and effective implementation of more SEC-focussed transformative policies and programs
•	Training and support for applying codes of conducts (i.e., The Code) to address SEC
•	Training to CPS actors and LEAs for coordinated child friendly and inclusive services Capacity-building is a central strategy to all three outcomes. Children and young people, CSOs, child protection system- and private sector actors will be provided with access to knowledge, skills and means to address the (technical) concepts of online/ offline SEC and online violence – its dangers and the much needed prevention, monitoring and response action. The expected impact is that by fully understanding the risks, children and young people are enabled to better protect themselves and to report cases within their families and communities. Moreover, their empowerment to influence duty bearers and decision makers on child protection, will contribute to more agile child- and gender responsive child protection systems in which the needs of children and young people are well reflected. By strengthening the technical- and institutional understanding among  child protection system actors in online/ offline SEC prevention, response and monitoring, the project contributes to an improved protective environment for children and young people at risk/ and victims of OSEC and online violence in target areas. As the project makes use of technical platforms, where children and youth groups will safely learn, participate and assert, they are enabled to safely discuss fears, experiences, constraints and solutions related to online/ offline SEC and online violence. Collective technical platforms for both civil society, the private- and public sector will be established/ strengthened to enable CSOs and child- and youth (led) groups to effectively lobby for and discuss measures against OSEC and online violence.