The Lanzarote Convention : National Action Plan for the years 2022–2025

Abstract

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health appointed a working group to formulate Finland's first Action Plan for the Lanzarote Convention (Finnish Treaty Series 87-88/2011) to prevent sexual violence against children and young people aged 0–17. The formulation of the Action Plan is included in the Programme of Prime Minister Sanna Marin's Government. The Action Plan was prepared through extensive cooperation with a range of operators. The preparation work was closely linked with the preparation of the National Child Strategy, and it also involved a pilot project to include young people in the preparation of the Action Plan.

The Action Plan takes account of other ongoing national work relevant to the matter, such as the Action Plan for the Prevention of Violence against Children, entitled Non-Violent Childhoods, and the implementation of the Istanbul Convention. Efforts were also made to avoid any overlap with them.

The Action Plan includes a total of 33 measures, which are divided into three themes: the prevention of violence, the protection of children against violence, and the promotion of national and international cooperation against sexual exploitation and sexual violence. The Action Plan draws attention to prevention in all situations and aims to nurture the sense of hope that exists even in the most difficult situations.

The Action Plan will be implemented in 2022–2025. The aim was to draw up the measures of the Action Plan in such a way that various operators could take part in them either through their own actions or in partnership with others. The working group which drew up the Action Plan will now continue its work as a working group monitoring the implementation.